Grade Five, then what?.

Grade Five - then what?

When a student passes the landmark of Grade 5 we thought it would be a good time to offer them the experience being a soloist. This was the thinking behind a phone call I made to Alan Ridout. He was a man who loved to write for actual performances, and spent a lot of time encouraging musical youngsters.

The result of a long and riotous conversation, which puzzled the people in my office at the time, was a delicious series of Concertinos. Each piece could be played with piano, but was also scored for strings, so that the player could have a first taste of performing with a small orchestra (or string quartet.)

Once he had started he kept going, completing Concertinos for:

Flute

Oboe

Cor Anglais

Clarinet

Saxophone

Bassoon

Horn

Trumpet

Flugel Horn

Trombone

Tuba

Bassoon

Several of these have been on exam syllabuses over the years, but not everybody is aware that there are string parts available for performance. If you have a student who would benefit from a bit of stage experience, please give them this opportunity.

https://www.juneemersonwindmusic.com/search_advanced_ss.php?mode=advs&adv_q=ridout%20concertino

British Flute Society Competition

British Flute Society

Competition for Young Flautists 2019

 



 

The closing date for entry is 22nd January 2019

 

School Performer

Open to flute players aged 13 and under on 31 August 2019. They should play a piece, or pieces, of their own choice lasting (including breaks) not more than 5 minutes.

Grade 5 or above

 

Young Performer

Open to flute players aged 14 - 18 years on 31 August 2019. They should play a piece, or pieces, of their own choice lasting (including breaks) not more than 7 minutes.

Grade 7-8 or above

 

Young Artist

Open to higher level players aged 19 - 24 years on 31 August 2019. They should play a piece, or pieces, of their own choice lasting (including breaks) not more than 8 minutes.

Grade 8 or above

 

More detailed information, and an online application form:

https://www.bfs.org.uk/events.php?id=538

 

 

 

 

BBC Music Magazine 1

Needle in Haystack

Looking for articles and reviews about music for wind instruments in the BBC Music Magazine is a time-consuming business  Not having much time I was delighted to find the word 'flute' on page 70 of the November issue. It was in a fascinating article about the Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho (b.Helsinki 1952). There was much superfluous stuff about her being female of course - the world of the media can't just call people composers and leave it at that.

I followed the links and listened to Noa Noa for flute and electronics. As the article said, her music is certainly 'imaginative and spellbinding'.

There are four recordings on YouTube. It is possible for the flautist to both play the piece and activate the electronics. Alternatively an assistant can do the activating, leaving the player free to interpret the score. I wonder which is the most satisfying, and would love to hear opinions from performers.

The performance by Jesse Tatum uses an assistant. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50T6EiornP4

Emma Resmini does the whole job herself, seamlessly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5VKG8lQwB4

My next thought was 'Do we actually stock this piece?' and - yes - there it is on our website! Satisfaction all round!

June Emerson

E6 Valse des Fleurs

Wye & Bennett - Doppler & Doppler

Spot the deliberate mistake?
It was on one of those extraordinary Canterbury music courses that I heard Trevor Wye and William Bennett play the delicious 'Valse des Fleurs' by Ernesto Kohler for two flutes and piano. We just had to re-publish it. It was then we found out that it was often played by the brothers Karl and Franz Doppler. They were a popular double-act, not only for their virtuoso playing but visually. As Karl was left-handed he played the flute in reverse...

Hence the cover design of E6

The joy of this piece is that, unlike many flute concert pieces of that period, it isn't too difficult, and can be played by Grade 5 students. They love it.

E6 Ernesto Kohler - Valse des Fleurs

https://www.juneemersonwindmusic.com/VALSE-DES-FLEURS-Op.87-aaa9b53c-0c2d-4b80-96eb-e6a56c4d320c.html

FLUTES OF THE FUTURE

The British Flute Society - Summer Flute Festival

Friday August 17th - Sunday August 19th

This year the theme of the festival is all things new in the flute world

The instrument

Its technique

Its music

There will be celebrity recitals, workshops, a flute choir, trade stands

and opportunities to meet players, teachers and composers.

