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Hi there Darwin! For starters, please tell us a little about yourself... Hello Guilherme, thank you so much for inviting me. Well, where to start. I am a flutist and I have performed as a soloist, orchestral and chamber musician. Also, I’m the founder, Executive and Artistic Director of the Díaz-Del Moral Foundation and have been recently appointed to the board of directors of the New York Flute Club. Where are you from, where did you grow up.. Well, I was born and raised in Arroyo, Puerto Rico . It is very hot but is full of history and I love it. I wouldn't change it. Currently I live in Hillside, New Jersey. How did you start playing the flute? How did your passion for music start? I actually didn't start playing the flute, my first instrument was the clarinet. I started music class in 7th grade at the insistence of my mother. As I was learning the clarinet my curiosity led me to the flute and the saxophone. It wasn't until 11th grade that I decided just to play the flute. My passion for music has always been there, I don’t why I’m so passionate about it, especially when you don’t come from a musical family. I want to think that music for me is very organic and it has chosen me since birth. How many years have you been working as Artistic Director of the Puerto Rico Flute Symposium? What other festivals do you coordinate? I have been artistic director of the Puerto Rico Flute Symposium for 2 years. Besides the PRFS I coordinate the Puerto Rico Summer Music Festival, and the Latin American Chamber Players which all operate under the umbrella of the Díaz-Del Moral Foundation. What current projects have you been working on on a personal level and for the festivals you currently are the director of? Recently as last week we ended a successful 2nd edition of the Puerto Rico Flute Symposium and the 3rd edition of the Puerto Rico Summer Festival which is an orchestral program. Other projects that are in the making are the new season of the Latin American Chamber Players, finishing the first phase of my flute catalog Flauta Latina and a few recitals coming their way in the fall. What has been your most touching or amazing moment you've experienced as a musician? I think one of the most touching experiences wasn't as a performer, but rather as a festival organizer. One night after an intense day of rehearsals and lessons a few members of the orchestra approached me and said Thank You. Not because they are in the festival, but for the feeling that they have a space where they felt loved, and encouraged. A place where they felt safe and where not judged by the color, gender, or religion. This for me is one of the most touching experiences. What other musicians have been your inspiration? I feel inspired by musicians that tell their stories of how they build themselves by the feeling that they don't belong but their perseverance, determination, and passion position them to where they are now. Finally, what advice would you share with anyone starting in their career as a musician? My biggest advice is to always have a vision of what you want to achieve, to always believe in yourself, and be determined towards your goal. Whenever you have an idea of a recital, chamber concert or soloist, and you think it's right, do it. One day a teacher told me, “you want to play with an orchestra? Write them an email, the worst thing that can happen is they would say no.” Never be afraid of rejection, let this be your fuel to keep thriving. _______________________ About the Artist Darwin Cosme-Sánchez Award-winning Puerto Rican flutist Darwin Cosme has been an avid chamber musician, orchestra, and soloist. He has performed with the Philharmonia Symphony Orchestra, Amadeus Orchestra, Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, Casals Festival of Puerto Rico, and New York Chamber Players. He has been under the baton of Pablo Heras-Casado, Carlos Miguel Prieto, Helmuth Rilling, Carlos Botero, Maximiano Valdés, Victor Yampolsky to name a few. Motivated by his passion for chamber music and orchestras and the need to promote concerts, he created the Zafra Wind Quintett (2011) and Cosme-Zook Duo (2015). In 2014, Darwin convened the summer orchestra "New Symphonic Project," conducted by Maestro Rafael Enrique Irizarry. After this year, Cosme organized this orchestra for the next two consecutive years, and it is from this event that emerged in 2017, the Puerto Rico Summer Music Festival. During the 2015-16 season, he completed a concert tour with Amanda Zook (Cosme-Zook Duo), performing in New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and Canada. These concerts were sponsored by Project 142 and themselves. Darwin won 1st prize at the Toronto Latin American Flute Festival Chamber Music Competition with the Zafra Wind Trio and the Young Artists Competition at William Paterson University in New Jersey. He has also been invited two consecutive years to the Toronto Latin American Flute Festival as a guest artist. In 2019, he was invited as an Artist in Residence by the Universidad Autónoma de Cuidad Juárez, Mexico, at the 1st Flute Week. During his residency, he presented recitals, lectures and performed with the Youth Symphony Orchestra of the university conducted by Maestro Lizandro Valentín García Alvarado. Darwin currently serves as founder, executive and artistic director of the Diaz-Del Moral Foundation, the Latin American Chamber Player in New York, Puerto Rico Flute Symposium and Puerto Rico Summer Festival. Cosme has also served on the board of directors of Project 142 and recently has been appointed to the New York Flute Club board. Darwin maintains a full concert schedule and is an artist from Celestine Flute Rexonator and Hernández Flutes. https://www.diazdelmoralfoundation.org/prccp https://www.diazdelmoralfoundation.org/prflutesymposium https://www.diazdelmoralfoundation.org/ https://www.diazdelmoralfoundation.org/latinamericanchamberplayers

