February 2000 — 1

Piccolo Perspectives

February 2000

The New York Flute ClubN E W S L E T T E R

What do Karen Griffen,Jan Gippo and Mary AnnArcher have in common?

They are all playing a wonderfultriple piccolo recital on February 27at 5:30 pm. But that’s not all: Karenand Jan both have Scandinavianparents, and they each have a sonwho is big in hockey and anotherwho writes. Karen and Mary Annboth started piano at age seven andwent to the same college. Mary Annand Jan were both self-taught untillate in high school. Find out moreabout these fascinating playersin the following interviews withAnn Cecil Sterman.

In Concert

Mary Ann Archer, piccoloKaren Griffen, piccolo

Jan Gippo, piccolo

February 27, 20005:30 pm

The Lighthouse111 East 59th Street

Program

Mary Ann Archer…

Karen Griffen…

Jan Gippo…

is the contractedsubstitute at the Met. This interview tookplace in the Met green room in Novem-ber. As we were walking up the stairs wefound we had a mutual, unboundedenthusiasm for cars.

ANN CECIL STERMAN: What was yourfirst car?KAREN GRIFFEN: My first car was aJaguar, a red SK150. I remember takingmy mother for a drive onthese windy roads. Ithad 16-inch wheelsand weighed 3,400pounds, and I wasgoing at about 75 or80 miles an hour and Isaid to her, “Guesshow fast we’re going,”and she said,“Oh, about 50,55.” I said,“We’re going 80.”She said, “Oh, itdoesn’t feel like that.”I don’t drive a realcar for commuting.My real car—the

is secondflute and piccolo with the MetropolitanOpera Orchestra. This interview tookplace next to the opera house, outside,in November. We both sat on the gardenwall, in surprisingly mild weather.

ANN CECIL STERMAN: Your job here isunusual because it’s divided fairly

equally between flute and piccolo. MARY ANN ARCHER: Yes, I get to play a good bit of both, but

I like to playpiccolo.

is principal piccoloplayer with the St. Louis SymphonyOrchestra. This interview took placeon the phone in November. Jan wason his way to the studio to make acommercial, not on piccolo, but withhis mellifluous voice!

ANN CECIL STERMAN: I know you’re onthe radio and hearing your voice, I canhear exactly why.JAN GIPPO: {Laughs} I have to recut acommercial. I’m on the cathedral concert

series board and I do their commercials.

Someone forgot to tell me thatGuido’s pizza is a

sponsor, so I have to go and do

another one.

Interviews by Ann Cecil Sterman

Mary Ann Archer—Piccolo Sonata(with Linda Sweetman-Waters, piano)

—Robert Baska

Spindrift —Ken Venshoof

Karen Griffen—The Elephant and the Fly(with Marcus Rojas, tuba) —H. Kling

Suite for Karen —David Horowitz

Jan Gippo—Suite from Eight Pieces,Opus 59 (1997) —Lowell Liebermann

Sonatina Piccola (1999)(with Martin Amlin, piano)

—Martin Amlin

Eurhythmionics (1997)(with Martin Amlin, piano)

—Stephen R. Kujala

Program subject to change

(Cont’d on page 6)

(Cont’d on page 9)

(Cont’d on page 4)

Jan Gippo Piccolo MasterclassFebruary 26, 2000

Saturday, 3:00–5:00 pmSee Details on Page 3 !

I N T H I S I S S U E

Mary Ann Archer,Karen Griffen, and Jan Gippo ... 1

Interviews withAnn Cecil Sterman

From the President ..................... 2Hey, Ho, Come to the Fair!

New York Flute Fair 2000 .......... 2Checklist

Member Profile ........................... 3Harold Jones

A n n o u n c e m e n t sFlute Happenings ....................... 3Member Announcements ........... 3

2 — NYFC Newsletter

From the President:Hey, Ho, Come to the Fair!

by Patricia SpencerTHE NEW YORK FLUTE CLUB INC.

1999-2000Board of Directors

Patricia Spencer, President

Rie Schmidt, First Vice President

Barli Nugent, Second Vice President

Nancy Toff, Recording Secretary

Susan Lurie, Membership Secretary

Ardith Bondi, Treasurer

Sandra ChurchDarla DixonSusan FriedlanderRochelle ItzenSue Ann KahnMindy KaufmanGerardo LevyDavid WechslerPatricia Zuber

Advisory BoardJulius BakerJeanne BaxtresserHarold JonesEleanor LawrenceLaurence Libin

Past PresidentsGeorges Barrère .................. 1920–1944John Wummer ...................... 1944–1947Milton Wittgenstein ............ 1947–1952Mildred Hunt Wummer ...... 1952–1955Frederick Wilkins ................. 1955–1957Harry H. Moskovitz ............. 1957–1960Paige Brook ........................... 1960–1963Mildred Hunt Wummer ...... 1963–1964Maurice S. Rosen ................ 1964–1967Harry H. Moskovitz ............. 1967–1970Paige Brook ........................... 1970–1973Eleanor Lawrence ............... 1973–1976Harold Jones ........................ 1976–1979Eleanor Lawrence ............... 1979–1982Paige Brook ........................... 1982–1983John Solum ........................... 1983–1986Eleanor Lawrence ............... 1986–1989Sue Ann Kahn ...................... 1989–1992Nancy Toff ............................. 1992–1995Rie Schmidt ........................... 1995–1998

NewsletterKatherine Saenger, Editor

115 Underhill RoadOssining, NY 10562(914) 762-8582saenger@us.ibm.com

Alice Barmore, Designer

125 Christopher St., #4HNew York, NY 10014(212) 675-9706abarmore@compuserve.com

Copyright © 2000 by The New York Flute Club Inc.

All rights reserved.

..

Hispanic flute traditions, flutes from 7000 B.C.E., flutemusic of the future (and how to commission it),flute music of the past—the Flute Fair 2000

promises to be a millennial event, whirling us through asparkling series of events while offering state-of-the-artinstruments and accessories and music and service andcamaraderie. The guest of honor, renowned flutist BonitaBoyd, fits right in with our whirlwind, having toured South

America, Europe, the Far East, Australia, and Latin America, as well as throughoutthe United States.

If you want to touch the future, join composers Roberto Sierra and Joan Tower(both featured on Bonita Boyd’s concert or her most recent CD) for their composers’panel—and go to a special session on commissioning, led by composers ThomasOboe Lee and David Lang. If you want to reach into the past, go to the Baroquedance session (brought back by popular demand)—or go back 9,000 years andhear about the oldest flutes in existence! Piccolo makers’ innovations, an opportu-nity to play in the Flute Choir reading sessions, a masterclass with guest artistBonita Boyd, a special session on preventing muscle injury, and a wondrous arrayof flute wares in the exhibit hall—all this and more.

Opportunities abound for your own participation:❍ NYFC Annual competition. Ages 18-27; winners perform in recital

April 30, 2000, presented by NYFC;❍ Masterclass with Bonita Boyd (contact Patricia Zuber about

remaining openings);❍ Student Flute Ensemble showcase, coordinated by Elly Ball;❍ Flute Choir Reading Session, coordinated by Rochelle Itzen. Open to all!!

