Sinfonietta Nova: Concertmaster Postion Open

Sinfonietta Nova, a wonderful chamber orchestra I perform with in NJ, is looking for a concertmaster! The rehearsal and concert locations are about 5 minutes by car to/from the NJT Princeton Junction train station in Mercer County.

If you are looking to work with a great conductor (Gail Lee), fine musicians, and perform creative programs, please visit the link below!

Concertmaster Application

Ryuteki 龍笛 is What?

I’ve noticed that most people I’ve talked with are very familiar with the Japanese shakuhachi or Native American flutes. Like playing recorder, tin whistle, oboe or clarinet, shakuhachi and Native American flutes are held vertically.

Others are familiar with the Indian bansuri or buzzy sounding Chinese dizi, but are not familiar with the Japanese ryuteki. The Dragon Flute is similar to the dizi, bansuri, or western flute since it too is held horizontally. What makes this instrument unique is the enormous embouchure hole and presence of 7 finger holes rather than 6. The hand technique is similar to playing other whistles that require use of the fleshy second part of the finger rather than use the pads of the fingers.

The flute represents dragons ascending between the people of the earth and the lights of the heavens. The hichiriki (double reed) and sho (mouth organ) represent those respective ideas.

Ryuteki requires a huge amount of air and accents of the abs and jaw. The sound aesthetic ranges from burst driven unarticulated attacks and pitch bends to smooth, clear birdlike motifs.

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A post shared by A. Lish Lindsey (@piccolish)

Gagaku and Ryuteki in Japan 2015!

I’m heading to Tokyo! Why? To continue my study of ryuteki (龍笛 Dragon Flute: medieval Japanese flute) and gagaku (雅楽 Elegant Music: ancient imperial court instrumental and dance music), of course!

As part of the Medieval Institute for Japanese Studies out of Columbia University I was awarded a grant to spend 6 weeks of structured study in this specialized field from members of the Gagaku Ensemble Reigakusha, Ono Gagaku-kai, and Kunitachi College of Music.

I will be joining Chatori (Japan), Henry (Australia), and Junjie (China) who will travel on the 21st. Chatori and Henry are both sho players (mouth organ) and Junjie plays koto at Columbia.

My purpose for this research and performance practice is to learn from the master teachers who are the most knowledgable in their field since private study does not seem to be possible in NYC.

The picture below is from my first concert with Columbia Gagaku Ensemble of NY. Teachers from the Reigakusha Gagaku Orchestra taught private lessons and coach rehearsal as a joint collaboration. These teachers are the mentors and coaches of the summer program that I will be attending.

Please follow my photos of the trip at http://instagram.com/piccolish.

Photo by: George Hirose

Taken

Every time I see the movie Taken, I always change “skills” to “scales” because it’s funny. I decided to act on my concept and draw a bit with Paper by 53.

Lip Love

Dry lips are essential when some flutists play, but I usually don’t play without something lightly coating my lips to keep them flexible and soft and to help fill in any dry, rough patches/ridges so the air can smoothly flow across without any interruption. Lipstick is notoriously waxy and lip gloss in a squeeze tube or with an applicator wand is often too sticky.

I recently tried out Maybelline’s Baby Lips. Very sheer color

Wilkes University Music Courses Fall 2012

Here are the music course offerings from the Department of Performing Arts at Wilkes University. I have been very fortunate

NYC Summer Mahler Project 2012

If you’re in NYC Thursday, July 13, 2012, please stop by St. Bartholomew’s Church (325 Park Ave/51st St), for an evening of Mahler’s 5th Symphony.

This is the third year that director James Blachly is presenting a Mahler symphony to raise funds

The Tuning CD

As audition season rolls around again, an excellent tool for developing and working with crazy pitch (students, amateur, and pros alike) is Rich Schwartz’s The Tuning CD. I use it for scales, intervals, and especially orchestral excerpts.

Rich is a friend of my boyfriend and I am very thankful that his research produced this tool. It really keeps my pitch centered and grounded, especially if I don’t have a tuned piano available.

The Tuning CD and Other Goodies

As classical musicians we are always trying to figure out some fancy staging for our album covers or promo/press packets.

This is one of the greatest blogs out there that pays tribute to those creative people who totally went there (and maybe shoudn’t have) to get themselves noticed.

Awkward Classical Music Photos Blog

Virtual Flute Choir 2012

I came across the Virtual Flute Choir’s request for submissions while I was browsing the Fluteworld.com website. Not having enough time to submit a video, I was happy to hear that there was an extension, so I hustled and recorded the Alto 2 part for the project.

I had to use my iphone since my recording location doesn’t have wifi and the lack of prep measure was challenging, so hopefully the video is useable. The solid silver Rudall Carte alto had other obligations, so I used the cost efficient silver-plated Artley.

One of the most well produced virtual collaborations is Eric Whitacre’s Virtual Choir project. ;Moving and sensational, this is a great example of what is possible.