Hi there Jean-Paul! For starters, please tell us a little about yourself... Hello. My name is Jean-Paul Wright. For my day job, I’m the Managing Director of the international musical instrument company Worldwind Music (owner of the TJ / Trevor James and also Flute Makers Guild of London brands). I am the global creative director for the TJ instrument brand, am host of the popular ‘Talking Flutes’ podcast channel and the creator of thehappyflutist.com website for stressed and anxious musicians. I am also a member of the Board of Trustees for the Worldwind Music Charitable Foundation. Outside of the day job, I am a qualified Clinical Hypnotherapist and a long time advocate of meditation. Over the years I have worked with sportsmen, musicians and actors on strategies to overcome pending performances or events, and have given many classes on ‘Calming the Inner Voice’, ‘Unhooking from thoughts’ and the use of ‘marginal gains’ for musicians using the mind as the root. In recent years I have eased up a little, and now spend my time attempting to get stripes on the garden lawn, meditating, blowing bubbles and messing around with my beloved camera. Where are you from, where did you grow up? I grew up in a small town just outside of Cambridge (U.K) and now live in an old English town called Royal Tunbridge Wells which is 28 miles south of London. How did you start playing the flute? How did your passion for music started? I started the flute when I was 9 years old and quickly found a passion for ‘The sideways blowing tube’. After the completion of my academic studies, I moved to London where I studied the instrument with George Crozier and Jim Dower. In the years since, I claim (like many musicians), to have performed on radio and television in many of the major concert halls throughout the world. I have tutored and given flute, performance and ‘Mind’ masterclasses at flute and music events in the UK and also overseas. How many years have you been working for Trevor James Flutes? How did you start it? I joined Trevor James flutes in 1993 to establish and head-up a marketing team of flute players and musicians. In the years since, I have been responsible for developing the Miyazawa and Sankyo flute brands in the UK and Ireland and have been the global head of marketing and creative development for TJ flutes and saxophones in 1997. In 1998 I became co-owner of the company and in 2017, managing director for the business. What current projects have you been working on on a personal level and for Trevor James Flutes? When Covid-19 hit the world in March 2020, we were ready to go live with the launch of a number of new flute related improvements and products. But had to put these on hold until late 2020. This delayed our launch of our range of Grenadilla and Rosewood piccolos, the upgrading of our 925 silver ‘Voce’ head ‘Step-up’ flute to a higher silver content 958 silver ‘Voce’ head and the extension of our copper alto flute to having a ‘RAW’ version. We have in the meantime been consolidating these projects, doing more online product testing and review and have utilised the past 12 months getting ready with these new instruments. We also have a very successful saxophone side of our business which again has new products and upgrades waiting for the world to open up again. On a personal level, I continue to love photography. As a long time meditator, I have incorporated this angle along with an exploration of true mindfulness for musicians in classes I have given in 2020 and those planned for 2021 online via zoom to Universities, flute groups and flute societies. Among all TJ Flutes, which one is your favorite flute and why? It has to be the alto flute. When I joined the company in the 1990’s, alto flutes were like an endangered species. I instigated research and development with our technical team, giving the brief to design and manufacture a free blowing but affordable alto. Since the turn of the millennium, my personal goal has been to get the alto to as many flute players as possible. The advent of social media gave us the tools and medium to really show what value the addition of an alto can make to a flute players repertoire. What has been your most touching or amazing moment you've experienced as a musician? I’ve been privileged to have many amazing moments as a musician. Being based in London, over the years I have performed as part of a salon orchestra for many royal and state events at Buckingham Palace. I’ve also played at Royal weddings, Royal funerals and many state events of visiting Presidents. However two most touching and memorable moments I have had was firstly when performing the Ibert Concerto in a beautiful cathedral in Jaca , North of Spain in 1992. At the end of the concert, the parent of a blind child came up to me and said that her daughter was really moved and had cried at the end of the middle movement. She did counter this by saying her daughter didn’t like the first and third movements though :-) The second moment which I’ve carried with me throughout my business life was on a concert tour in Hungary in the late 1990’s when I was playing with the wonderful flutist and flute professor Itzes Gergely. We did many concerts and classes during the tour however I was really struck with some of the younger Hungarian players. Not only by their impressive technical prowess, but also by their emotional maturity in performance. On checking what instruments they were playing I was stunned to see that many were playing on very old flutes which the modern western flute player would not wish to use. It was this experience which magnified that the ability and power of musical communication comes from the individual. The flute is just a tool, like a saw is to a carpenter. These young players used the poor tools that were in front of them and yet made beautiful music. My aim has always therefore (with TJ flutes) been to design and build good quality, affordable flutes for all. What other musicians have been inspirational to you in your work? Let’s start with Ralph Vaughan Williams with whom I used to indulge in visual dreams when hearing his beautiful music when I was growing up. Secondly I can’t forget the reason I play the flute is down to the wonderful flute playing legend that is Sir James Galway. My mum is an old fashioned, “tough as boots” English lady who if she’d cut off one finger would have said, “don’t worry I have others”. And yet Sir James Galway could bring tears to her eyes when she heard him on the radio. My grandfather took me to a London concert of his in the 1970’s and I was hooked straight away with his virtuosity, THAT sound and also his stage presence. I wanted to play the flute from that day onwards! I have been inspired by many flute players including William Bennett (WIBB), Emmanuel Pahud, Denis Bouriakov, Paul Edmund Davies, Rober Dick (amongst others) who opened up my eyes to new ideas and sounds. Jazz greats Oscar Peterson, Charlie Parker, Duke Elington. Singers such as Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo, Joan Sutherland through to the beautiful and soulful voices of Amy Winehouse, Babra Streisand, Eva Cassidy, Frank Sinatra. I really love the compositions and power of music by David Guetta, Sia and rap and Grime artists such as Stormzy etc. I am constantly being inspired by old and new musicians and have a very eclectic