For more information about these and other events consult your Flute Fairbrochure, or see details below. The Fair takes place Sunday, March 19, 2000, atUnion Theological Seminary, from 8:30 am to 7:45 pm. Register now.

Piccolo Masterclass alert! Jan Gippo, solo piccolo with the Saint LouisSymphony Orchestra, will offer a masterclass on February 26, 2000. Participantsto be chosen on a first-come-first-served basis. See the announcement on page 3for more details about this special opportunity.

See you there! ❏

New York Flute Fair 2000

Sunday March 19, 20008:30 am–7:45 pm

Union Theological Seminary100 Claremont Avenue (between 120th and 122nd Streets)

Checklist: Have you…❏........received your brochure and registration form?

(If not, call Darla Dixon at (212) 799-0448.)❏........pre-registered by mail? invited a friend?❏........ordered your vegetarian or non-vegetarian box lunch?❏........planned out your day around “must-attend” events?❏........remembered to sign up as a volunteer flute fair helper?

(If not, call Renate Jaerschky at (914) 368-1749.)

February 2000 — 3

FLUTE

HAPPENINGSF E B R U A R Y

M A R C H

February 20, 2000Sunday 3:00 pmMichael Parloff, flute, with DeborahHoffman (harp), Toby Hoffman (viola), andTimothy Cobb (double bass) in a programof music by Bach, Bax, Schulhof, Fauré,Takemitsu, and Ravel.• Manhattan School of Music, 120 Claremont Ave.,NY, NY • Free admission • Info: (212) 749-2802

February 25, 2000Friday 8:00 pm“Flutes and Friends” featuring PatriciaSpencer, Susan Glaser, Geoffrey Kidde,and Martha Boonshaft, flutes; Sonia Grib,harpsichord; Naomi Drucker, clarinet;Blanche Abram, piano; the Hofstra FluteEnsemble and the Hofstra PercussionEnsemble. Works by Loeillet, Jolivet,Honegger, Geoffrey Kidde and HerbertDeutsch.• Monroe Hall, Hofstra Univ., Hempstead, NY• Tickets $15 and $10 • Info: (516) 463-5490

March 14, 2000Tuesday 8:00 pmEleanor Lawrence will play Mozart’s Andanteand Rondo with strings and Ernst von Dohnanyi’sAria for flute and piano and Passacaglia forsolo flute with her group Monomoy Music.Both Dohnanyi pieces were written for anddedicated to Ms. Lawrence, who has recordedthem for Musical Heritage Society.• Weill Recital Hall, 154 West 57th Street, NY, NY• Tickets available at the Carnegie Hall boxoffice or from CarnegieCharge (212) 247-7800

Bradley Garner will give a guest masterclassat Connecticut College in New London onThursday, February 24th from 4:30 to 6:30pm. For further information, call PatriciaHarper at (860) 767-8637.

ANNOUNCEMENTSM E M B E R

C L A S S I F I E D

Members may advertise in this section for $10for up to 320 characters/spaces. Your ad mustbe submitted by hard copy or e-mail—no excep-tions. Name and phone number are required.Deadline is the same as for Happenings submis-sions (see above). Ads must be paid for inadvance. Make checks payable to the New YorkFlute Club and mail to the Newsletter Editor.

Member ProfileHarold JonesNYFC Membersince c.1961President 1976–79

Deadlines forFlute Happenings Columns

Issue Mail Date DeadlineMarch 2000 03/06/00 02/17/00April 2000 04/17/00 03/30/00May 2000 05/08/00 04/20/00

Employment:Recitalist, soloist;freelance musi-cian; flute instruc-tor; founder,musical director and conductor ofThe Antara Ensemble.

Most recent recital/performance:Soloist and conductor of The AntaraEnsemble (November 14, 1999); facultyperformance at the Manhattan Schoolof Music (November 20, 1999).

Career highlights: First flutist with TheJuilliard Orchestra under Jean Morel;soloist at Town Hall with DimitriMitropoulos conducting; performanceswith Bach Aria Group. Soloist withSymphony of the New World (BenjaminSteinberg/Carnegie Hall), The NewYork Sinfonietta (Max Goberman/Carnegie Hall), American SymphonyOrchestra (Leopold Stokowski/CarnegieHall); solo recitals at Alice Tully Hall,CAMI Hall (a NYFC concert), NFAConventions (in NY and San Francisco),Herbst Hall (San Francisco). Recordingsinclude Vivaldi Concerti (with conduc-tor Max Goberman); From Bach toBazzini and Afternoon Fantasies (onAntara Records), and Harold Jones onThe Black Artists Series (PerformanceRecords).

Current flute: Lillian Burkart silver flutewith B foot, sometimes used with aLafin headjoint (with 15% gold alloylip plate and 14 carat red gold crown).Lillian Burkart piccolo.

Influential flute teachers: DavidUnderwood, Lois Schaefer, and JuliusBaker. Most influential: Marcel Moyse.

High School: DuSable High School,Chicago, IL.

Degrees: Diploma in Flute (JuilliardSchool, ’59)

Most notable and/or personally satisfy-ing accomplishment(s): Arion Award(for outstanding musician) fromDuSable H.S.; Outstanding WoodwindAwards from Juilliard, in 1958 and1959, the first two years of the award’sexistence. President of the NYFC(1976–79). Being awarded key to thecity of Jackson, Tennessee. ProducingCDs Let Us Break Bread Together andJust as I Am with Antara Records;founding and directing The AntaraEnsemble.

Favorite practice routines: Breathingand tone warm-ups followed by hisown trill/scale exercises as well asexercises by Moyse and Taffanel-Gaubert.

Interests/hobbies: Tennis, Frenchlanguage, travel, movies, fishing.

Advice for NYFC members: Practiceintelligently. Have good instruction:a teacher who can assist you with boththe musical and technical aspects ofplaying, and one who has your bestinterests at heart. Remember—there isalways room at the top for a playerwith talent, ambition, dedication, anda willingness to sacrifice. ❏

(NYFC member or non-member)

Jan GippoPiccoloMasterclassSaturday February 26th, 20003:00–5:00 pm

The BloomingdaleHouse of Music323 West 108th Street

Participants: $25Auditors: $10

Info: Patricia Zuber at (201) 750-7989 or pgzuber@idt.net

4 — NYFC Newsletter

one I drive around for fun—is a 1957Chevy Bel Air convertible. Turquoisewith a white roof. With the roof downit is awesome. But I still want anotherJaguar. Here’s a picture.

ACS: It’s straight out of the movies!KG: Yes, it’s got white wall tires, powerpack, power steering, which was anoption then.

ACS: When do you drive it?KG: In the summer, the perfect time fora convertible. Now it’s too cold. I won’ttake it out in any kind of weather—ifthe roads are wet. The appraiser gave ita 10/10 and it’s a perfect Beverly Hillsrestoration from the frame up so I don’twant to get any water splashed up intothe undercarriage.

ACS: Tell me about your family.KG: I have two sons and a daughter,two cats, four chickens.

ACS: So you have a rural setup!KG: It’s not really but I try to make itthat way.

ACS: Do you have a lot of land?KG: An acre. Which around here, Ithink, is quite good.

