Flute Pro Shop's First Annual December Sale!

What's under YOUR Christmas Tree?  We hope a new flute, piccolo, or alto flute!  At these prices, you will free your "Inner Santa" and make all the flutists on your list swoon with delight!  Check it out at www.fluteproshop.com/events  Prices good for internet, email and in-store purchases.  Sale dates are November 26 to December 31, 2011.  One purchase per customer only.

The Pittsburgh Flute Academy

The Flute Academy in Pittsburgh is the creation of the enthusiastic and energetic Wendy Webb Kumer, shown conducting above.  Saturday morning I arrived to set up the Flute Pro Shop display. An orange traffic cone with my name on it greeted me, reserving the prime space next to the door.  A great big favor, trust me.  In the hall, City Flutes, an ensemble of adult flutists, were sightreading their Christmas program music, and sounding very good in the process.  Wendy's blend of humor, thoughtful corrections, and stories about the music, made the set up entertaining for me.

 
Soon, the high school flute group joined the adults (shown above), and the ensemble grew in size and sound.  And finally, the youngest students came in.  At that time, Wendy was marshaling the forces of 40+ flutists of all ages.  Amazing.

Wendy provided lunch, and the entire group descended on the display tables.  Great fun as folks chose their favorite FluterScooter bags, B/G products, Flute Flags, K&M flute stands, music, and flutes.  

An unexpected treat: I saw old friends, Joe and Stacey, who even helped in the clean up process. 

Many talented flutists contribute to our art form.  Wendy is one of them.  She is a terrific flutist who has dedicated herself to her teaching studio and the Flute Academy.  So many there on Saturday told me how much this program means to them, how this is why they are still playing the flute.  Way to go, Wendy!

Hijacked!

Very early last Tuesday morning, my email was hacked and destroyed my ability to access my email, Face book page, my blog, and more.   This lasted more than a week.  Gmail took 6 days to respond to my "I suspect my computer has been hacked" posting to their "Help" page.  Gmail has no human contact potential for these incidents.

The most malicious act: every single address in my contact list was altered.  The letters "ae" were inserted before the @ sign.  All 2,716 contacts.  Nice.

So, Hackers: read this. Not sure what you expected to gain from all of this mayhem, but aside from a little labor-intensive time to recreate my on line life, and using the hard copies and spreadsheets on the Flute Pro Shop computers, we are back and better than ever. 


I have learned a few things I would like to share so that others don't have to go through the same insanity:
1.  When you are not on your email page, shut it down.  Don't leave it signed on when the computer is in "sleep" mode.
2.  Use G-mail's 2-step verification.
3.  Don't use an unsecured public network. IE: airport, cafe, or hotel.
4.  Back up everything!
5.  Make sure your router's security is up to date and turned on.
6.  Invest in the best firewall protection out there.

I am wondering: what if all this creativity and technological know-how were to be used for something positive in the world?

Hmm...

West Virginia University: Flute Fling Autumn 2011

Another excuse to drive through the beautiful mountains of western Maryland presented itself with the opportunity to show flutes, music and accessories at West Virginia University's Flute Fling this past weekend.  Hosted by Nina Assimakopoulos, shown above in her studio (as spokesmodel for Flute Pro Shop) the event had an energy and sense of fun much like Nina's! 

The schedule left nothing undone.  Here is what happened Saturday:

9:00 Acting and Expression Workshop with Actor and Flutist David Houston of Boston Flute Academy

10:00 Flute Master Class with Michelle Cheramy of Memorial University in Canada

11:00 Piccolo Master Class with Therese Wacker of Indiana University of Pennsylvania

1:00 Flute Master Class with WVU flute professor Nina Assimakopoulos

2:00 Flute Master Class with Katherine Kemler of Louisiana State University

I was stationed at my exhibit, but heard the buzz of the students as they came and bought (lots of) music and accessories and auditioned flutes. From what I heard, each teacher gave a thoughtful and insightful masterclass, and each offered words of congratulations and encouragement in the hallways afterward. 

There was plenty of help moving in and out, which makes the day so much better for yours truly!