To book a place contact www.sjss.org.uk

To join the British Flute Society contact: www.bfs.org.uk

The Future Flute Fest 2018 is for everyone who loves the flute.

Wonderful Winds Flute Days 2017

Two days of Flute Ensemble fun

for players of all ages and abilities

with Mel Orriss & Joss Campbell

Saturday 19th August 2017

Suitable for novice/intermediate players and rusty returners!

(Approx. Grade 1 - 5)

Sunday 20th August 2017

Suitable for more confident or advanced players.

(Approx. Grade 5 - Diploma)

Venue

The Ockment Centre

North Street

Okehampton

Devon EX20 1AR

Tickets

Adults:

£35.00 one day/£60.00 weekend

Under 18s:

£25 one day/£40.00 weekend

(Two bursaries are available - see link for further information)

Information and Bookings:

Wonderful Winds Flute Days

Special Offer

Special Offer - 20% Discount 

during January & February 2016

More Graded Studies for Flute Books 1 & 2

by Sally Adams & Paul Harris

and
More Graded Studies for Clarinet Books 1 & 2

by Paul Harris

More Graded Studies for Flute & Clarinet brings together study repertoire in four unique collections. Featuring core works from established composers alongside exciting new material not seen before, plus specially composed studies by Paul Harris, Sally Adams and others. Each study lists its key ingredients and invites players to consider additional key elements as well. This enables teachers and students to link the studies to their current repertoire and technical work in a truly Simultaneous Learning way.

This offer is exclusive to June Emerson Wind Music!

Click on the images below to get your copies:

Flute Book 1

Flute Book 2

Clarinet Book 1

Clarinet Book 2

A Quintet Selection...

Some of our Favourite Wind Quintets

by June Emerson

(and The Canile Quintet)

It was a freezing night in 1969 when five wind players first met to play together in Hertfordshire. It was a successful and somewhat riotous evening and we became a regular wind quintet: The Camerata. Over the years two personnel changed and the name was changed accordingly, but 41 years later three of us were still together, with two others, as The Canile Quintet. Michael, the clarinettist, had suffered for some time with his eyes, and by 2011 he couldn’t see well enough to play any longer. It looked as if it was all over.

By July 2015 however, after several gruelling eye operations and with music enlarged to A3 size, he was ready to have another go. Hesitant and careful at first, by the end of the third day things were pretty well back to normal, and out came the champagne!

We played through almost all of our repertoire, and at the end I asked everyone to name their favourite quintet, and give the reasons for their choice. It was an extremely difficult exercise, and in the end we each chose two. These are the results:

Wendy, flute:

Invitación al Bolero from the Suite Popular Cubana by Dario Morgan, because in a short and beautiful piece everyone has something gorgeous to play.
Quintet Op.56 No.1 by Franz Danzi because there is so much of interest for all the instruments.

Steve, oboe:

Capriol Suite by Peter Warlock because it’s a lovely arrangement of lovely music which is far too good for string players.
Pastorale by Gabriel Pierné because it brings back happy memories of playing it at an outdoor concert in France - oboe offstage at the end.

Michael, clarinet:

Trois Pieces Brèves by Jacques Ibert because it is wonderfully written, particularly the second movement for flute and clarinet. The last movement is a challenge from which we were once saved at an outdoor concert in France by the arrival of the Mistral.

Novelette in C major by Francis Poulenc, because I just love it.

June, bassoon:

La Fille aux cheveux de lin from Debussy Suite No.1 as a sort of test, because it is only after a week of living, eating, drinking and playing together that we can get all the nuances and entries perfect.
La Cheminée du Roi René by Darius Milhaud, because of the wonderful sonorities, and the tender coming together of flute and clarinet in the final bars.

Christine, horn:

Sortie in E Flat by Léfebure-Wély because I want it played at my funeral, and I challenge anyone to hear it without smiling.
Quintette in C major by Claude Arrieu, because it is so quirky, and I love the rich harmonies in the slow movements.

Since its foundation the quintet has raised over £20,000 for various charities, and hopes to keep going for a good while longer. We’ll be celebrating the 50th Wedding Anniversary of Wendy and Michael in 2016.