ACS: No wonder you drive fast! {Welaugh.} We’d better get down to busi-ness—how did you begin on flute?KG: I started piano when I was sevenand started flute when I was ten andloved it. When we were in 8th grade Istarted playing piccolo in the band andit was such fun, I just loved it. My banddirector was so happy to have some-body who could play Stars and StripesForever, we played it at every basket-ball game for a year! The band wasgreat. That’s a Midwest thing more thanEast Coast, I think. Bands are more of atradition there.

ACS: Is that why Americans are impec-cable sightreaders?KG: Well, depending on what part ofthe country you come from. I playedthe piano, and after reading Chopinand all those big reaches, one lineon the flute seemed like nothing. Andof course after reading all the high

notes on the piano it seemed nothingto transfer that to the flute. And thankgoodness the flute is in C. I was meanto my sister (she has perfect pitch, too).When she quit the violin she asked mewhat she should play and I said theband needs French horns and she’snever forgiven me.

ACS: Who did you study with?KG: I studied with a student of the firstflutist in the Minneapolis Symphony andshe was in college at the time (and itwas great to start with her because thenI went on to study with Emil Opava, whowas the first flutist in the orchestra). Andhe was great but if I had started withhim I don’t think I would have learnedthe basics as well. I shouldn’t say thisbut I didn’t go to a music school and Iused to think I should have but I don’t

regret it all looking back on it. DominicArgento, who is well known, not somuch in this country but in Europe, wasmy composition and analysis teacher. Ihad wonderful teachers. The orchestrahad three flutes at the time and I used toplay half the season each year I wasthere. I had to sightread some concerts.I got to play with Stravinsky.

ACS: What do you remember about it?KG: I remember playing Rite of Springwith him, and that was special and itwas really exciting! He was an old man.He was a much better composer thanconductor. But how thrilling to be ableto do that. Then I got a job in SanAntonio playing piccolo right out ofcollege. I went down there and JohnCorigliano Sr. was concertmaster downthere, and John Jr. had written a coupleof pieces so we recorded them and itwas fun. I played the Vivaldi piccoloconcerto, I swear it must have been atleast 40 times. {laughs}

ACS: Did you have a mentor?KG: Oh yes! My teachers. I think teachers

are so important beyond teaching youyour instrument; they teach you a wholeway of life and they are so influential inyour attitudes. My piano teacher gradu-ated from Paris conservatory when shewas twelve, had to memorize a hundredpieces, and played for kings and queensall over Europe. She was wonderful, butthe war was bad and they ended upcoming to Minnesota. Her husband wasfriends with the Tolstoy family. It wasfascinating. She bought a PlymouthValiant and she asked me to teach herhow to drive. It was the most frighteningthing I ever did. She was very jealous ofthe flute. I don’t play the piano anymore, but she wanted me to go to theParis Conservatory.

ACS: Did you consider it?KG: No, because my loyalties were already

going to the flute and piccolo. Oh, Ishould say that to make enough moneyto buy my first Powell flute I playedpiano for ballet classes for four years,from 9th through to 12th grade of highschool. And it was great. It was also greatfor sightreading. The teacher had all thisGershwin and all kinds of stuff that I’djust sit down and play. She would say,you pick something that goes with thismovement and that movement. I’d playfor the church choir and I played in a bandand a community orchestra. I was very,very busy. I played the Mozart G majorwith the Minnesota Orchestra when I wasin 12th grade. I didn’t have any free nights.

ACS: Did you work while you were incollege?KG: When I was in college, I had theSK150 coupe, and I used to play calypsoin a bar to get money to pay for my gas.It was so liberating to sit there and playa totally different genre of music, [impro-vising] these calypso solos. They seemedto like it a lot. I would be scared to dothat now but when you’re young and

Karen Griffen(Cont’d from page 1)

“If everyone’s going to sound the same, it’s like having McDonald’s in every corner of the

world instead of…individual local flavor, your own specialty.” —Karen Griffen

February 2000 — 5

single you’ll do anything. (You knowwho’s good at jazz and that’s MikeParloff!) So after two seasons at SanAntonio I got married and I got a raisein San Antonio but [my husband] got ajob in Kansas City so we went to KC.Then they ended up needing a secondflute for a year so I played—sometimesI played first flute and sometimes Iplayed piccolo. It was fun but theywent broke so I figured you go to LAor NY. I went to NY.

ACS: What was it like, breaking intoNew York?KG: I knew some people but I didn’twork very much in the beginning. TheOpera Orchestra of New York was myfirst job here and that was fun. I did thatfor a while. I did some ballet and then Idid some Broadway shows and I liked itand it was fun. I wouldn’t want to do itforever but it was good. And then therewas a piccolo opening in ’73, and theyhad auditions and I won but the piccoloplayer that retired didn’t retire; he cameback for another year because at that pointthey wanted another man in the section.

ACS: We forget those days existed, butthey’re not so long ago.KG: I never thought about it—I thought—well, I play the flute and the piccolo. Iwas warned even by my teacher that itwould be difficult. But I had a littleSwedish stubbornness, I guess. I endedup sightreading a lot of operas duringthat season because he was out for threeor four weeks. That was something I mightnot do again now, but I sightread Otelloon piccolo and I sightread Trojans [LesTroyens] on live radio with Kubelikconducting. I didn’t get the music aheadfor any of this. Sightread Vespri [Siciliani]with Jimmy [Levine], and Gotterdamerungwhich isn’t too much, it’s just long.

ACS: Were you nervous?KG: No! I did it because it was so fun! Ialways wanted to play in the Met opera—not the orchestra so much as the opera.I used to go to the opera—my teacherin Minnesota would take me—and I hadmet some of the people there, so it wasreally fun. The next audition was in thefollowing year and I nearly didn’t gobecause I thought, “They know how Iplay and I’ve sightread so much,” and Irealized that they were the rules and I’dhave to do it. Then I did get the job.

And then I quit after two years [forfamily reasons].

I’ve never really left here—I endedup subbing. Jimmy asked me to comeback a couple of times and the Philhar-monic had asked me to audition but Ifigured I gave up a job already. I couldhave—I’m much stronger now than Iwas then. I got a leave from here as anextra and played at the Philharmonic fora couple of years with Mehta and I did aU.S. tour with Bernstein, which waswonderful. (Oh, I have to tell you,Jeanne Baxtresser and I are from thesame city. I met her mother when shewas playing a piano concerto and shesaid, “You know, my daughter playsflute—you should get together and playduets some time.” So the first time Iplayed with Jeanne at the PhilharmonicI turned to her and I said, “Your Momsaid we should play duets together, andwe finally are!”)

ACS: What percentage of the performancesdo you do?KG: I play mostly second flute. Last yearI did some principal. I do quite a bit ofpiccolo and I love it, of course. This yearI’ve been playing a lot. Maybe it’s tomake up for all those auditions I playedall those years ago. It’s been exciting.I’ve made lots of commercials, lots ofmovie sound tracks, records, quite a bitof recording outside the orchestra, jingles.McDonald’s, Visa and Amex. I love doingones for people I owe money to. {laughs}

ACS: In those early years of flute did youhave flute idols, recordings you listenedto obsessively?KG: No, I didn’t get a turntable oranything to listen on until I wasin 12th grade. I got opera re-cordings right away. Isn’t thatodd? I don’t suppose everybodygrows up with the intention toplay opera. But I would studythese operas and I wouldthink what fun piccoloparts these players have.

