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Residential Flute Courses 2012 with Julie Wright and Nicholas Foster Lessons, sessions, tone, technique, ensembles, duet partner and home cooking for adult or student flute players and woodwind friends
Julie Wright. ARCM, LGSM, B.Ed Hons is from the famous Needham flute and piccolo playing family of the Halle Orchestra. She studied flute and piccolo with Atarah Ben-Tovim MBE and then went to university, gaining a first class honours degree in music, psychology and education. Julie has pursued a varied freelance playing and teaching career with three commercial recordings in her name to date. She is universally respected by all ages and abilities for her master classes and loved for the irrepressible joie de vivre that has enticed players of all levels to her ‘Flutes En Vacances’ courses and concerts, held in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Italy, Sweden, France, Holland, Glasgow and London - and that is just in the last twelve months! Future destinations include Bangkok, Delhi, Prague, Paris, Athens and Krakow. For seven years she was teacher of flute and piccolo at Trinity Music College, London. For fifteen years she has been principal flute player and director of the Flute Orchestra of London, piccolo and alto flute player with the Alienor Ensemble of France and in the last seven years has established a successful flute and guitar duo - Fret and Flute Fusion, performing at venues worldwide. Julie recently premiered the Globe Suite for piccolo and orchestra at the Festival Hall, London.  Venice 2011... an amazing course Flutes en Vacances : We were there ...... Muscat Flutes en Vacances The Easter Holidays brought another opportunity to escape the miserable English weather by taking a Flutes en Vacances group to experience the wonders of Oman. After an intensive two days of rehearsals, the group of eight students ranging from aged 10 to 23 had fine-tuned a balanced repertoire for a fully packed concert schedule. The first concert comprised a 45-minute set for the Irish Ambassadors elegant (yet outdoor!) soiree. The music ranged from Bach to Broadway as well as encompassing the traditional Irish favourites, with payment being the opportunity to indulge in a traditional Omani banquet. The exotic flavours of the Omani delicacies were further enhanced by the spectacularly lavish surroundings we found ourselves in. One of the highlights of the course was having the opportunity to rehearse and perform Song of India by Rimsky-Korsakov with the principal flautist of the Sultan’s Royal Oman Symphony Orchestra, Yousef Fori. Julie was keen to include this in the repertoire as the final concert we were to give was to be held at the Indian Embassy. In order for Flutes en Vacances to live up to its name, we also experienced the many cultural delights of Oman, including the winding streets of the Souks, the magnificence of the Grand Mosque and the intense smells of the shisha gardens. The venues of the remaining five concerts ranged from the surprisingly beautiful interior of an Air Conditioning Factory to a filled auditorium of the Indian Embassy. The combination of clarinettist Nicholas Foster and Julie Wright was a dynamic and inspiring duo, which combined with the intensity and frequency of the performances, heightened the unity and musical awareness of all members of the group. Our ten days in Muscat left us reluctant to leave a place which had satisfied all the senses, however considering the reception we received and the coverage we were given even after our departure, we’re looking ahead to 2009. Carrie Ronaldson and Harriet Coates May 2008 Muscat 2008 As a parent, the Oman trip was thoroughly enjoyable. I can still picture the convoy of cars driving around over dirt tracks, up piles of sand and rubble, trying to find an Air Conditioning factory for a concert. At one point, at least a dozen locals were attempting to explain where to go next. The concerts were the highlights of the visit, ranging from a get-together at someone's house, the aforementioned air-con factory, a tea concert at the Intercontinental hotel through to the formal concert stage at the Indian embassy. The locals are very friendly; we enjoyed a regular chat with the apartment cleaner, who loved the flute playing. We had a few non flute-related excursions too: to the beautiful, modern Grand Mosque , the old souk on the harbour front, the shisha (hookah) bar and of course to the beach. For the children, a degree of resilience is certainly required, as the schedule is, for them, intensive, but my daughter certainly gained more assurance and competence in the art of performing (organising your music, making sure you had everything, listening to the others, counting, bowing at the right time) in one short week than many children ever acquire in years of playing an instrument. I'm sure this will not be our last Flute en Vacances experience. Joanne ...Lydias Mum Muscat Flutes en Vacances Well from my perspective it was a fantastic opportunity and a privilege to accompany the tour. I loved the concerts and the chance to meet our hosts, to explore Oman and to try out the henna. And the driving was an experience- just down to the end and turn right! Jane ....Josie's mum VENICE (was it so many years ago? - with Chris Raven, Andre, Carolyn and Dr. Jane ...) Julie's courses always seem to be very successful on two counts - firstly she puts us through our paces with exacting musical demands and high-standard ensemble work. And secondly there is a group of people that always seems to "gel" and really enjoys itself. Venice was no exception ... the group had a great time, from our communal dinners cooked in-house with wine dispensed by tap from the local shop, trips over the canal in gondolas to the market, coffee in little street corner cafes and extraordinary lunch in atmospheric bars in the less well known parts of town. I don't suppose any of us will forget the squid in black ink in a hurry either. And then musically the trip culminated, after plenty of coaching and effort, in a concert in the ornate museum gallery overlooking St Marks Square - something that not only kept us on our toes but gave us all enormous fun and satisfaction. It was altogether glorious - and we all still talk about it and look at the photos all these years on. MARRAKECH 2007 (last autumn with Helen Chamberlain, Heidi, David etc) - A square house going round the central tiled courtyard - tree up the middle with hosts of sparrows giving loud roosting and dawn choruses - all rooms opening onto or overlooking the courtyard - roof terrace in the sun for breakfast and evening meals - wonderful high quality food included, as much as you could want, very middle eastern, even catering marvellously for "veggies" - coffee on roofs of cafes with panoramic views across the main square - snake charmers - raids into the market to buy (extremely cheap) leather trousers or jackets, tagine dishes. All this and a wonderful selection of people to do it with too - what more could we ask?? ... we also did a lot of flute too ... There's always something special and a bit of magic on these courses. Chris H. Flutes en Vacances Flute playing and Friends to live for and Food to die for. .... Hilary Orton Oman was our second 'Flutes en Vacances' the first being Venice two years ago. As a parent I can safely say that there is never a dull moment when away with Julie and her flautists! Julie's knowledge of the local culture and her social network of eclectic friends and colleagues is vast. From the moment we arrived at our superior accommodation with swimming pool, we knew we were in for a good time. The children studied and played every day with determination and performed each evening with growing confidence. Even the smallest child aged 10, had no qualms in taking centre stage. The concert venues ranged from a private house, the Inter Continental Hotel to the Indian Embassy performing in front of his Excellency and 400 other guests. We as parents learnt a lot from visiting a Middle Eastern country, and led by Julie visited places we would never have known about or seen if we had just gone as regular tourists. For us it was a tremendous experience for the children it was awesome! Thank you Julie, what next?? The Clark family.....Deborah, Jeff and Charlotte |
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