playlist. Has anything funny happened to you in a performance? I have far too many stories to put down here, from falling backwards when leaning off my chair, hitting the second flute in the face with my flute (and making her lip bleed) when an orchestra I was playing in was squeezed into a small space. Getting into trouble at a Royal banquet for laughing (and wearing red socks!). I am a giggler and once I start laughing then I can’t stop myself. The problem I have is that the funny stories would take up the whole of this interview as there are so many. So I’m probably best to park this question with your intrigue! If you could change anything about the industry, what would it be? An acceptance that there is room for everybody. A musician's instrument is such a personal choice. We should always make our decision based around how an instrument makes us feel and if it opens up opportunities for your playing. You spend more time with your instrument than you do with our partner so you have to choose the one that you completely gel with. With people, teachers and industry pushing brands and preferences, we often see players not being totally happy with their instruments because they have been pushed into buying a certain brand or model by external pressure.. “Well” (I hear you say), this is all well and good however don’t you run a musical instrument company? As most of us at TJ flutes are musicians then we get it! We just encourage players to test everything in their price range and choose the one that they fall in love with. If they don’t get the ‘tingles’ with a flute then don’t buy it. If it’s a TJ then great. If it’s not a TJ then great! There is room in this world for all brands. How do you feel the Internet has impacted the music business? The internet has made a huge difference to the music business by bringing every genre of music immediately to anybody who has access. One single video has the potential to make a person an internet sensation and change their lives! Pre-internet, the only way you could hear music was on the radio, recordings or via live music. The internet brings everything to you now. At this very moment. There are many things wrong with the web, but without the internet during the past 12 months of Covid-19 restrictions, there would be a complete silence of live communication, music teaching and online collaborations. Lockdown and the internet really have changed the face of music and communication for ever! Finally, what advice would you share with anyone starting in the music industry as a performer or business person? My advice for what it is worth, is to take a step back and observe. Look at what is working and what is ‘creaking’ in your playing or in your business approach! You may wish to invest more time and resources in social media accounts which is great, but what will make your account stand out? Check out all the possible areas of the music business. Does something in particular tick all the boxes and make you excited? Make sure that you have the resources, understanding and are really enthusiastic about a position before you apply for posts. Don’t be worried if you are lacking in experience as many areas of the music business can see ‘rough diamonds’ and will employ based around what they see as potential. If you don’t get a job, then reframe your thinking to being one step closer to getting your job or position. You will not have failed! Finally, and this is some personal advice. As a long time meditator, I recommend everybody try to always be in the moment. Fretting about what has gone on in the past can’t be changed. Worrying about the future is wasting time and mental energy as the future usually has a very different outcome to the worry or dream. By remaining in the present moment you will have a total understanding of what is required of you now. If there is something coming up to plan or practice for, then you should only focus on what you need to do now. There is nothing other than this very moment. Well having said that, that very moment is now history :-)! Remember when your mind starts chattering, “You are NOT your thoughts. Your thoughts are impermanent and NOT facts!” Smile, make peace with your weaknesses (I have many) and just go for it! ______________________________ About the Artist Jean-Paul Wright started the flute when he was 9 years old where he quickly found a passion for as he called it ‘The sideways blowing tube’. After the completion of his academic studies, he moved to London where he studied the instrument with wonderful flute players and teachers George Crozier and Jim Dower. In the years since, he claims, like many musicians, to have performed on radio and television in many of the major concert halls throughout the world. He has tutored and given masterclasses at flute events and conventions in the UK and also overseas. It was a moment of performance anxiety on a live BBC radio broadcast in 1984 which began what has turned out to be a long journey of understanding (which he is still on). He qualified as a Clinic Hypnotherapist 25 years ago and studied NLP with its co-creator Richard Bandler. He is a passionate advocate of ‘mindfulness’ for musicians and ‘Taming that pesky inner voice’. Since 1995, he has worked with well-known sportsmen, actors and musicians utilizing strategies to overcome a pending performance or event and has given many classes on ‘Calming the Inner Voice’, ‘Unhooking from thoughts’ and the use of ‘marginal gains’ for musicians using the mind as the root. On hitting 50, he decided to ease up a little and now spends his time attempting to get stripes on the lawn (it’s a very English thing), meditating, blowing bubbles, smiling and messing around with his beloved camera. For his day job, Jean-Paul is Managing Director and co-owner of the international musical instrument company Worldwind Music and is the global creative director for the TJ instrument brand. He is host of the popular ‘Talking Flutes’ podcast channel and is the creator of thehappyflutist.com website for stressed and anxious musicians. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees for the Worldwind Music Charitable Foundation. His interests are meditation, walking, reading, observing, definitely not taking himself too seriously and spending as much of his free time with his wife Jayne. www.trevorjamesflutes.com (click here) Instagram @tjflutes (click here) Facebook @trevorjamesflutes (click here) Podcasts ‘Talking Flutes’ iTunes (click here) , Spotify (click here), SoundCloud (click here) , Podbean (click here) as well as most other podcast providers. Trevor James flutes are part of the Worldwind Music Ltd Company.