Graduate assistants Keith Hanlon (DMA) and Amy (MA) were the organization geniuses behind the scenes.  They worked seamlessly together. I always love to spend time with Keith and talk flutes!! Lunch was ordered-a highlight of my day :)  Once again a vendor-friendly event! 

Dinner Saturday with the guest artists and Nina and her children was a highlight.  Nina's daughter is a swimmer-we had lots to talk about.  David Houston is a great story-teller, as are most flute players, so we had a great time telling our most outrageous experiences.

The trip home was beautiful-my murder mystery keeping me on the edge of my seat the whole way (Look in the briefcase!  Now!!  There's a BOMB!!!) Got home in time to join the alto flute section of the Greenville Flute Orchestra for the Candlelight Concert conducted by John Hintz (I have known him since high school) who is perfect for this group: he is exacting, especially rhythmically (percussionist as well) and yet respectful in his corrections. 

And today-my gmail account was restored!  Yay!

PS: FPS will have a fun Christmas surprise, but we will not post it until AFTER Thanksgiving.....

Rochester Flute Fair November 4-5, 2011 Amy Poter, Guest Artist

The Rochester Flute Club is a class act!  The concert by Amy Porter, the vendor-friendly venue, and the proactive committee made the weekend a fabulous one.

I arrived in Rochester by 6:00 PM (note to self: change the settings on the GPS from "Scenic" to "Most Direct") so I got to Amy's concert in time to hear the last work on the first half: the Schubert Introduction and Variations on "Trockne Blumen."  The second half included the Griffes "Poem," "Undercurrents (2007)" by David Sampson, and the Caliendo Sonata No. 8, the "Ghost Sonata."  The final two works were composed for Ms Porter.

I have known Amy since she was a little girl: she literally lived around the corner from my parents, and later, my parents-in-law (it's Delaware, folks.) And she is true blue to her roots as to who she is as a person.  She also knows, as any true performer knows, that the first impression in any concert is visual.  And she made a fabulous first impression.  A beautiful gown:  black strapped bodice with an iridescent vertically pleated blue skirt from an empire waist. Her cloud of blonde hair was pulled back at the crown with a sparkling barrette.  Amy's posture and presence filled the stage and the room. Stunning.

I have often said that Amy has raised the bar for flute playing.  And she proved me right Friday night.  She can go from technical clarity and perfection (Schubert variations 3 and 5) to the luscious Impressionism of Griffes, and on to the incredible athleticism demanded by the Caliendo.  Seamlessly.  Every note in place and a gem.  Ahh.

7:30 the next morning, I pulled up in front of the Middle School venue for the Flute Fair and much to my surprise, I was met with Help!!!  Strong arms helped me trans-locate 15 crates of music, 4 suitcases of flutes, accessories, and more.  Plus-a hospitality suite for vendors!  Hot Breakfast!  Deluxe tea!  Wraps, salads, and more for lunch!  I was in heaven! The attendees were there and ready to explore anything new, and lots of the old favorites.  I was literally on my feet all day.  Such friendly and interested people.

Loading out: more Help!!  Unheard of and most gratefully accepted on my part.

A quick meet up at a restaurant with all the committee and Amy, and then I was off to Binghampton, NY for the over night.   I had a rehearsal and concert in DE the next day.

Remember the reminder to myself about the GPS? Unhuh.

So I am driving along NY State Road 96.  Dum de dum.  Novel on CD.  Cool.  I smell some wood smoke.  No problem.  Great plot!!  Hmm...fog??  Then flashing emergency lights.  More "fog" and wood smoke smell.  Then a cop directing me to a detour.

In the near distance: a barn fire of incredible dimensions.   Seemingly dozens of emergency vehicles of all sizes.

GPS is saying:  Remote location.  No satellite connection.  I am very calm.  Right.

Turn down a DIRT road.  In Amish country.  No lights anywhere.  Ghostly barns and farm houses loom at the side of the road.

About a white-knuckled mile later, a cop, waving me to the right.  I roll down my window, "Will my GPS figure this out??"  "Yup."  I was on county road 414.  Great.

So what do I do? I yell at the GPS!! As if that would help!  And it faithfully directed me through a maze of county and state routes to my hotel.

I slept very well....