ACS: Do you think piccoloplayers need a certainpersonality?KG: Well, you have to loveit. If you don’t love it, itdoesn’t work. And it’s notthe same as playing a flute.Every flute player can play

the piccolo but you have to be a piccoloplayer to be a really good piccolo player.

ACS: How would you define thedifferences?KG: I think probably a real dedicationto spending the time to make it soundthe way you want it to sound. I likesome of the Shostakovich writingbecause it’s melodic and it treats thepiccolo like an instrument—not likesome little funny thing. You haveto recognize that and be willing todevelop that.

ACS: How do you do that?KG: You have to have a particularsound in mind that you want to hearwhen you play and be willing to spendthe time to produce that sound and bewilling to recognize when you are notproducing that.

ACS: How did you form those ideas—that definite sound in your mind?KG: I don’t know for sure. I think whenI played piccolo in the band and itnever occurred to me that the piccoloshouldn’t sound as full and wonderfulas the flute.

ACS: How did you achieve that fullness?KG: It’s so tempting sometimes toproduce a tight closed sound. It shouldbe open and warm, not forced. It takesa lot of support but also you can’t betight. It has to be free and flowing andopen; even the tongued stuff, flashy,soft, beautiful, loud.

ACS: What should aspiring piccoloplayers be practicing to acquire that?

KG: You can always take the flute exercises of anything—the Moyse—any of the flute things

and do the same thing on the piccolo but with the intention

of achieving the same thing on the piccolo. You have to

treat it like a real instru- ment. Be patient, work on the sound. The tendency for most people is to cover too much on the piccolo and make it very small. Turn it away a little

and open up the sound— don’t be too covered and closed and, of course, you

(Cont’d on next page)

6 — NYFC Newsletter

have to always be aware of the pitch.

ACS: So keep the tuner on.KG: Or listen carefully. I don’t have atuner any more, I think my son took it.I think the new piccolos have a betterscale. I’m playing an old Powell and Ifuss with the scale to compensate forthe sound because I love the sound ofthat piccolo. I have a new piccolo too,which is very good. Lillian [Burkart]made it the last year she was at Powell.The scale is better but there’s some-thing about fifty-year-old wood—itmust be fifty-year-old wood. My god, Ihope it doesn’t crack!!

ACS: The last time you played for theFlute Club was ’75.KG: Yes, that was a solo concert; I didthe Vivaldi piccolo concerto with anorchestra. I had no idea that there wasno room for an orchestra!! And then Idid this piece that Dave Matthews wrotefor me and it had a battery of percus-sion. [This time] I’m going to play TheElephant and the Fly [by H. Kling]. It’sout of print and it’s fun. And I’ll beplaying a solo piccolo piece DavidHorowitz is writing for me.

So whenever I can, I schedule myself toplay piccolo.

ACS: Do you divide your practice timeevenly to match?MA: I guess so, yes. After so many yearsit has to be something new or a recitalcoming up that really makes me practicehard. There are so many familiar operas;I don’t need to practice Bohème anymore {laughs} but there’s always anopera coming up that I don’t know andthat keeps me practicing.

ACS: How did you find that you love thepiccolo?MA: It happened in college. My teacherthere was the piccolo player with theCincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Jack

want their embouchure to becomeoverly tight, although I don’t find that itdoes that.

ACS: Speaking about tightening of theembouchure, does switching instrumentsever bother you?MA: Somehow it doesn’t bother me atall. I find that when I’m practicing reallyhard on the piccolo as I am at themoment, my flute playing gets better,too. You have to be more focused onthe piccolo. It seems to carry over intoflute but it doesn’t seem to be detrimen-tal to it at all.

ACS: Are you practicing any particular repertoire on the piccolo at the moment? MA: No, I’m just putting myself through some orchestral excerpts, just for the heck of it—just to keep on top of things and

to keep ready for this recital.I’m trying to find two

ACS: Do you ever find the need to useear plugs?KG: Yes, but I don’t unless we’re doingsomething where I’m really close to thetimpani or the brass.

ACS: You’re playing a Powell so obvi-ously you’re a traditionalist. Last weekEmmanuel Pahud was in town and hewas playing really hard on a new flute.What to do you think about preservingthe old “ooey” sound?KG: I like the warm old sound. Thereare some uses for the flashy things [likewhen some] of the jazz players putthose microphones on their flutes, andI really like it. I get really tired of every-body trying to sound like everybodyelse. There are things that you can takefrom other people, but I think every-body should be open to having theirown individual approach to things andto sound—it makes it more interestingfor everybody. If everyone’s going tosound the same, it’s like havingMcDonald’s in every corner of theworld instead of your own individuallocal flavor, your own specialty. Tome, when you’re playing in ensembleyou’re going to blend. If you’re play-ing second you automatically give upsome of your own individually to

Wellbaum, and I guess I just startedenjoying it. They were asking didanyone play piccolo and everyonewas being honest and saying no, butI’d just bought one so I said, “Yes, Iplay piccolo,” and there I was in theorchestra. When they had an emptychair in the orchestra (when KarenGriffen left), I auditioned and got it.

ACS: Do you think that over the yearspeople have started taking it moreseriously?MA: I think so. There seem to be morepiccolo lovers out there. But I have tosay that there are still fewerflutists who enjoy playingpiccolo than those whoprefer to be just plain flutists.

ACS: Do you think that that’sa product of personality?MA: It could be that they onlywant to concentrate on flute.It might be that they don’t

blend, but I just like the idea of every-body having a thought of their own!{laughs hard}

ACS: How do you reconcile that withhaving to meet people’s presupposed ideasin an audition. Let’s take the recent Metaudition. There were a lot of good playersgoing for that and very few got throughthe first round?KG: I don’t know, I was totally uninvolv-ed with that. I suppose that’s possible.In any audition you just do the bestyou can and you just have to satisfyyourself and you’re either what theywant or you’re not.

ACS: What’s Karen Griffen’s life philoso-phy in a nutshell?KG: My philosophy is to do the bestyou can every day with your life, andenjoy every day and every moment.Think about the future; don’t dwell onthe past unless there are some goodinfluences that you can take somethingfrom. Don’t neglect your daily routine,and be good to yourself every day.

ACS: That’s inspiring!KG: My kids think it’s OK! (All my kidsget along—they all talk to each other andrespect each other. That’s probably mybest job—that my kids get along.) ❏

Mary Ann Archer(Cont’d from page 1)

Karen Griffen(Cont’d from previous page)

February 2000 — 7

pieces I really want to play and so I’mtaking myself through that sort of reper-toire as well. It will be fun to do a piccolorecital—I jumped at the chance to do itbecause I do love to play the instrument.