I could place bets that you have experienced some type of nervousness around a performance or an audition if you are a performer. The nerves can show up before or during lessons, in rehearsal, and maybe most familiarly, before or during important performances. Feeling nervous before a performance can sometimes be debilitating. It could have us questioning our paths, wishing we could be better prepared (even when we have done all that we can), OR the nerves could energize us to give a great performance if they are handled well. The best thing we can do as performers is to get to know ourselves and how we respond to high pressure stimuli and then learn to train our minds to handle performance nerves by having a plan. I have found that keeping a journal of everything surrounding my performances and auditions – the preparation, the event itself, and the many feelings throughout the experience to be beneficial. When it comes to performing, making note on how I feel leading up to show time and after helps create better performances in the future. In this journal, I note how I felt during each stage of the performance: Were my palms sweating? Heart rate elevated? Did I have low energy levels? High energy levels? Were my thoughts scattered? Or was I in the zone? Once you recognize your patterns through journaling, you can devise a performance plan in anticipation of a high-pressure scenario. For example, if you notice that you get scatter brained right before you walk onto stage, device a plan, or a pre- performance ritual that you do every single time before a performance. Scatter brain is one-way my nerves show up for me and there are three ways I combat this: having pre- performance breathing exercises, visualization, and mock performances. I love to do a simple breathing exercise before performances and between pieces if I find myself nervous during the concert. What I do is: breathe in for four counts, hold for four counts, and exhale for four counts. I do this as many times as needed to feel centered and present. Focus on the counting and breathing. If your mind wanders (heads up, it probably will), it is okay! Just gently bring your attention back to the breathing and counting. After I do my breathing exercise, I visualize myself walking onto stage. I then see myself sitting down in my chair or walking up to the music stand in an audition. I sense myself putting the flute to my face. I imagine myself going through my pre-excerpt routine or imagine colleagues in the orchestra sitting around me. I then imagine how it will feel and sound playing the given piece. This visualization helps calm my nerves prior to stepping on stage because in doing so, I have already created a successful performance in my mind. To take it a step further, practice the breathing exercise and visualization each time you give a mock performance or audition. The more you do this, the more confident you will feel on performance day. When it is time for you to take the stage for the real performance, you will have already performed your piece(s) for different audiences (family members, friends, colleagues, recording device, even pets). You will already know exactly what it feels like; you will know how your body reacts to the performance stimuli and you will have already created your rituals. You know exactly what to do when it is showtime! My most successful performances and auditions were preceded with successful pre-performance rituals to combat nerves. Performance is a practice, and we must practice performing. We will constantly be tweaking our approaches in hopes of delivering peak performances. Keeping a journal and having a plan each time you perform will help you get past those nerves. ______________________________ About the Author Flutist Shantanique Moore is the eighth recipient of a fellowship from the Pittsburgh Symphony's EQT Orchestra Training Program for African American Musicians (OTPAAM). Ms. Moore is an accomplished freelance musician and flute instructor. She has performed with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Toledo Symphony, and the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, among others. Shantanique won First Prize in the 2016 Ervin Monroe Young Artist Competition. In 2012, Shantanique won the Wayne State Concerto Competition and in 2013, the Southern Great Lakes Concerto Competition. She has had the privilege of being invited as guest soloist on numerous occasions with ensembles such as the Birmingham Concert Band and Thurston High School's Honors Band, to name a few. During her studies at Wayne State University, she was awarded several musicianship and academic awards. An advocate for promoting musicianship and flute playing, Shantanique has served on the board of directors of the Southeast Michigan Flute Association as secretary and as the Flute Choir director. Her primary teachers are Sharon Sparrow, Laura Larson, and Carrie Wiesinger. She has played in Masterclasses for Mark Sparks, Robert Aitken, William Bennett, and Amy Porter. When not practicing and performing, Shantanique enjoys kayaking and catching up on her favorite television shows. More information about Ms. Moore can be found at https://www.smooreflute.com/ https://www.smooreflute.com/videos?wix-vod-comp-id=comp-kcz0xqo7

Thoughts and experiences on the time off and the adjustments upon return When live music and entertainment shut down as a result of COVID-19, we professional musicians had to re-imagine not just how we’d make up for the lost income, but how we’d stay connected to their craft and their musical communities. Although there’s no substitute for the real thing, many of us have come together and made remote online video performances, improved our online teaching logistics, and taken time to expand our skill sets. However, this summer and fall, as COVID-19 became a little more manageable and the weather was good for it, some of us got a sweet — albeit modified — taste of the gig life that had eluded them for the previous five months. As for myself, I went from March 9 to August 29 without playing live music with another human being. Since then, I’ve only done so about four other times. Since starting piano lessons in an ensemble-heavy studio at age four, I’d never gone more than a few weeks without playing music with another person, even if it was just my teacher. When my August 29 performance, a livestream from Shapeshifter Lab with the Bobby Spellman Nonet, was approaching, I imagined an emotional, cathartic reunion, not just with my bandmates, but with the music and the job as their own entities. There were fleeting moments where I felt those things. There were many other moments where it felt like I hadn’t missed a day. But one area that caught me off guard was that of the more tangible challenges that come with a return to performance during the ongoing pandemic. I consider most of these challenges to fall into two main categories: the logistical modifications required to put on a safe and legal performance and as the personal adjustments from having been out of the routine for so long. As