The Art of the Flute Choir

When Mary asked if I would write a column on flute choirs for Flute Focus, I was hesitant. I do not feel like I am an authority, however when I think of all my years of practical experience I realized that perhaps I do have something to say.

I started working with flute choirs in the late 1980’s in Palo Alto, California. The El Camino Youth Symphony administrators had the vision and foresight to agree that a flute choir program in conjunction with the youth symphony made good sense. The student flutists in the area were not being well served by the symphony program. With only four flute chairs in the youth symphony, dozens of flutists were being turned away after auditioning each season. These were students who played well and probably would have been admitted if they played violin instead of flute. Thus, the youth symphony hired a director and launched a flute choir program. It was a unique pairing; the youth symphony support included concerts as well as tours where the flute choir was featured along with the symphony.

I moved from California to Anchorage, Alaska and in 1999 I was approached by a local flute teacher who asked if I would take over the defunct Anchorage Flute Choir. This flute choir had originally been a community group for flutists of all ages, but had dwindled away. I agreed to take on the project. At that time it was only a small group of young students. That was eleven years ago, now there are four flute choirs providing opportunities for flute players of all ages and ability levels with four conductors and an international touring program.

Keeping the touchstone of what is appropriate for the students.

What have I seen? After eleven years of running the Arctic Wind Flute Choir program at the Alaska Flute Studies Center, there is definite change in the overall standard of flute performance in the community. My first step when I took on the project was to split the group into two ensembles. We began with a junior flute choir for early intermediate players and advanced ensemble for the upper high school (to age 18) students. The logic with this strategy was to give the younger students a specific goal to strive towards.

Now, the Alaska Flute Studies Center has a preparatory ensemble for beginners, the junior flute choir plays at the level the advanced group used to be and the advanced ensemble performs at a university level. In the last few years there have been additional changes. With the economy being what it is there was serious concern about whether the program would endure. However, what we found was that more students were opting to stay in the area rather than leave for university. Plus, they desperately wanted to continue playing with the group. As of the fall semester 2010 we took the age restriction off the advanced ensemble so university players could continue in the program.

Arctic Wind Preparatory Flute Choir:

Admission requirements: knowledge of a few notes and the ability to play quarter, half and whole note (i.e. crotchets, minims and semibreves).

Arctic Wind Junior Flute Choir:

Admission requirements: All major scales up to four sharps and four flats, one or two octaves, present a prepared piece and can sight read in 6/8 time.

Arctic Wind Flute Choir (the advanced ensemble):

All major scales 2 octaves, a prepared piece at least level 4, advanced ability to sight read.

Northwind Flute Choir:

The adult ensemble has no audition. They meet every other week on Monday evening and insist that no one require them to practice!

With only occasional breaks, I have been working with flute choirs for almost 25 years. During this time there has been a distinct change in attitude towards the flute choir ensembles. Initially, they were considered to be secondary to the youth symphony program and simply for students that ‘couldn’t make it.’ Now, there is a prestige associated with the high level of performance maintained by these ensembles and we are seeing students opting to perform with the Arctic Wind Flute Choir instead of the local youth symphony. In addition, with the advanced training students develop true skill in intonation, balance and blend, as well as tone and technique. These are the students who now win a preponderance of the local and regional competitions.

I am pleased to be asked to contribute my comments on Flute Choirs for Flute Focus. In subsequent articles I will cover topics on the details of running such a program. It isn’t so hard to do as long as you keep your eye on what is truly best for helping each student learn and grow in ability and confidence.

Next article: “Why Start A Flute Choir?”

Barbara Eberhart has over 30 years of experience as a flute teacher, performer and conductor. Barbara lives in Anchorage where she is Director of the Alaska Flute Studies Center, maintains a private flute studio and directs the Arctic Wind Flute Choir, a flute ensemble for students grades 7-12. Other interests include sky and scuba diving.