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The Colburn School
 

Downtown Los Angeles

Flute Week 2009 with Jim Walker & Elizabeth Rowe
"A truly inspiring experience." "The Best Masterclass I've been too!" These are just some of the things that were said by participants of Jim Walker's "Beyond the Masterclass" Flute Week in June 2008. Following up with this phenomenal first-year launch, Jim Walker's annual week-long offering of masterclasses, recitals, and seminars returns in 2009, with special guest artist and clinician Elizabeth Rowe, principal flutist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, taking an active role this year. Sarah Jackson, piccolist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, will lead a piccolo class during the week.

Jim Walker’s “Beyond The Masterclass” Flute Week combines the traditional masterclass environment with special seminars designed to expand a flutist’s horizons outside the “flute performance major” mentality that exists at most music schools and conservatories. Morning masterclasses will focus on student performance while afternoon seminars will cover topics such as improvisation, session playing, the piccolo, audition technique, and building a real career in music. In addition to improving flute playing skills and benefiting from Jim’s insights and wisdom, participants will learn the ways working musicians succeed in the competitive environment that exists in today’s world. These extras make Flute Week go far beyond your average masterclass and will pay great dividends to any flutist who is serious about having a successful and rewarding career in music.

Hosted at The Colburn School’s beautiful new facilities in downtown Los Angeles across from Walt Disney Concert Hall, participants will perform twice in masterclass, attend all daily sessions, receive a private lesson with Jim, attend a special off-campus event, and perform a recital piece during the week.

Advanced high school, college, and professional level flutists are welcome to register as participants. Several different ways of auditing the class are available. See the Registration page for details.
 

Seminars in Detail for 2009 - See the Schedule page to find out when these classes will occur.

Careers in Music for Flutists
In today’s world, success usually means taking a multi-faceted approach to the business side of the profession. This usually includes not only performing in many types of ensembles, but teaching at all levels, making the right connections, and being smart about using publicity and technology to one’s advantage. Jim and guest panelists will give a comprehensive workshop covering the topics and strategies needed for success.

Orchestral Auditions
An audition can be one of the most challenging individual moments in a musician's life. Selected flutists will play a mock audition, and a mock audition committee will give feedback and lead a panel discussion on the many aspects of taking auditions, including preparation strategies, mental techniques, and what audition committees are looking for in a player.

Session Playing for Motion Pictures
Jim will talk about his experience playing in the studios and will give examples of music used in scoring sessions. Jim will also display and demonstrate his dazzling array of ethnic flutes, recorders, and penny whistles he uses to create a variety of effects in motion picture soundracks. Strategies for improving sight-reading and other "tricks of the trade" will also be covered. Guest Artist and studio veteran Steve Kujala will also be joining Jim for this seminar.

The Piccolo
Many flutists find the piccolo to be a problem, but these days almost any flutist can find themselves needing to play it well at a moment's notice. Sarah Jackson of the Los Angeles Philharmonic will share her great knowledge of the instrument and the best ways to approach piccolo practice and performance.

Improvisation
Jim Walker leads an introduction to improvisation for flutists. This is an area that many instrumentalists find troubling, but its rewards benefit all areas of music making due to the heightened awareness improvisation brings to harmony, rhythm, and musical line.

Flute Repair
Cynthia Kelly of Flutacious will lead two short classes talking about the basics flute repair and maintenance. These "hands on" classes will help the flutist to quicky diagnose and fix problems with the instrument and attain a greater comfort level with the assembly of their mechanism.