far as logistics, Shapeshifter was required to follow specific protocols, including temperature checks, spacing requirements, mask mandate (except for wind instruments while playing), and a strict no food or beverage policy outside of water. I understand and am grateful for all of these policies. After all, as an extrovert, my instinct has been to ask during these times, “How can we do this safely?” rather than, “Should we do this?” That said, the sterile environment coming from greeting my bandmates with no more than a fist bump, having a thermometer pointed at my forehead, standing six feet apart from my fellow musicians on stage, and having to scarf down pizza around the corner was a tad jarring. I’m glad that the venue was large enough to accommodate nine musicians on the stage standing six feet apart, but it did create acoustical and interactive challenges that we’re not used to in the jazz environment. To contrast the strict legal protocols required to play Shapeshifter, when Dingonek Street Band decided to join the other brass bands’ attempts at busking in downtown Manhattan, the safety protocols were ours to impose upon ourselves (or not). Washington Square Park and the surrounding areas were generally peaceful, yet still very lively and dense with not-always-masked New Yorkers. While officials, including police officers, did not enforce mask ordinances or six-foot distances for bands (or seemingly anyone else), I still took it upon myself to perform in a paper mask with a hole cut out for the mouthpiece, so that my nose could still be covered. The facts and figures around aerosol travel through wind instruments are still being debated by those much more qualified than myself, so I considered it better to be safe than sorry. Dingonek parked at about a dozen spots around the West Village over the courts of about three hours, playing entirely for tips. In order to get the tips safely, one of us (usually me) took a grabber/pick-up tool (what do people call these things?), grabbed a candy bucket, and approached the listeners from a distance to solicit tips. Whether it was because they liked the music, appreciated the safety precautions, or simply got a kick out of the spectacle, it seemed to work! As for personal adjustments, my brain came up with a few entries of on-brand catastrophization that didn’t bear out. Will I remember how to play? Will I remember how to read? Will I be so overcome with emotion that I’ll forget what I’m doing? No on all three counts. But a few other unanticipated issues did come up. For one, the only playing I did from March to August was in my bedroom/home studio for teaching, practicing, or recording projects, and I did not guess that the routine of setting up at the venue would become rusty. It took me longer than usual to set up my horns and stands, and for a while, I was sure that I’d left my neckstrap at home, but thankfully I’d just set it aside in a way that I normally don’t. My page-staging game also turned out to be out of practice, which made it a little awkward on a couple songs. (Those of you who play long, multi-page arrangements know what I mean). Another major area of unanticipated difficulty was air support. I primarily perform on baritone sax, but as a teacher (and as a polite tenant in the work-from-home atmosphere) I kept most of my playing at home on alto sax and clarinet. As such, I hadn’t put in as much time on the bari as I was used to and I felt that my air support, and consequently, my tone and power suffered a little bit, especially on the low notes. To add to this, my brain and body weren’t used to performing — no stopping, no “punching in” on the recording software, etc. — for over an hour straight. This didn’t result in any major errors, but a little bit of sloppiness and almost-missed entrances for which I can forgive myself. The other people in each ensemble could relate. All things considered, I’m extremely happy to have gotten to play a few times between late August and mid October. Between an uptick in COVID cases and the colder weather, it doesn’t look like there will be many of these opportunities left for a while. I’ll have to be grateful for these experiences and remember the necessary adjustments for when things open up again. Until then, I’ll hunker down for a winter of online lessons and remote video collaborations. ______________________________ About the Author Brooklyn-based musician Tyler Burchfield is gaining critical acclaim on the East Coast as a multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, and teacher. Tyler’s experience ranges from small group improvisation to large ensemble composition and arrangement, utilizing a host of influences from the jazz, rock, soul, and classical traditions, emphasizing a sensitivity to melody and texture.  Originally from Gainesville, Florida, Tyler was exposed to many musical influences growing up, beginning Suzuki piano lessons at age 4 and listening to classic oldies on the car radio. Throughout middle and high school, he learned in many instruments, including guitar, bass, drums, flute, and clarinet, and ultimately chose saxophone as his primary performing instrument. After earning music degrees from the University of Miami and the New England Conservatory, Tyler spent the following five years as a freelance musician in Boston, as well as touring the United States and beyond. As a co-leader of the Burchfield-Vituri Project with Brazilian guitarist Pedro Vituri, he completed a Brazilian mini-tour in 2015 and released the ensemble’s debut album, Metonímia, in March 2018.  As a regular performer with Dan Gabel Music, Tyler showcased both his performing and arranging skills in traditional jazz settings, performing in every woodwind chair in the Abletones Big Band as well as the 10-piece High Society Orchestra. From 2014 to 2017, he was a regular, touring member of experimental Afro-funk powerhouse Big Mean Sound Machine, and appeared on their 2017 album Runnin’ for the Ghost. Since its inception in 2016, Tyler has been traveling the northeast with New York-based improvisatory brass project Dingonek Street Band, with whom he can be heard on baritone sax and percussion on their February 2018 debut album, Primal Economics. In addition to these projects, Tyler is a saxophonist, keyboardist, and musical director of one of New England’s most versatile wedding and event bands, The Ward Eights. As a commissioned composer and arranger, Tyler has written for big band, small jazz ensemble, chamber groups, full symphony orchestra, and pop bands. His arrangements have been played by the Cambridge Symphony Orchestra, Elise Roth and the Harvard Squares, and Dan Gabel and the Abletones, to name a few. In addition to performing and writing, Tyler has an active roster of private woodwind and piano students in New York and is on faculty at the Great Neck Music Conservatory. Tyler’s hobbies include adventurous home cooking, fantasy basketball, listening to podcasts, learning Portuguese, and spending time with friends, especially in Brooklyn, where he lives with his friendly cat, Franklin.

