Flutes, books, birds: a New Year miscellany

Various things for 2024

My favourite Paris bookshop

Happy New Year!

If your inbox is anything like mine, right now it’s overflowing with New Year enticements from everyone you may have clicked on over the past year. Although I don’t want to add to that avalanche, there are a few things I would like to share (and which I think really are worth sharing with you).

A rare course availability

Due to a cancellation, I unexpectedly have ONE place on the next

FLUTES IN FRANCE COURSE (MAY 6-10)

Our France courses are usually booked out a year in advance, so this is a rare opportunity to join us. First come, first served, so act quickly! Find out more here.

“A wonderful course… I got so much out of it.”  Julie, Edinburgh

“Such a well-organised and engaging course (not to mention all the wonderful food and wine)… I have returned inspired.” Clare, London

“Your focus on technique and musicianship has really transformed my playing.” Amy, Oxfordshire

UPDATE 1/12/24 COURSE NOW FULL

---

Plus an online opportunity

I also have ONE place in this term’s Friday Flutes course on Zoom. Join me for this friendly weekly class accompanied by John Alley on piano. We meet every Friday at 6pm GMT (19h CET—1pm EST—10am PST). Find out more here.

“I absolutely LOVED the class and learnt so much.” Deborah, Oregon, USA

“Thank you for the interesting, useful and unforgettable sessions.” Kate, Italy

“You work so hard at ensuring everyone is challenged without being daunted.” Elizabeth, Gloucestershire

“A great opportunity to perform and receive feedback—you’ve been so encouraging.” Jane, Hampshire

UPDATE 1/12/24 COURSE NOW FULL

---

And a new project

Last autumn, Radio France broadcast a series about the world’s great orchestral flutists from the French school and beyond. Starting with Gaubert and the French flutists of the early 20th century, every episode includes historical recordings of these great players.

The podcast is full of fascinating material but, of course, it’s in French. I thought the programme deserved to be shared with a wider audience, so over the past couple of months, I’ve been working hard to translate every episode. I’m now excited to bring you the full series transcribed and translated into English, along with all the recordings and my own additional annotations.

I’ll be sharing these podcasts with you every Friday over the next few months, in addition to my usual emails. I really hope you enjoy discovering this wealth of flute music and history. In the first episode, you’ll hear Gaubert himself in 1919 performing his famous Madrigal in a very crackly recording from the archives.

Look out for Great Principal Flutes—the French School #1 in your inbox this Friday, 5 January.

---

It wouldn’t be New Year without a few resolutions

So I thought I’d share some of mine—of the strictly non-fluting variety.

This year I want to get better at recognising birdsong. I’ve recently discovered the amazing Merlin app which uses AI for this. One of the first things I notice when I’m travelling is how the dawn chorus changes from place to place. In France, I hear thrushes and blackbirds, but in Australia, nothing says “home” to me more than the sound of magpies as the sun rises. I’m fascinated by the beauty, variety, and society of birds.

I also adore everything about libraries and bookshops—the silence, the thrilling collision of language and design and ideas, the moments of chance discovery on their shelves. Over the past couple of years I’ve visited some of the world’s most beautiful bookshops: Acqua Alta in Venice, Livraria Lello in Porto, Shakespeare & Co in Paris, Minoa in Istanbul, Libreria in London. In a few weeks’ time, I’ll be in Barcelona where I’ll make a beeline for La Central del Raval. This year I also want to visit Boekhandel Dominicanen in Maastricht and maybe even Cărturești Carusel in Bucharest, just… because. Perhaps one day I’ll write something about my bookshop discoveries.

And then, as always, there’s the house, as we continue restoring our home in southwest France. In spite of some major disruptions last year, the interior is now all but finished, and looking, if I may say, very elegant. It was a great relief to see the back of some rather… umm… bold wallpaper along the way and say farewell to the grey carpet tiles. Stage 5 (or is it 6?) is coming soon as we start work on the 17th century barn, with its stone troughs, bread oven, and donkey mill.

---

Play with us in 2024

• Apply for Flutes in France

• Apply for Friday Flutes

And, of course, to all my flute friends everywhere, I wish you a peaceful, fruitful, and happy New Year.

The hallway restored: the curved walnut stairs and original encaustic tiles are reflected in a 7ft French gilt mirror in the stairwell.