The Magic Continues at CSU Summer Arts

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Body Mapping, Bryan Pezzone, Carol Wincenc, Chamber Music, Composer, create inspire transform, Create Yourself, CSU Summer Arts, CSU Summer Arts 2018, Flute, Ian Clarke, Inspiration, Inspire, John Barcellona, Marianne Gedigian, Music, Nicola Mazzanti, piccolo, Rena Urso, Stephen Kujala, The Complete 21st Century Flutist, Transform, Wendy Caldwell

Two weeks have passed since my course The Complete 21^stCentury Flutist at CSU Summer Arts wrapped up and I’m still riding the wave of Summer Arts magic, miles away in Torino, Italy.

Just like Summer Arts, spending a month in Italy has become another wonderful way to invest in myself and my creativity, feed my soul, create friendships, and discover something new and beautiful. I return to regular life, still wrapped up in all this goodness, feeling rejuvenated and ready for the next adventure.

This summer’s flute course was special. To begin, I encouraged the flute students to make a short intro video of themselves and post it on our private Facebook group so that everyone could get to know a little about one another before arriving at CSU Fresno. It was lovely watching them arrive and connect with one another, like reuniting with an old friend who you haven’t seen in ages. I caught myself getting a little teary eyed a few times, looking around the dining hall on day one, seeing them all there together. You could totally feel their enthusiasm and energy. They bonded pretty quickly and almost immediately were like one, doing everything together – eating, walking, hanging out, watching The Bachelorette at night after classes ended. 

Our days were full; some days our dance cards were filled from breakfast at 7:30 am until heading back to our dorm rooms at 10:30 pm. Most mornings began with Body Mapping, some with warm-up’s both for our bodies and sound, and continued on with masterclasses, workshops, small chamber ensembles, large flute ensemble, round table discussions, and attending events in the evening presented by the various guest artists from the other equally awesome courses taking place simultaneously. We covered so much ground; standard repertoire; Historical Informed Practice (HIP) or Baroque interpretation on modern flute; orchestral and opera excerpts for flute and piccolo; chamber music; ethnic flutes including Pan flutes, penny whistle, recorder, D’izi, and Bonsuri; musician wellness and injury prevention with Body Mapping; fundamentals such as tone, flexibility, color, technique, and etudes; piccolo workshops; extended techniques; exploring our Mozart concerti as a large group; composition … and the list goes on. My friends, who also just so happened to make up the world class team of guest artists, went above and beyond every minute of every day (thank you, all, you guys are the best!); John Barcellona, Ian Clarke, Marianne Gedigian, Stephen Kujala, Nicola Mazzanti, Carol Wincenc, an pianists Wendy Caldwell and Bryan Pezzone. A special shout out to my two teaching assistants, Matt Lopez and Katie Hirabayashi, and a student host, Jose Ledesma.  All great.

One morning during warm-up’s with Carol, we created a simple little video of Moyse’s first melody with variation from 24 Little Melodies, WITH PIANO! This was a first for everyone in the room, as these studies are unaccompanied. Everyone except for Ian, who brought the piano accompaniment which he got from Trevor Wye, with him. Our little video has now had nearly 7k views on Facebook, and counting. (Yay, team!) Tasked with creating a short, simple melody by Ian, I was blown away when I heard what the students came up with. Students I’ve known for some time, and never knew they had an inner composer tucked away inside of them, in addition to their gifts as a flutist. Wow. Watching students have their ‘Ah ha’ moments, breakthrough’s and epiphanies. What these students accomplish in two weeks at Summer Arts is nothing short of amazing.  As a teacher, this is an incredibly gratifying thing to witness. One of my favorite things was to just sit back at our enormous table in the dining hall, and watch them interacting with one another, laughing, chatting away, listening to our various guest artists tell stories, seeing them leave and then quickly return to the table with ‘cookies for the table.’ Another favorite SA moment was when we took over the cafeteria on July 4^thwith a piccolo flash mob, playing Stars and Stripes for everyone. Fun!

Those moments will be forever etched into our minds. The new and special friendships forged. The memories created. All of it, special beyond words.

Then there were the collaborations and sparks of inspiration with the other students from art, dance, theater, creative writing; we all feed off of this inspiration from one another. All of us. The magic of Summer Arts is that we’re all feeling all the feels, they’re not just reserved for the participating students. All of us; the guest artists, course coordinators, staff, board, concert goers, everyone.