To get started, tell us a bit about yourself. Thank you for this question, I think knowing the vantage point from which a person speaks helps the listener better understand where the other person is coming from and how intersectionality plays a part in their life. I am Chicano and was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. I grew up financially poor, or socio-economically disadvantaged as some people like to call it; but my family has always been wealthy in love and support. I am a proud first-generation college graduate. And I am gay. These are some of the main parts of my identity that come together to form me. What has been your musical journey so far? My musical journey began in the fifth grade at Valley View Elementary School. Mr. Gaona was our band director and he gave all of us in beginning band the option to choose the instrument we wanted to learn. Having never really heard it before then, I chose the flute. Little by little, I grew to love the flute and at the end of seventh grade, Mr. Gaona pulled me aside. He noticed my enthusiasm and fast progress so he suggested that I take private lessons. He recommended Rosie’s House: A Music Academy for Children which provides free music lessons to under-resourced youth. The first thing I told my then new teacher, Judy Conrad, was: “I want to be the Principal Flutist of the New York Philharmonic.” She believed in me and replied, “Let’s get to work.” I finished the program at Rosie’s House upon high school graduation and went on to earn both my BM and MM from Arizona State University. After about two years of working a day job, teaching, and taking auditions, I decided to go back to school for a bit longer and I was accepted to the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) where I am in the final year of my Artist Diploma. My dreams, which I now call plans, have expanded which we’ll get into next. What caused your plans to expand? Well, up until recently, I still held that dream of playing the flute in a major orchestra and that was the thing that motivated me to practice: to win a job. But during this time of both the covid pandemic and the country’s racial reckoning I started to experience cognitive dissonance. I’ve trained all my life, like an Olympian, and made countless sacrifices along the way to win an audition so that I could just play in an orchestra—the one thing that brought me so much joy to do… But, the orchestra as an institution has historically been limiting, problematic, and racist, among other things. So I asked myself: “Do I really want to be a part of an institution that perpetuates the status quo of systemic racism and white supremacy?” My answer is a big NO. So what will you do instead? I’ve decided to dedicate myself to catalyzing the changes we need to see in our orchestras, and in the industry as a whole. I think one of the main flaws in the orchestra mindset is how we think about the purpose of this music and the role of the organizations that present it. It should be art for social justice and community building rather than art for mere entertainment. Art institutions, especially the legacy ones, should not have a separate community engagement department; instead, the entire organization itself should operate as a community organization that puts the community at its core! Understanding who they are and who they stand for is the first step institutions can take that will lead them to create solutions and resolutions for the inherent racial and exclusionary issues that pervade the field. Currently, the orchestra is a microcosm of the society it lives in (US), reflecting the imbalance of power between BIPOC and white people. But, I think the orchestra can use the tools it has to fix the lack of diversity within itself as well as to then serve as an example for the country to follow. And how are you doing this social justice work and musical activism? I do it through partnerships. As a board member of Quinteto Latino, I help the San Francisco Bay Area wind quintet deliver on its mission of performing of music by Latinx composers and advocacy for Latinx musicians (quintetolatino.org) I contribute to planning the programming for the Sphinx Organization’s National Alliance for Audition Support as a member of The Artist Council (sphinxmusic.org) I am a consultant for Voices Unheard, a growing concert series and initiative to empower underrepresented artists and transform classical music standards and curriculums (voicesunheardproject.org) as well as an ambassador for the Samuel Vargas International Music Foundation which provides life-changing opportunities through music education internationally (samuelvargasfoundation.org) And I work with the National Orchestral Institute + Festival as the Sphinx Orchestral Futurist Fellow to help build their DEIA (diversity, equity, inclusion, and access) efforts. I take these issues to the stage every time I perform with my programming as well as into my practice as a teaching artist. I do hope to plant my own arts organization soon… What are your hopes for the future? Remember, how I always wanted to play in an orchestra? I don’t want to be in an orchestra made up of artists, I want to be part of an orchestra made up of civic artist leaders who refer to their community work as a responsibility. And I hope, very soon, that this will be the case for the entire industry. ______________________ About the Author Chicano flutist Chaz Salazar employs “classical” music as a catalyst for social justice as an orchestral musician, teaching artist and musical activist.  He works to ensure that students who are part of marginalized communities, specifically BIPOC and those of socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds, have equitable exposure and access to music and music education. In his hometown of Phoenix, Arizona, he has served as the flute instructor for Harmony Project Phoenix, an El Sistema-inspired program. Salazar received his early formal musical training from a similar program called Rosie’s House: A Music Academy for Children which provides free music lessons to under-resourced youth. As a performer, Salazar was a founding member of the in-home chamber music series, An Evening of Music, where he made appearances on over 30 concerts. Along with performances at churches, community centers and retirement homes, Salazar has also performed with the Phoenix Symphony as a substitute musician. Currently, he is attending CCM in the Artist Diploma program under the mentorship of Demarre McGill (Principal Flutist, Seattle Symphony). There, Salazar is part of the CCM@Mercy partnership which affords him the opportunity to perform in area hospitals for patients, families, physicians and staff. He is also the flute instructor for CCM Preparatory and Community Engagement. More recently, Salazar was awarded the National Orchestral Institute Sphinx Futurist Fellowship; it is a unique artistic and performance fellowship available for Black and Latinx musicians that combines administration, orchestral performance, festival curation and community engagement. As the fellow, Salazar will work with the Director of the NOI+F on the planning, recruitment and execution of the festival over a 13-month period to advance his career as an orchestral musician and provide a creative platform for shaping the orchestra of the future. In his advocacy and social justice efforts, Salazar serves on the board for Quinteto Latino and he is a consultant for concert:nova and Voices Unheard. He is also an ambassador for the Samuel Vargas International Music Foundation. A first-generation college graduate, he earned both his BM and MM degrees in Flute Performance from Arizona State University, the latter degree as a Reach for the Stars Fellow. In addition to Demarre McGill, Salazar’s other influential teachers include Judy Conrad, Brian Gordon, Elizabeth Buck and Marco Granados.