LINKS:

For accommodating larger size music Michael can recommend

the Stagg extra wide music stand

And the winner of our Beaumont Music flute case competition is... Sonia England!

We recently ran a fantastic flutey give-away on our Facebook Page, courtesy of our lovely friends at Beaumont Music. It was a chance to win one of their fabulous oversized pencil cases flute cases. The winner could choose from the 8 designs available, and we threw in a cleaning cloth too.

So, as you can see, we literally drew the name of the winner out of a hat (a woolen hat of some description, as it happens) and the name we drew out was Sonia England, so very well done to her and many congratulations!

The Midst of Life: Celebrating the Life and Music of Stephen Dodgson

Click here to book tickets

The English composer Stephen Dodgson sadly died earlier this year. He was a prolific English composer, and we were lucky enough to have published a few of his wind pieces.

The pieces we publish are:

• O Swallow! for alto flute & piano
• Bagatelles for clarinet quartet
• Baermann's Treasure & Baermann: The Sequel for clarinet & piano
• Gipsy Songs for mezzo voice, clarinet & piano 

To be published this October:

• Five Occasional Pieces for flute & piano

The Midst of Life: A Hearty Celebration of the Life and Music of Stephen Dodgson, in aid of the MAE Foundation, will take place on Thursday, October 3, 2013 from 7:30pm to 9:30pm at 

St James's Church

197 Piccadilly 

London

W1J 9LL

Click here to book tickets

Featuring:

  

The Tippett String Quartet

John Williams (guitar)

Maggie Cole (harpsichord)

Richard Harvey (recorder)

Zone 6 Brass Quintet

Benedict Cruft (violin) 

 and more... subject to availability.

The Tippett String Quartet, who have recorded all nine of Stephen Dodgson's quartets, and John Williams, who has played his music for 57 years, lead this wide-ranging celebration of his life and work.

This celebration of Stephen Dodgson is raising funds for the MAE Foundation, which aims to provide musical instruments and music teaching to thousands of refugee children from Burma in the jungle refugee camps along the Thai border.

Despite the changes now taking place in Myanmar, the children in these camps -- more than 60,000 of them -- will still be living in temporary, leaf-roofed huts in the jungle for years to come.

The MAE Foundation, set up three years ago by Richard Harvey, a former student of Stephen Dodgson, is already helping more than a thousand of these bright, enthusiastic refugee children learn to play music together.

Launchpad Winners News Update: Ellipsis Wind Quintet and flautist Michael Liu

 

The Ellipsis Quintet
photo credit: stmartin-in-the-fields.org

The Ellipsis Quintet were the Royal Academy of Music Launchpad winners for 2010/2011

Earlier this month, the Ellipsis Wind Quintet, featuring the pianist Chiao-Ying Chang (prize winner of the Leeds International Piano Competition 2003) performed:

• Danzi: Wind Quintet in B-flat Major, Op. 56 No. 1
• Milhaud: La Chemineé du Roi René, Op. 205
• Poulenc: Sextet for Piano and Wind Quintet

at the Picture Gallery, the Foundling Museum in Brunswick Square, London.

Also, earlier this year, Ellipsis Wind Quintet's flautist Michael Liu performed the Khachaturian Flute Concerto at the St John's Smith Square. It was Michael's London concerto debut, and all three movements can be seen here in full:

And here's Michael again, who managed to get himself on TV!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3flp9TySuEE

For more information, please visit: www.EllipsisQuintet.com and www.ChiaoYingChang.com and www.michaelliuflute.com 

 

Emerson Edition Ltd - New Publications - October 2011

Unaccompanied Flute Jazzarhythms Paul Lewis E627 £5.50 Grade 6/7 Duration 8’40” Four new jazzy solos for flute: Teatime Jazz, Birthday Blues, Dotted Waltz and Midnight Rag. ISMN: M-57040-810-8

Flute & Piano Desert Winds Michael Regan E604 £6.50 Grade 7/8 Duration 4’00” An interesting and challenging suite of movements depicting three types of desert wind: Harmattan, Santa Ana and Brickfielder. ISMN: M-57040-811-5