After the final Friday night flute student showcase, I was literally stopped by everyone who’s path I intersected with until leaving Sunday morning, telling me how much the flute class inspired their art. And, how they never knew the flute could sound like that. And, how it was the best showcase they’d ever seen in all their Summer Arts experiences. The Summer Arts office even received an email from a concert attendee, gushing about how much he enjoyed our guest artist concert the week before as well as the student showcase. Nicola said he had to keep reminding himself during the student showcase, that it was a student showcase and not a professional flute recital. The pride and happiness I feel for these extraordinary students is overwhelming.

The other part of Summer Arts that’s so great is that I get to hang out with people I really love for two weeks. We get to collaborate, create, inspire, share ideas, tell stories, stay up really late discussing life and teaching philosophies, drink espresso, eat bad cafeteria food, escape from bad cafeteria food and eat great Armenian food, play recitals together, and laugh – a lot.  We presented two phenomenal guest artist recitals, both of which were awesome, to say the least. 

I’ve happily sung the praises for my love of Summer Arts, here, here, here, and here.  It simply never gets old. If the world were a perfect place, I’d get to spend two weeks every summer, creating a special place for flutists, but I’ll be content with every other year. I’ve said this many times but it’s worth saying again; anyone who has ever experience the magic and beauty of Summer Arts, gets it. They wave their Summer Arts flag for all to see. I wave mine with an unparalleled enthusiasm, all the time.

To quote John, the love of my life and fellow Summer Arts course coordinator, “Summer Arts: where one day is like a week and two weeks is like a second.” We’re artists. We create. Sometimes in our day to day lives we forget this, I think, and get bogged down. It’s easy to lose the inspiration, the drive, the thinking outside the box kind of creativity and artistry we need to survive. Summer Arts is a refuge. A place where we can all retreat and be with our people, or in some cases, find our people. And make art. Create, inspire and transform ourselves.

Each Summer Arts experience is truly a unique, once in a life time opportunity. 2020 will be here before we know it, and we’ll embark on our next journey at The Complete 21^stCentury Flutist, with a new team of guest artists and fresh crop of bright, hungry, enthusiastic, talented flutists and artists from all over. All eager to park themselves amongst an equally bright, hungry, enthusiastic, talented group of other visual and performing artists, and do what they do; take it all in, feel inspired and create themselves. For now, I’m going to sit back and relax here in Italy, with a second cup of tea, and let this magnificent landscape feed my soul and inspire me.

 

 

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What’s the big deal about CSU Summer Arts?

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Akira Tana, Ali Ryerson, Art, Baroque Flute, Bob Cole Conservatory of Music, Body Mapping, Bryan Pezzone, California State University Long Beach, Carol Wincenc, Chamber Music, Create Yourself, CSU Summer Arts, CSU Summer Arts 2016, CSULB, CSUMB, Extended Techniques, Flute, Flutist, Ian Clarke, Jazz Flute, Jazz Flute Big Band, John Barcellona, John Wiitala, Muramatsu Flute, Orchestral Auditions, piccolo, Rena Urso-Trapani, Robert Dick, Summer Master Class, The Complete 21st Century Flutist, Wendy Caldwell

This summer I am coordinating a course for CSU Summer Arts entitled “The Complete 21st Century Flutist.” Flutists John Barcellona, Ian Clarke, Robert Dick, Ali Ryerson, Carol Wincenc and myself, along with pianists Bryan Pezzone and Wendy Caldwell, and Ali’s rhythm section mates bassist John Wiitala, and drummer Akira Tana will come together to present a two week course at CSU Monterey Bay. I know, right? Off the charts. This group of artists is serious business.
Two weeks of flute magic in a gorgeous place.
Sounds great, right? But what’s so special about that, aside from the obvious?