ACS: Were you encouraged as a child?MA: I started on piano in second grade.I really loved music and a friend wasplaying piano so I asked for lessons andI kept that up through high school. Ipicked up the flute in seventh gradewhen the band program started in myschool and I have to say I was self-taught until my senior year in highschool which is really rather late. Iplayed a lot by myself but I hadn’ttaken lessons until the summer beforemy senior year so I was a late bloomer.

When I got to college Jack Wellbaumhad me write down everything I knewand it was about two solos and oneetude book and hecouldn’t believe it. Hesaid, “Well, we’ll justhave to play catchup,” which we did. SoI’m completely atypical; I didn’t start outwith a high-powered teacher at a youngage. I wouldn’t suggest this for the reader-ship. These days I think start as soon asyou can and get to the best teachers youcan. But it’s nice to know that with areal passion for it (and some talent) youcan still make it if you start a little late.I think that has to do with passion; ifyou’re interested in it, you’ll practice.

ACS: How would you describe yourpersonal philosophy?MA: Hmmm. My personal philosophy isgetting more and more spiritual thesedays. I’m actually about two thirds ofthe way done on a master’s degree inspiritual direction through the EpiscopalSeminary on 9th Avenue and 20th. Andthis year I’ve been hired by my churchto run a spiritual direction group andsome book groups and to help withretreats. And I guess the reading I do inthe pit is spiritual material these days.When I’m taking a course I get a lot ofmy reading done {whispers} “in the pit.”

ACS: In the LONG rests, we hasten to add!MA: Oh yes, in the twenty-five minuterests. Like tonight—I have thirty-fiveminutes out in Tristan. So I think mypersonal philosophy has to includesome spirituality, too. I think that often

where your passion lies is also whereGod wants you to be. So trying to findthose two things often results in happi-ness, and the same direction—in thesame career or life goal.

ACS: Do you find yourself using theparameters of your spiritual practice inyour teaching?MA: Actually I do. Very often seriousstudents on flute also get overly seriousabout everything like making a B in ascience test and I have to be a counselorand explain that life is going to go onand not to get stuck on the little thingsand to relax and enjoy what they’redoing and not to worry about everydetail of what they’re doing. I find thatI’m counseling them too—not heavyduty—but things that will just help themenjoy themselves and their life more.And sometimes that kind of spiritual

direction comes up in the orchestra. Infact I went into this work, this line ofstudy, because people would talk to mea lot about deeper-than-surface-things soI thought, well, if they’re going to talkto me I’d better know what I’m doing.

ACS: So you really feel called to that?MA: I do. It’s not something I’ll quit myday job for (I don’t think spiritualdirectors ever make enough to live on!),but it’s something that completes me asa person, so it’s really important to me.

ACS: Can I ask you what sort of piccoloyou play?MA: Sure! I play a Brannen piccolo anda Brannen flute, too. I’m really happywith both of them.

ACS: Did you start with something older?MA: In high school I bought a usedHaynes flute and thought I was in heaven.I went through a series of differentflutes in college and early on, here atthe Met, settled on this Brannen flute.They numbered it 11 because they keptthe first ten numbers for people in thecompany, but it was the first one thatwas shown at their very first fluteconvention. I stumbled upon it beforethe convention and said that I wantedit and they [let me have it after the

convention]. I really love it. I have aDana Sheridan headjoint on it and thecombination I like very much. So itwas the first one that Brannen sold.

ACS: Would you therefore classify your-self as a modernist as far as sound goes?MA: Yes, I like the new cuts on theheadjoints—the ones that make youmake a big sound quickly without awhole lot of extra resistance. I knowthat the older school was a sweeter,smaller sound with quite a bit ofresistance but I like the ease of themodern cuts. I like the modern scale,too. The modern Cooper scale seemsto play much better in tune with itself.

ACS: Is the orchestra unified in that?MA: Mostly. We all have slightly differ-ent names for it. We all have a versionof the modern scale.

ACS: That leads meto ask you what yourfavorite flute recordsare.MA: It’s been a long

time since I listened to flute records andit’s really hard for me to pick . I canremember live performances that I wasknocked out by, and they were JulieBaker’s who I studied with for twoyears. In masterclasses he would playthe Schumann Romances and it was justbeautiful, and I remember coming tohear him at the Philharmonic when heplayed Afternoon of a Faun and howthe note seemed to come out of thewoodwork and was just glorious. Thoseare the things I remember the most. Hecould really play. It was beautiful.

ACS: Do you remember your lessons withhim with fondness?MA: [Yes…] I have to say that for thetwo years that I worked with him, hewent out of his way to explain things.I’m real grateful for that. I’m sure thatmade the difference between me beinga “flutist” and being a “professionalflutist.” I had graduated from Cincinnatiand I was taking every audition I couldget my hands on, and at the same timeI started taking lessons with Julie. Heused to tell me you just have to learnhow the big boys do it. We feministswouldn’t say that anymore {laughs}, butI knew what he was talking about. He

(Cont’d on next page)

“Anything with piccolo, I like to sparkle on.” —Mary Ann Archer

8 — NYFC Newsletter

was trying to put that last bit of profes-sionalism and polish into my playing,and I really owe a lot to those years oflessons.

ACS: Would you say that he was yourmost influential teacher then?MA: Yes. I think Jack Wellbaum has tobe in that category, too, because hereally started me out with a lot of thebasics. Just from his example of playingpiccolo I learned to love it and to knowthat it could be played beautifully. So Iput both of those teachers up there inthe same category.

ACS: Do you listen to music at home ordo you like to switch music off when youleave the office?MA: Well, it’s funny. Some of the musicI enjoy the most is not flute music—it’sRenaissance music or older music likeGregorian chant. That strikes a chordwith me so I like that kind of music.

ACS: That might tie into your spiritual bent.MA: I think it does. I go back in time whenI hear it and I feel like I’m in some sortof large cathedral. Maybe that’s it—maybeit has a spirituality to it that I like.

ACS: Do you travel much?MA: Not a whole lot. I travel with theorchestra so I’ve been to Japan a coupleof times and to Europe several timesand that’s fun. As a family we go downto Virginia and North Carolina to visitfriends and family. We go whitewaterrafting with the kids.

ACS: You do that!! You’re an adventurer?MA: {Laughing} Yes. Well, my daughteris so I have to keep up with her. If shewants to go over the rapids I have tobe in the boat with her. That’s how Igot started and it actually is very fun.It’s not nearly as scary as you think.

ACS: Tell us about your boots!MA: These have a good story. Our sonis adopted, and when we finalized hisadoption in Texas when he was sixmonths old we were televised by the48 Hours people with Dan Rather. Socameras followed us all over Dallasand we had body mikes on and I hada body-mike on here at the Met whilethey taped a little bit while I was inrehearsal. They came to our house with

Dan asking us questions and when theyfinally turned the cameras off we wereso relieved just not to be on, that we allwent out and bought boots. {Laughs} Sowe all have Texas boots and mine areChili Pepper Red boots! Dan Rather saysthey have to be pointed to be Texasboots so that you can kill a cockroachin the corner.

ACS: Did they choose you to documentbecause you have this position here?MA: No, they didn’t even know that. Theycalled through my [adoption] agency. Itwas the timing of it. They were doing ashow on adoption and at the time moststories were horror stories about parentstrying to get their children back andthey wanted one happy adoption storyso my husband and I said, “Yes, let’sdo it,” because 98% of the time theadoptions go smoothly and they arehappy stories and we thought that wewould be doing a service to show thatmost adoptions go very well.