Flute Quartet Sprites Geoffrey Walker E631 £9.50 Grade 7/8 Duration 2’30” A scherzo for flutes – a modern mystical echo of the magical worlds created by composers such as Mendelssohn and Weber. ISMN: M-57040-809-2 score & parts

Clarinet & Piano Brook Green Suite Gustav Holst, arr. Russell Denwood E602 £8.00 Grade 5 Duration c.10’00” Originally written for the string orchestra of St Paul’s School for Girls, this charming suite works brilliantly for clarinet & piano. ISMN: M-57040-783-5

Clarinet & Piano Serenade Frank Bridge, arr. Russell Denwood E624 £6.50 Grade 5/6 Duration 2’40” This is a gorgeous piece for clarinet and piano, adapted from the original for violin/cello, written in 1903. ISMN: M-57040-807-8

Bassoon & Piano Blue Fulvio Caldini E650 £6.00 Grade 8 Duration 4’30” A challenging, but brilliantly written bluesy showpiece for the more advanced bassoonist. ISMN: M-57040-813-9

Bassoon & Piano Autumn Day & Crunch Cat! Eve Barsham E626 £6.00 Grade 2/3 Duration 3’30” Two characterful and contrasting pieces for bassoon – good fun to play and enjoyable to listen to. ISMN: M-57040-805-4

Bassoon & Piano Walking Cimbrone David Dubery E639 £6.50 Grade 6/7 Duration 3’40” A characterful concert piece, written for Graham Salvage and inspired by a stray dog encountered whilst on holiday in Italy. ISMN:M-57040-814-6

Horn & Piano For Leah Arthur P. Barnes E637 £7.50 Grade 6/7 Duration 6’00” Written for his granddaughter’s senior year recital, this new piece by American composer, Arthur P. Barnes, makes an excellent addition to the horn-player’s repertoire. ISMN: M-57040-815-3

Trumpet & Piano An Excursion Gordon Carr E609 £9.50 Grade 8 Duration 10’00” An exciting new work for the more advanced trumpeter – recorded by Simon Cheney on his CD, ‘An English Trumpeter’. ISMN: M-57040-804-7

Clarinet, Bassoon & Piano Eight Pieces Op.83, Volumes 1 & 2 Max Bruch, arr. Russell Denwood Vol.1: E622 Vol.2: E623 £15.00 each Grade 8 Duration 15’30” & 17’30” An excellent arrangement of this wonderful set of Romantic chamber pieces. A new corrected edition of the original (for clarinet, viola & piano) is also published by Emerson Edition. Vol.1 ISMN: M-57040-800-9 score & parts Vol.2 ISMN: M-57040-801-6 score & parts

Wind Quintet Five Madrigals Henk Kox E632 £22.50 Grade 8 Duration 14’30” Not easy to play, but a witty and very effective piece in five movements: Leave the Cities, The White Cottage at the River, Tick-Tack Ticks Walk, Malparthus is Renard’s Home & Cinq Leffes Blondes S’il Vous Plait. ISMN: M-57040-803-0 score & parts

Wind Quintet Six Miniature Pastorals Frank Bridge, arr. Russell Denwood E618 £16.50 Grade 8 Duration 11’30” An arrangement of six of Frank Bridge’s Miniature Pastorals, originally written for piano. ISMN: M-57040-802-3 score & parts

The New Trinity Guildhall Woodwind Syllabus 2012

The new Trinity Guildhall Woodwind Syllabus 2012 is out this week, with new exam lists for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, saxophone and recorder.

They’ve also published two brand new series of books for flute, clarinet and saxophone which will be included on the exam lists: ‘Musical Moments’ is a series of progressive repertoire books, in 5 volumes for each instrument, featuring newly-composed pieces by leading educational composers, plus new arrangements of popular and less well-known repertoire. ‘Mosaics’ is a series of unaccompanied repertoire books containing newly composed solo pieces by Mike Mower and James Rae. As well as addressing specific areas of technique development, these books offer attractive, stand-alone repertoire for beginner to advanced standard players. They’re published in two volumes for each instrument: Book 1 covers Initial-Grade 5 and Book 2 covers Grades 6-8. All the books are listed on the website.