BOULDER WEEKLY: Magic flutes, golden flutes and flutists of all ages
From Sir James Galway to CU Opera, a week of flutes at CU
There will be many kinds of flutes at the University of Colorado Boulder next week: Magic, golden, and from piccolo to bass.
The central event will be a two-day meeting of flutists at the College of Music, Tuesday and Wednesday, March 21–22. Under the title “Once a Flutist: Rekindling the flutist within,” this free event is open to flutists young and old.
The culminating events will be a masterclass for CU flute students with Sir James Galway —“The Man with the Golden Flute” — at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday in Grusin Music Hall, and a concert by Galway and his wife, Lady Jeanne Galway, Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in Macky Auditorium.
Sir James Galway, who has recorded just about the entire classical flute repertoire, has performed with Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell and Sir Elton John, and recorded film music for The Lord of Rings, is one of the world’s best known musicians of any genre.
But before all of that gets underway, CU’s Eklund Opera Program will set the scene with Mozart’s Magic Flute, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, March 17–19, in Macky Auditorium.
Christina Jennings organized “Once a Flutist” to celebrate her 10th year teaching flute at CU.
“There are a lot of flute players out there,” she says. “I can’t tell you how many times [I’ve met] people who say, ‘I used to play the flute!’ Or ‘My daughter plays the flute!’
“The idea for this festival came from that.”
Thinking “once a flutist, always a flutist,” she decided to “rekindle the flutist within” for both current and former players. In addition to her own 18 students at CU, participants will include students as young as kindergarten, 30 CU alumni, members of the Colorado Flute Association, College of Music faculty and staff, and other flutists from around the country. With the list growing every day, “I don’t know how many people to expect,” Jennings says.
Jennings will play a recital March 21 for the College of Music “Faculty Tuesdays” series, at 7:30 p.m. in Grusin Hall. But she will not hog the stage: appearing with her will be a flute orchestra of no fewer than 60 players, all on the Grusin stage.
As part of the two-day event, there will be 40 “Little Galways,” young flutists in grades kindergarten through eighth who will have the chance to rehearse and perform with Galway himself. Unsurprisingly, that group filled up almost as soon as it was announced.