Author Archives: Jessamy

VIDEO: Nielsen Flute Concerto

The Nielsen flute Concerto was written for Holger Gilbert-Jespersen, the flautist of a wind quartet Nielsen had previously composed for. The piece is thought to reflect his changeable character, with tension, humour and anger alongside beautiful melodies. Here is a rehearsal of the first movement of one of my favourite pieces

Flute & Composer Collaboration

have workshopped a number of student compositions, giving them tips on idiomatic or practical writing for the flute. There are things both the composer and the flautist need to be aware of.

Year in the Life – one second a day

If you are wondering what the day to day life of a very specific combination of musician, flute teacher, music college master’s student and concert steward looks like then check this out! It is my year in a second a day (nearly everyday since last September!). Or just check out the bitesize version on my instagram – it is a year in less than a minute.

About the flute

The flute can turn air into many different, mesmerising sounds. Unlike reed instruments, there is no resistance for the player to blow against, the player themselves bends and shapes the air to create their best tone. It is hardly surprising that the flute has a special place in mythology, most notably the Greek God Pan (the subject of much music, including solo flute piece, Debussy’s Syrinx).

Sight reading…

… it’s not as scary as you think! Every time you learn a new piece of music you are sight reading – teachers and students shouldn’t treat it as an intense part of the exam there’s no way to prepare for Prepare in advance: Yes you can practise sight reading. Whether this is with piecesContinue reading “Sight reading…”