International Low Flutes Festival

Workshops March 2026 online Festival

Following is a list of workshops and lecture/demos listed alphabetically by presenter and a description of what will be covered in the event.

Stephen Clark – iFlute: replacing printed sheet music with iPad. This workshop introduces flutists to effective, practical strategies for playing from digital scores on an iPad. Participants will learn how to organize and annotate sheet music, set up page turns and pedals, and create a screen layout that supports confident, distraction-free performance.

Jocelyn Crosby – Recording Low Flutes. This lecture will discuss strategies to record low flutes, including accompanied selections where it can be difficult to capture the low flutes.

Mikayla Farmer – The Influence of Low Flutes on C Flute Tone. In this lecture, we will discover how low flute technique influences the production and quality of tone on the ‘standard’ C flute. Exploration in relaxation, openness, and deep breathing will provide techniques for flutists of all kinds to add to their practice and warm up sessions. Participants will be encouraged, but not required, to use their flutes to get hands-on experience in improving their tone.

Mariana Gariazzo – Tone Development through Interpretation. This workshop explores how expressive playing and thoughtful interpretation can unlock richer, more resonant tone production on the low flutes. Using a curated collection of classical and well-known melodies, participants will work through repertoire that gradually expands both the technical and expressive demands of instruments such as the alto flute, bass flute, and contrabass flute. The session will address breath control strategies tailored to larger flutes, refined embouchure setup for each instrument, articulation that supports clarity without force, and techniques for maximizing resonance across the full range. Through guided musical exploration, flutists will deepen their understanding of tone color, phrasing, and sound projection while building confidence and artistry on the low flutes.

Patricia Garcia – A Method Book for Contrabass Flute. Patricia Garcia, with the help of translator Mariana Gariazzo, will discuss how she came to write a method for the contrabass flute and what she decided to include in the book. The book is available in English and Spanish through her website http://www.patriciagarcia.com.ar/

Charity Haney – Transform Pain and Anxiety through Movement. Do you have pain, anxiety, physical frustrations, fear, grief, sadness, nervousness in your life? Pain of any kind keeps our emotional light dimmed, our heart hidden and creates disconnection between ourselves and others. Music is connection so being detached from your center can limit you in authentically showing up for yourself and your audience.
Join me for an all-accessible, gentle movement-based class that will use your pain as fuel to create more joy, love, connection, and fun in your playing and life! Use a yoga mat, chair, or a combination of the two. I will offer the class in both. Dress comfortably.

Ece Karsal – Counting Balkan Aksak Rhythms. Tips on how to learn be comfortable playing assymetrical rhythms as found in music from Turkey and in many folk music based pieces from eastern Europe.

Phyllis Louke – Tips and Tricks for Successfully Playing and Traveling with Low Flutes. Support options for bass flute; traveling with low flutes, placement of low flute sections in a flute choir; tips for clearer articulation on contra, bass, or alto flutes; a list of regular flute choir pieces with fun low parts, airline travel with a low flute, are B keys necessary on bass flutes?

Debbie MacMurray – Makin’ the Switch – Piccolo to Bass. If you have to switch instruments in a concert, how do you learn to quickly adjust the embouchure, modify articulation, remember intonation tendancies and all the rest? Debbie has tips for all these issues.

Lorna McGhee – The Alexander Technique, Alto Improvisations and Dances with the Winds will all combine with Lorna’s brilliant observations about music and the flute. “The only reason to practice technique is so the body doesn’t get in the way of the soul expressing itself.” “Just release the sound.” “Always say something when you play.” Join us for this memorable event with the Boston Symphony’s principal flutist. Sponsored by Arista Flutes.

Gareth McLearnon – Fondant Forward. What’s a fondant, what’s forward about it and why did you write about it? This unusual piece has interesting textures and gestures that Gareth will explain via video, followed by a play-a-long video of the piece. Parts will be available prior to the Festival.

Ali Ryerson – . . . . and all That Jazz and Gettin Your Groove On. Ali will present two workshops and she said details will be coming soon. Whatever she comes up with will be fun!

Ronda Sprague – Reading Music Using a Tablet. This workshop will explore how tablets (Apple and Android platforms) are transforming the way musicians read and manage music, offering practical advantages over traditional paper sheet music. Digital scores are easy to organize, search, and annotate, making rehearsal preparation and performance more efficient.

Christina Steffen – From the Conductor’s Point of View. What a conductor decides affects the whole group in so many ways. Where is the best spot for the low flutes in a flute choir? How do we tune since the altos are in G and their best tuning note is a sounding E? Who goes first when tuning? Contras need to anticipate the beat to keep up, how can the conductor facilitate that? These and other earth-shattering questions will be part of Christina’s workshop.

Alexa Still – Circular Breathing. This skill is more difficult on low flutes because of the minimal resistance of the large headjoints. How does Alexa do it?

Suzanne Teng – My Creative Process. I’ve written, recorded and released 29 pieces for alto or bass flute (and one for contra) since I released my first solo album 26 years ago. Some of these were complete improvisations and some were very composed with pencil and staff paper. But most were created through a process that falls somewhere in the middle of these two methods. For example, many of the pieces were created in the recording studio. I use the word create rather than compose because during this process, I will improvise, develop, write and arrange during the actual recording session, and to me, it feels like a creative process more than a compositional one. In this informal chat, I’ll talk through my various processes and save time for Q & A. The piece “Topanga Dreams” was the first piece I wrote for alto flute and will be used as a reference in this discussion. Sponsored by Yamaha.

David Weiss – Adapting Copland’s “Fanfare For The Common Man” for Flute Choir – And Use In A Music Video. A music video and discussion on the considerations and difficulties of adapting this well know piece for Flute Choir. Some considerations: “To vibrato or not to vibrato?” Should a flutist emulate brass performance, like “swells” and articulation? How should the low flutes replace the lower brass (French Horn, Trombone, Tuba).

Matthias Ziegler – Amplification for Bass Flute. A Master of Sound, Matthias will share his secrets for amplifying his “hoover” and how he keep all his foot pedals straight. Sponsored by Eva Kingma Flutes.