Let me tell you my CSU Summer Arts story…

Once upon a time, back in the early 90’s, when flannel shirts were fashionable the first time around and I was a grad student at CSULB, my flute professor came to me part way through my first year and told me he wanted me to attend a summer flute course that he was coordinating. The course would be two weeks long, take place at CSU Humboldt, and the guest artists were Michel Debost and Julius Baker. I can’t recall exactly what I said in that moment, but I’m pretty sure I replied with a very enthusiastic “yes!” before he even finished his sentence. I, along with another CSULB flute student, and a CSULB alumni clarinet student who would attend a chamber music course with the Alexander String Quartet, would all be a part of this awesome summer event. Having only lived in California for just over a year, the road trip alone took my breath away. Three of us made the long 700 mile trek north, and the further we traveled the more beautiful it got. CSU Humboldt is a gorgeous campus, and spending two weeks in this funky (in a good way), green, lush, coastal town, among the giant redwood trees, where the air was clean and crisp and the stars were so bright at night you could reach out and touch them was kind of unbelievable for this Detroit girl, to say the least.
The course was intense. Our days were long, and were made longer by our late night trips to the practice rooms to reinforce what we had learned that day. We didn’t sleep much. I also had the extra responsibility of being John’s assistant, which was an honor, to be sure. None of that seemed to affect me, or anyone else for that matter because we all were fueled by our enthusiasm and the immense creativity that surrounded us. See, while we were doing all things flute, there were all of these other courses taking place, from a variety of genres; theater, dance, visual art, as well as our fellow musician pals who were a part of the chamber music course. We all ate our meals together, most notably with Mr. Baker and Mr. Debost, and listened with rapt attention to their meal time banter. One free afternoon, my professor John invited me over to the coast with the local CSU Humboldt flute professor Betsy, as well as Mr. Baker and Mr. Debost. Are you kidding? I get to hang out with the cool kids? I’ll never forget that afternoon, or the first time I got to see the magnificent Northern California coastal views up close. Then there were the afternoons that my best friend Rachel and I walked Mr. Baker back to his apartment on campus, made him tea, and watched TV with him. Mr. Baker was getting over Lyme’s disease and he appreciated the help and the company. We couldn’t get enough of his stories.
The course was amazing in every way you might imagine. Until that summer, I couldn’t recall a time that I was more inspired. I forged many new friendships with my fellow flute classmates, several of which are not only dear friends to this day but professional colleagues as well.

Two years later, John offered me the same sweet deal to return to Summer Arts. This time, his guest artists were a former teacher of mine and a former DSO colleague of my Dad’s, Ervin Monroe, and Jean-Pierre Rampal. Seriously? 100% yes. Sadly, Mr. Rampal had to cancel because he needed emergency hip surgery, but fortunately, Mr. Baker was available to return a second time. Two more weeks of inspiration and creativity at this beautiful campus once again. Unlike ’93,  several of us CSULB flute students attended in ’95, and we had a ball together. To this day, when I get together with my Summer Arts friends, we reminisce about our time at CSU Humboldt. The bonds we formed are strong and have truly stood the test of time. At both the ’93 and ’95 courses, I felt fortunate to be chosen as a featured student soloist and play chamber music with other flutists who shared my love and enthusiasm for music and learning from these extraordinary musicians. The rich musical experiences and life lessons I gained those two summers at Summer Arts were invaluable, and they helped shape me into a far more creative musician and artist than I was before.

When John approached me 5 years ago and asked me to be a guest artist for another CSU Summer Arts flute course, you can probably guess my reply.
Our course was fantastic. Although I was now a guest artist, part of me felt like a student. We all learned from one another and those two weeks in July 2013 were just as inspirational and musically fulfilling as the summers I spent as a student back in the 90’s. I blogged about that incredible two week course, which you can read here. Suffice to say, I thought my life had truly come full circle… until I was asked to present a course of my own this summer.
If you haven’t noticed by now, I’m downright giddy over my course this summer. If I were a student, I would totally attend this course. Why? Because it’s filled with everything a flutist needs to develop, refine, and create the player they need to be to be successful in today’s music world. Oh, wait. I am attending! Yes!