“You favorite piece is the one currently on your stand. That is your job! Period.” When writing an article about how to practice it is inevitably going to result in a rather subjective train of thought. So I want to start off by saying that what you are about to read is my personal philosophy based on my own experiences and advices given to me by teachers I have had whom I respect immensely as flautists, musicians and most of all remarkable human beings. My focus here is on études, but whatever written here can be transferred to any piece of classical music if you want. I do believe 100 % that what I am about to say is the truth. But what is the truth? Certainly, the truth is a multifaceted thing with more sides to it, and I welcome you to disagree with anything I say*. The worst thing that can happen is that both you and I have used our brains and given more than one or two constructive thoughts to what it means to practice. If you are a young person who is studying with a wonderful teacher who contradicts me, please follow your teacher’s instructions and not mine. Many roads lead to Rome… Anyways, now that that has been said, let’s begin: The opening quote is what one of the flute professors I’ve had the enormous privilege of learning from insisted on when students of his complained they didn’t particularly like or enjoy the music in front of them. It has since become somewhat of a mantra for me to LOVE the music I’m playing, regardless of what it is, when it was written and who wrote it. When I today hear claims like for example “I don’t like baroque music” I find it a bit peculiar and even a little immature. Especially from flute players, considering that our repertoire isn’t the biggest compared to what e.g. singers, violinists and pianists have to choose from, and that we thus should cherish whatever music we have available and look for the good things in it. As a professional musician you’re not always at liberty to choose what’s on your repertoire list. Be that if you’re in an orchestra, freelancing or even doing solo work, you’re most likely going to have to play what you’re asked to. For most of us the classical music business is not super lucrative financially and personally I’ve yet to experience the freedom to be picky. If you’re a music major (as the English speakers call it), I’m sure you have some pieces that you really love on your music stand right now and that you’re planning on working on them for quite some time (What a privilege by the way!!). The weekly études your teacher or professor is making you do in addition to those pieces is great practice when it comes to conquering new things often. It’s so healthy to ALWAYS change up your diet!! So take them seriously, and try to get through as many of them as you can while you have the chance to do so under the guidance of a good teacher! Hence my first advice when working on anything is having the right ATTITUDE: how can you succeed at making magic unless you’re willing to be interested and adventurous, and without having the “drive” to learn something new about yourself? In my humble opinion, if you’ve already made up your mind about everything in life and music, it is going to be a lot more challenging, if not impossible, to have consistent motivation to practice and improve your abilities. I bet you too can agree that if you’re able to really love your études they’ll seem like less of a chore to do too? Make it a win-win situation: Improve your flute skills and stay happy and positive while doing so! Yay! One thing is mindset and attitude, but another thing is to be clever about it! As a silly example: say you’re going to visit a country you’ve never been to before… Would you simply just get on a plane and take it from there as you arrive at the airport? Or would you maybe look into a few things first: E.g. what language(s) they speak there? What clothes you need to bring? How will you find your hotel? Are there any cultural things you need to know about etc.? I do think that it’s a good idea to treat the process of learning a new piece of music the same way: Please know right away that your subconsciousness is a wonderful, wonderful friend. And that you can take advantage of it if you know how to dispose of your time. So be clever, find out as much as possible in advance, MAKE A PLAN and stick to it! Ask yourself the following: How long am I going to spend on this étude? Adjust your expectations to when you’ll have the finished result to the answer to this question. If you’re planning to spend 6 days on the étude, then don’t beat yourself up for not being able to play through it without mistakes after the first or second or even third day. Schedule when to have the result, use the entire period efficiently and target your hard work on what exactly needs just that: hard work. Does this étude have a form? Most études are not written in free form but they have a shape, like most musical pieces do, often an ABA-form. This means that there’s very likely an opening section, a middle part and finally a last part which is identical or almost identical to the opening section. If you’re clever you realize then how to portion out your time (You probably shouldn’t have to spend an equal amount of time working on two identical passages). What can I learn from this étude? An étude is a piece of music and should be treated as such. But an étude is also an exercise which targets one or more specific challenges for the instrument which it is written for, be it triplets, octaves, legato, staccato, sostenuto, breathing and… you name it! Be aware of what part of the gym you’re in, if you’re doing cardio or weightlifting or something else. Reconnaissance where the most difficult passages are and be sure to spend more time working on these than on what comes easy for you (Time is money! Don’t waste any). What is the right tempo for me? If the étude has metronome markings, look away from them right this moment. Learn the Italian musical terms and focus on that: did you for example know that Allegro means Happy, not Fast? (Do you know the actual meaning of the word Staccato? I can tell you right now that Short is the not the correct answer, so go use Google Translate and find out!) The right tempo for you is YOUR TEMPO and what exactly that is will manifest at the end of your process. I always find it much more impressive hearing someone play all the notes with a nice even sound at a