ACS: How old is your son now?MA: He’s six and a half and my daugh-ter is twelve and a half and they getalong like a big sister and a littlebrother—sometimes great—sometimesnot so great. {laughs}

ACS: What sort of advice do you have forthe whiz kids in college who are goingto be coming through and doing theauditions? What advice, perhaps speak-ing from your spiritual angle do youhave, because that might be different?MA: Well, besides practicing a lot, Ithink it’s important to find the personal-ity of each piece or excerpt that you’replaying—not just how fast you can playit or how showy it can be but what’sthe mood of it—what’s the personality.When I’m preparing for a recital orwhen I’m helping students get ready tohave them get past some of the stagefright I often say what you’re doing isshowing how wonderful this piece is—saying, “Isn’t this great?…isn’t thismysterious?…isn’t this grandiose?” orwhatever mood it is. If you can concen-trate on getting that mood across,sometimes it puts less pressure on youbecause you’re not saying, “Look howgreat I am.” You’re saying, “Look howgreat this piece is.” It’s also, “Look howwonderfully I can play it,” but it’s alsobeyond that.

I found from practical experiencethe more auditions you take in a row,the better you get at them. I wouldlisten to people warming up and stealwhatever good ideas I heard. I’d say,“Oooh I like the way they did that.”Then I’d go home and try to incorpo-rate that into what I could do.

ACS: Had you done many auditionsbefore you won this one?MA: Yes, I took a dozen auditions overabout three or four years. Everythingthat came open in that post-collegeperiod. I was playing in an orchestra inNorfolk, Virginia and in an operacompany, too but it was definitely part-time and I needed something more. Iwas doing enough teaching to supple-ment my income but I wanted to domore playing. I would get closer andcloser the more I took.

I won this one because I didn’t wantto live in New York and I wasn’t nervousat the finals. I got into the finals andthat was all I wanted to do. I said,“Fine, I don’t want to live here but Iwant to play well in this round,” so Iwasn’t nervous and so I played welland I got the job. Also, I didn’t hearany piccolo playing I liked better thatday and we had to play both instruments.So I think it helped to play good piccolo.Piccolo’s been very, very good to me.

ACS: How do you feel about NYC now?MA: Oh, I’m fine. I’m so glad to behere and I’m so glad I got the job. Ilived in the city for about five yearsand then I moved out to the suburbsand I like living in the suburbs better,but having a job in NYC is great.

ACS: Is there anything you get excitedabout here when you see it coming upon the program?MA: Anything with piccolo…thingsthat I’ve never gotten to do before likeDaphnis and Chloë and Semiramide.It’s really exciting that we get to doall the great opera stuff. We just didOtello. Anything with piccolo, I liketo sparkle on. Even the Donizetti stuff.But we also get to do this symphonicrepertoire which I haven’t played thatmuch because for many years here atthe Met we just did opera. So I thinkthat’s some of the most exciting stuff.The Bartók Concerto for Orchestra iscoming up.

Mary Ann Archer(Cont’d from previous page)

February 2000 — 9

We do three Carnegie concerts ayear and sometimes touring. Last yearwe toured Europe just with symphonicrepertoire, and that’s a lot of fun for theplayers. All the stuff you practiced foryears you finally get to perform.

ACS: Could you talk a little about theunique aspects of piccolo playingpsychology. You’re out there, right ontop of the orchestra and there’s nohiding…MA: You can’t try to hide—you have tojust play, but I think you can develop atone that’s sweet enough that it blendsand you have to really really fine tunethe intonation. You can play in tuneand play with an abrasive sound andit won’t sound in tune so I think thesweetness of the sound makes a bigdifference. I’m constantly trying to dobetter and better at that because you’reso noticeable. So I’m always trying toplay with the sweetest sound possibleand with the best intonation withwhat’s going on around me that I can.It’s not like you tune once and you’rethere—you need to listen to everychord and asking yourself, does itneed to go up does it need to godown. To be able to adjust quickly.

ACS: That’s something you can onlypractice on the job. You couldn’tachieve that with a tuner.MA: Yes, that’s what makes it so hardfor young kids who aren’t playing inan orchestra so much. You can practice,but you learn most of that on the job.

ACS: Do you ever practice with ear plugs?MA: No, it never bothers me. I have a

funny story about my husband. Weused to live six blocks north of here ina one-bedroom apartment and I wouldsit on the edge of the bed and playpiccolo and he would fall asleep in thebed, so we figured that it was a mar-riage made in heaven because if youcan do that—you’re set for life. Itdoesn’t bother my ears and I’ve hadmy hearing checked just last year andit’s fine. I even like the high notesalthough I don’t practice over and overon high A’s, B’s and C’s—that wouldget wearing. I think still that it’s afunction of the quality of the sound. Ifit’s centered and sweet, it doesn’t hurt.

ACS: Is there anything you’d like tosay—anything you’d like to see in printfor flute players to read?MA: Yes. I think over the years thatfor me, having interests, passions, inaddition to music, makes my musicmaking deeper and better and I knowthat there is a tendency in conservato-ries to just play the flute and you dohave to spend hours perfecting yourcraft but I think that having passionsoutside of it, interests in different typesof music and completely differentareas, rounds you out as a personand makes you more communicativeas an artist when you perform. So Iwould say, “Diversify!”—if you feeldrawn to those things, try to do thosein addition.

ACS: So what are some of your otherpassions?MA: Besides the spiritual direction: Ilove to garden. I love to decorate. Andright now I’m enjoying my childrengrow, and being there enough for themso that we can talk as they grow up. ❏

ACS: Is that something you do profes-sionally as well?JG: Yes. Someone from the stationheard me [doing our radio marathon forfriends of the orchestra, years ago] andsaid they wanted to have somethingcalled “Notes on Music,” a five-minute

show with a sponsor. We did that for ayear and then we changedsponsor and did a showcalled, “Jan Gippo atLarge.” It was twice aweek for two-and-a-half minutesand lasted twoor three years.Then theywanted todo a live

Jan Gippo(Cont’d from page 1)

Mary Ann Archer(Cont’d from previous page)

(Cont’d on next page)

broadcast chamber music program and broadcast it from the Missouri Botanical Gardens and that’s what we’ve done.

ACS: How wonderful to see that genre return. It was so in vogue in the ’60s, wasn’t it? JG: Yes, it was. This is our 14th

season and we’re still going. It’s called “From the Garden—Live!”

and I’ve been doing that on the radio for 14 years. We have three sponsors plus a

corporate sponsor and it’s the only classical thing that I

know that makes [a 50% profit]. Thepeople at the station don’t reallyunderstand it, because they’ve neverknown a classical program like this tobreak even.

ACS: Your father was director of theNorwegian National Theater.JG: He was an actor and was doingwell and then the war came and hefled to Sweden along with my mother.Her entire family was killed by theNazis. They had been transported toAuschwitz. She wrote a book [calledCrossroads] about how about how theunderground helped her get out. Shewalked to Sweden where she met myDad. He was a Norwegian refugee.Dad went off to be in the Norwegianarmy which was in exile in St. Andrews,Scotland, where the King was. They’dfinally regrouped when the war cameto an end so he didn’t see any action.Then they came over here and arrivedin 1946.