So, what will we do this time around?
Well, there will be traditional masterclasses covering the standard repertoire for flute and piano, as well as unaccompanied flute, led primarily by Carol Wincenc and Ian Clarke.
Each flute guest artist will share their personal warm-up routines, including their favorite tone and technical studies.
There will be workshops on jazz style, interpretation, and improvisation led by Ali Ryerson, who will also lead everyone in rehearsals with her Jazz Flute Big Band, which will culminate in a final performance at the end of the two weeks.
There will be workshops on extended techniques, led by Ian Clarke and Robert Dick, for all levels, not only the players for whom this is standard practice, but also for the players who are new to contemporary and avant garde music.
John Barcellona, “The Flute Doctor” will teach you how to teach yourselves and your students with his workshops on flute pedagogy.
Having a strong musician wellness component is more vital than ever these days. Over the course of our two weeks together, I will present the full Body Mapping course “What Every Musician Needs to Know About the Body.”
Other workshops and classes will include a cadenza writing workshop, a panel discussion on the various careers in music and tips for how to create or improve yours, masterclasses on Baroque style – both on Traverso and modern flute, piccolo masterclasses, orchestral excerpt classes and tips on how to prepare a professional orchestral audition, chamber music coached by all of the guest artists … and more!

Most nights there are special guest artist events which we’ll all attend.
These events will vary in genre and include art exhibits, speakers, dance performances, and stage combat.  All of these remarkable presentations are open to the public but are free to Summer Arts students. There will be one day off to explore all that Monterey Bay has to offer, and I recommend getting out there and taking it all in. There are so many things to do and see in the area. Rent a bicycle and take a ride along the foot path that takes you around the bay. The fresh air, exercise, and flute-free time will invigorate you! Take advantage of this time. And yes, students, you’ll also get to sit down in the dining hall with these remarkable guest artists and listen to their stories and meal time banter.

Walking path along Monterey Bay in Pacific Grove. Taken last week before heading to rehearsal.

 

Sounds great, right? But you might still be wondering what makes Summer Arts so unique? I’ve heard people say “Wow. Sounds like a great class, but I can’t go this year. I’ll come next time.”
There won’t be a next time. This course is truly a moment in time. This collection of guest artists, and these students, at this campus, with the other courses taking place at this same time, is not something we can duplicate again. Sure, we’ll have another flute class again, but it will likely be different artists, and it will definitely be at a different CSU campus with different students and different courses taking place simultaneously. With all that is available to you, and all the information and opportunities you have access to via the internet as well as other summer flute courses all over the globe, how do you know this one is for you? How do you know this is what you need to do with your summer?
Remember early 90’s Rena, the one who could barely wait to let her professor finish his sentence before jumping up and down saying “YES! I want to go to this class!”?
I just knew. Some little voice inside me or feeling in my gut told me that course had my name written all over it. And it did.
It was life changing.
I just read an interesting and timely article online in Psychology Today entitled “You Need to Practice Being Your Future Self.” In it, the author says a number of things that resonated with me, among them, and perhaps the most applicable to this blog of mine are:
“If you want to be productive, the first question you need to ask yourself is: Who do I want to be? Another question is: Where do I want to go?”
“… if you want to be a writer, you have to spend time writing.”
“…you need to spend time on the future even when there are more important things to do in the present and even when there is no immediately apparent return to your efforts.”

Spending two weeks, immersed in your art, surrounded by other artists and feeding off of their brilliant creativity – not only flutists, but visual artists, dancers, actors, writers – you will learn and understand more about yourself and your craft than ever before. Sometimes you need that quiet creative space to sit in so you can just absorb it. You’ll begin to learn that the same hurdles and creative struggles you face are not unique to you or music. We all share them as artists. And so, we collaborate. We create. We experiment. We open ourselves up to learning something brand new, and we grow. How many times in your life do you imagine that you’ll be able to hit the pause button and escape to a beautiful place where you can focus exclusively on your music?

If you’ve never been to the Monterey Bay area, I have to tell you, it’s spectacular. About once per orchestral season, I have the opportunity to join my friends in the Monterey Symphony and play a week with them in this beautiful place. Being a photography buff, I always take my camera and shoot as much as possible. At least once per season, I make the time to take Highway 1 home to So. Cal, driving through Big Sur, which is A. more beautiful then words can express and B. only about 1 hour south of Monterey Bay. (Side note: remember the part about getting out there and exploring on your free day, this short road trip qualifies for the top of your list!)  It’s usually on these escapades with my camera that I learn something new: being out in nature, taking the time to soak it all in and then bringing it back to my practice room. People from all over the world travel to this magnificent place, and YOU will get to spend TWO WEEKS here, studying, learning, refining, creating, and being.
So, long story short, that’s the big deal.

Don’t you think it’s time you joined us at Summer Arts?