ACS: Were you encouraged as a child?JG: Yes, my father was a violinist.When we moved down to Concord[CA], he started the Diablo Symphony!The California Symphony (based inWalnut Creek) is its professionaloffshoot.

ACS: When did piccolo take your favor?JG: Being in the small town of KlamathFalls, Oregon, you play in a band.There was a big school orchestra butI was a young kid. I played piccolobecause I didn’t want to march withmy Haynes flute. Then I went off toNew England Conservatory to Doriot[Anthony Dwyer] and then to Lois[Schaefer] at the end of my senior year.

10 — NYFC Newsletter

else is doing—a pedagogy of thepiccolo. [This has lead to] some tech-niques which are really very good forflute and for piccolo.

ACS: Are you talking about air, embou-chure, angle of air…?JG: It has to do with posture. It has todo with body-focus. It has a lot to dowith where you place the sound inyour back, how you stand, how youbreathe. Ninety-five percent of theflutists in this country say they usediaphragmatic breath, but I don’t thinkthey understand what that means.Diaphragmatic breathing doesn’t meanjust taking a breath from the diaphragm.I can show what it’s all about and [howit provides] the strength to produce

what I call thesophisticated sound.

ACS: Tell us aboutyour search for theperfect sound.JG: [At one point] Iwas so intent on

playing this big sound that I’d forgottento blend and so forth. When I wokeup, I started talking to some of mycolleagues [about sound]. One dayPeter Bowman, our first oboist, said[the words] “dolce in the sound.” Andthen it hit me like a ton of bricks. Ithought, “I’ve got to get dolce in thesound.” Of course it was sort impliedthat you do that on flute, and I’dalways done that on flute, but some-how it didn’t transfer to piccolo. It tookabout another four years before I reallystarted getting the sound [I wanted],and then one day it just popped.

ACS: You’re known for championing thepiccolo, and as a prolific commissionerof piccolo music. Tell us about that.JG: Most of the work was gettingpassed around to the three otherflutists, and the only thing I would beasked do was the Vivaldi [piccoloconcerto]. I was doing those once ayear and I just finally got exasperated.In 1986 I went to the National FluteAssociation in their San Diego conven-tion and I said we need a piccolocommittee to promote the piccolo. Igave them five areas that I wanted towork on: creating music, a Young ArtistCompetition, more performance ofpiccolo at the conventions, a list or

she took my flute and tried to play itand she said, “Yes, this is a difficultinstrument to play but you’re just goingto have to learn how to play it.” In the’60s there weren’t 45 different flutesthat you could try and eight differentheadjoints from every maker. Therewas one flute and one headjoint… orHaynes.

After two years, Doriot decided shedidn’t want to teach me anymore and Ihad to get another teacher or I wouldbe drafted. They were now draftingeverybody—the war was at its height.So they gave me to Lois Schaefer. Andone night when my roommates and Iwere having a dinner party and I wascrying about how I wasn’t doing very

well, my date said, “Well, why don’tyou try the Haynes.” I played it, and itplayed beautifully. It wasn’t the soundI wanted, but it became very obviousto me that headjoints are 90% of theinstrument. So I went down to Powellthe next day and talked with DickJerome and said, “Make me a headjointthat looks exactly like this one,” and hesaid, “Well, I’ll do the best I can.” Hedid and I went to Lois and three yearslater I got this job. It really was that—just changing the headjoint.

What I found out about three yearslater was that a new person at Powellhad taken the stack which they sol-dered onto the rounded lip plate, andput it in backwards so it was almosttwice as long as it should have been. Itwas unplayable.

ACS: So you do think that being handi-capped so severely gave you a distinctadvantage in the long run?JG: Oh yes, in the sense that I can nowsolve almost everybody’s problems. Atleast I can analyze them. When youhear my masterclass, much of what I’mgoing to say is about how to play thepiccolo and the sophisticated sound ofthe piccolo, which is my niche, I guess.That’s what I’m bringing to it, I believe,something that I don’t believe anybody

I came back as Frank Battisti’s assistantin wind ensemble conducting and windliterature and I have my master’s degreein that also. I continued to work withLois. The Portland, Maine Symphonyneeded a piccolo, so I auditioned andwon. Then a year later I auditionedfor the St. Louis Symphony and wonthat. So it was fortuitous that I playedpiccolo and that the positions open atthe time were piccolo positions.

ACS: What was it like to study withDoriot?JG: Doriot was a very intense, verydemanding woman. In her life she wasthat way, too, althoughshe did have a side ofher that was not thatway with her colleagues.I learned a great dealfrom her. All I did in thefirst year was play theHandel sonata in F major.The rest was exercises from Taffaneland Gaubert and my lessons wouldconsist of learning posture and produc-ing the kind of sound she wanted. Theidea was more of an American-typesound from Mariano because she hadstudied with him rather than the Frenchstyle which had gone around throughBarrère and Moyse.

Prior to coming to the New EnglandConservatory (and this is some of myproblem) I had been in VISTA (Volun-teers in Service to America). Johnsoncreated a Peace Corps that would goout into America and help the poor. Igot drafted in May of that year butbecause I was in VISTA we got studentdeferments. Right after that I had toaudition for New England Conservatoryand get in so that I could continue mydeferment, and I did.

During that time I got a new Powell[special ordered with] a larger embou-chure hole. I couldn’t play it. I thoughtthat it was because I took a year off,[…because, after all,…] this was aPowell flute. This was what I went toDoriot with for two years. I didn’t thinkthere was anything wrong and she said,“Well, if you can’t play a Powell, youcan’t play the flute. Do something else—become an auto mechanic.” One day

“You can’t come to the piccolo as though you’re spitting a bit of popcornout of your mouth.” —Jan Gippo

Jan Gippo(Cont’d from previous page)

February 2000 — 11

piccolo. And playing with dolce in thesound—lots of vibrato and playing aconcerto that shows a lot of musicalityon the instrument and making theinstrument a solo instrument.

ACS: Which concerto would be good foran audition?JG: Oh the Liebermann—the one Icommissioned. The opening line—it’sabsolutely wonderful. And then thebeautiful second subject in which youcan play beautifully and light to showthat you’ve got all kinds of lyrical ability.You have to do that boldly. You can’tcome to the piccolo as though you’respitting a bit of popcorn out of yourmouth.

ACS: How do you feel about old instru-ments versus new?JG: The older instruments do not havethe right scale. We all know they playout of tune. That’s why I devised thefingering chart and why I write forFlute Talk. The fingering chart showsprimary fingering and the 47 otherfingerings [needed] because the piccolois difficult to play and because thereare intonation problems. (We’re hopingto get a book out of it. I have a ream ofpaper which is becoming a book of trillsand tremolos and fingerings for thepiccolo, which we’re going to publish.)The second thing is that the embouchureholes on the old piccolos are too smallto do what I think needs to be done toget a really sophisticated sound.

Having said that—why are veryfine piccolo players in this country,respected piccolo players in fineorchestras, playing very old Powellsand very old Haynes? Because theyhave a great sound. I play a 1918Haynes. I’ve never played on a piccolowith such a phenomenal sound and I’mstill looking. I’m convinced that thereason we keep going back to the oldPowell flutes from the 40s and 50s isbecause the wood in the piccolo andthe metal in the flutes have aged andthat aging process has mellowed thesound. You have to work hard atgetting a mellow sound from the newinstruments, and you have to play thema little differently. People are buyingthe new flutes, but they’re not reallyhappy with the sound in orchestra andchamber music situations. That’s why I

catalog and library of piccolo music,and restoration of the music of thegolden age of the piccolo from 1880sto 1930s. So they created a piccolocommittee.

Jerry Carey, who was going to bethe program chairman in the 1989convention in New Orleans, wanted apiccolo concert so I started commis-sioning. Marilyn Bliss wrote us a piececalled Rima. During that time I also gotin contact with Thea Musgrave. [Herpiece] is standard now; you have toplay this piece and everybody does.We now have a catalog 13 pages long,at least 300 pieces. At least 150 can beplayed by professionals at recitals.

ACS: Was the Persichetti your firstcommission?JG: The first time I met VincentPersichetti I said, “Would you write apiccolo piece? We have flute pieces, butwe have nothing for piccolo.” He said,“Well as a matter of fact I have some-thing in the works—I’ll send it to you.”About two or three months later hesent me a piece and it’s called ParableNumber 12, and he has written on it,“Here’s the piece I promised you.” Idid not commission it. I want that to beclear because ten to fifteen years laterthis is going to become my claim tofame. If I have any, it will be that Icommission a lot of piccolo pieces. Iwent looking for more piccolo musicand there just wasn’t any. Will GayBottje wrote piccolo concerto in 1955and Wilfred Kujala had the orchestralpart reduced for piano. So there wereabout four pieces. So I started in 1984,after twelve years of thinking “What’sgoing on?”

ACS: What is the secret of a goodaudition?JG: Auditions are different from playingthe job. In an audition you have to gettheir attention, and the way to do thatis to have a huge low register, abrilliant high register but be able toplay very, very softly up high. Ofcourse, entry level is playing perfectly—all the notes and rhythms perfectly andthen playing very loud down low andhaving a full rich sound EVEN when issays piano. You’ll never lose anaudition playing forte when it sayspiano when you go down low on the

Ann Cecil Sterman is a freelance flutistliving in New York. She recently moved fromAustralia where she holds a six-CD solorecording contract with the AustralianBroadcasting Corporation, distributed byEMI. In New York she has played for CBS TV,on off-Broadway and with the Philip GlassEnsemble. ❏

have a Powell 436 [flute] made in1942—it’s got this gorgeous, wonderfulsound. I use a modern headjoint butthe body makes this wonderful shim-mery sound.

ACS: So you would neither classifyyourself as a modernist or a traditional-ist regarding sound. You’re looking fora hybrid?JG: Well, I would call myself a tradition-alist when I’m looking for the classicsound that blends in an orchestra, andwe all are. The modern sound doesn’tblend with oboes and French hornsand so forth. When you get into anorchestra you just look for an instrumentthat’s not like a solo instrument. Usinga platinum Muramatsu flute as a secondflutist won’t work. If you’re playingsomething that cuts through anything,it won’t blend and people won’t like it;flutists know this. So I think all orches-tral flutist are traditionalists.

ACS: Do you have time for any hobbiesthat are not music-related?JG: I love to read about the Dead SeaScrolls and all the types of papyruswritten from 200 B.C.E. to 200 C.E.There’s a whole bunch of scholarlywork on that. I have almost 100 booksabout it and if I took a sabbatical Iwould study it. For summer vacationsI take a bike and I ride all over Wiscon-sin on trails. I like to fly fish.

ACS: Do you have a personal philosophyin a nutshell?JG: What a wonderful question, I’venever been asked that. I guess in anutshell it has to be a 1973 poster fromthe Australian News Bureau that showsa koala, and you know how sleepythey are. There’s a Ralph WaldoEmerson quote which says, “Nothinggreat was ever achieved withoutenthusiasm.” I do have a lot of energy,and everything I do—I do with enthusi-asm. Who on earth would think tochampion the piccolo!

�

12 — NYFC Newsletter

February and April concerts are at THE LIGHTHOUSE, 111 East 59th Street. If you need further information,please call (212) 799-0448.

The New York Flute ClubP.O. Box 20613 • New York, NY 10025-1515

N E W S L E T T E R

October 17, 1999 • Sunday 5:30 pmTIMOTHY HUTCHINS, flute

November 21, 1999 • Sunday 5:30 pmMARK SPARKS, flute

December 12, 1999 • Sunday 5:30 pmJOSHUA SMITH, flute

January 30, 2000 • Sunday 5:30 pmJUBAL TRIO, Sue Ann Kahn, flute; ChristineSchadeberg, soprano; Susan Jolles, harp

February 27, 2000 • Sunday 5:30 pmPICCOLO EVENING Mary Ann Archer, piccolo; Jan Gippo, piccolo; Karen Griffen, piccoloat The Lighthouse, 111 East 59th Street

March 19, 2000 • Sunday 9:00 am–8:00 pmSIXTH ANNUAL FLUTE FAIRGuest Artist, BONITA BOYDUnion Theological Seminary; 100 ClaremontAve. (between 120th & 122nd Streets)

April 30, 2000 • Sunday 5:302000 NYFC COMPETITION WINNERSat The Lighthouse, 111 East 59th Street

May 21, 2000 • Sunday 3:00 pmENSEMBLE PROGRAM CONCERTat the Kaplan Space at Carnegie Hall

1999–2000 Concert Season

Katherine Saenger saenger@us.ibm.com

From the Editor:

Greetings! February brings us three wonderful interviews by Ann Cecil Sterman, withpiccoloists Karen Griffen, Mary Ann Archer, and Jan Gippo. I found myself wanting to share theircolorful stories and anecdotes with my non-flutist friends, and you probably will, too.

The back-and-forth editing for the Newsletter interviews is typically done by e-mail. However,this time the editorial e-mail traveled a bit further around the globe than usual, since Ann hasbeen in her native Australia for the past month. She sent weather reports along with her edits—itmay be winter in New York, but it’s summer in Australia, and very hot.

Space constraints in this issue (despite our longer 12-page format) left no room for a MemberPerspectives column this month, but it should be back again in March.

Hope you’ve all registered for New York Flute Fair 2000, to be held on March 19. We havea Flute Fair checklist on page 2 of this issue, along with a message from Pat Spencer on somecoming Flute Fair attractions. Participant slots are still available for Bonita Boyd’s Flute Fairmasterclass (contact: Patricia Zuber at (201) 750-7989 or pgzuber@idt.net) as well as for JanGippo’s on February 26 (same contact).

In the works for the March Newsletter is an interview with Flute Fair guest artist Bonita Boyd. However, in a change from the original schedule, Rochester-based flutist Glennda Dove Pellitto will be the interviewer. Enjoy!

Regards,