moderate tempo, still having capacity to phrase and follow the written dynamics and articulations, than a clumsy “this is how fast I can ALMOST play it” version. A bodybuilder didn’t become good at benching 150 kg by starting at 150 kg: they needed to lift a lot of 40 kg, 50 kg, 60 kg etc. etc. first in order to get to the seriously heavy weights, right? Velocity is like a muscle that needs to be built the same way! To quote a children’s book character us Scandinavians hold very dearly, the one and only Pippi Longstocking: “I have never tried that before, so I think I should definitely be able to do that”. If you’re able to adopt that way of thinking you’re already on a good way to conquer the task at hand! But practice slowly and patiently and allow your good friend, the subconsciousness, enough time to get some work in too; don’t bang your head at the wall with the technical things but rather trust in that it will be better tomorrow if you gave it a fair and honest go today (I PROMISE!!). Then move on to the next task. Personally, I’m someone who easily get bored in the practice room. Maybe you recognize the feeling of working hard on something specific and at a certain point your mind just swifts to other places? First of all, you are not alone about this. Second, this is when you take a break. Taking BREAKS is one of the most crucial parts of practicing and something we should offer a lot of awareness. Taking a break can mean going to lunch. It can also mean putting your flute down, opening a window for 3 minutes and check if you already follow @eirikflute on Instagram, answer an e-mail, meditate or something else that will clear your mind. You do not only take breaks to avoid injuries, but also to avoid getting bored. Remember that! – it goes right back to the point of having the right mindset and attitude, doesn’t it? Spend no more than 60 minutes à day on your étude, and unless your teacher says otherwise: don’t dwell on it and move on to the next challenge! If it is a particularly difficult étude, find it again in 12 months and give it another go. Chances are it’s suddenly a lot more manageable! Why? – Because you improved!! *Unless you’re my student. Then you better listen to me! Or else I will kick your butt! ;-) ______________________________ About the Author Eirik Hoel Sandvik comes from Tromsø, Norway. Eirik is a student of Torkil Bye, Benoît Fromanger, Vidar Austvik, Aldo Baerten, Peter Verhoyen (piccolo) and Lars Asbjørnsen (Norway, Germany and Belgium). His CV includes performances with many professional orchestras and ensembles both inside and outside of Norway and he performs regularly as a soloist. As a teacher Eirik has worked many years as a flute instructor for children, taught flute and music theory on summer courses in Norway and given masterclasses at L’École Normale de Musique de Paris in France.

Dear reader, You may not realize it, but fate brought you here today, but before we get too far into things let me introduce myself. My name is Jon Olejnik, I’ve toured the world playing saxophones, flute, clarinets, and many world folk instruments (36 to be exact) in just about every capacity that you can imagine: Professional Big Bands, Wedding Bands, Corporate Bands, Rock and Roll Bands, as well as my own groups. I’m a D’Addario Woodwinds sponsored musician and clinician and have developed my share of students over the years. On paper (and social media) my experience looks impressive, and to an extent it is, but it does not paint the full picture of how me and my career came to be. Social Media pulls a love/hate relationship from many. You see those bright pictures full of smiling faces in exotic locations, new cars, fancy entrepreneurs looking to sell you their secrets. There are all kinds of mixed messages out there in the jungles of Facebook and Instagram, but there is one underlying reason social media exists and that is to connect with others that exist outside of your “pod” that share similar interests. I’ve seen many “Social Media Gurus” shouting from the rooftop to “Unfollow those accounts that make you jealous!!”, but my message is the opposite; these accounts can help you. Let me bring you into my personal journey to shed some light on how utilizing social media as a tool has helped grow my career. Like most students studying music, I had my foot in the practice room religiously; putting the time in with the instrument so I could win that audition when I got done with school. Unfortunately that day never came- I actually had to take a mental health withdrawal in my final year of schooling (something that was necessary at the time and has not held me back in any major way. After all, to win an audition, no one is asking for your degree, only a demonstration of your skill). Now, don’t get my message wrong, practice is very important and school can provide you with easy connections. In fact my first “big gig” came months after withdrawing from school- The My Fair Lady North American Broadway Tour. It was a glorious 9 months of high pay, high performance expectation, and traveling through just about every state as well as Canada. However when I returned from the tour I reached another rough patch, “How can I get another job like that,” I wondered. It was too perfect the first time. I ended up taking a job at Toys R Us, first unloading trucks in the middle of the night, then working my way up to eventually become an Assistant Store Manager within 2 years. Was I practicing during this time? The answer is…well, not really. However, what I was doing was reaching out to those musicians that I idolized in order to figure out a path to my own success and using social media as a way of forming my future career. Cirque Du Soleil had always been my dream gig- that’s the end goal. Luckily, Cirque Du Soleil sells the soundtracks to their shows and it’s easy to look up who the musicians are that they hire, so I started reaching out through social media for advice on what instruments to learn, what music to listen to, and what to practice. After receiving good responses from most that I reached out to I gained further inspiration to audition. Since that time Cirque Du Soleil has asked me directly to audition for four of their shows (no takers yet, but I am still assured by these musicians that being asked directly to audition is a very good sign: I remain hopeful). Fast forward a few years and I exited Toys R Us to become a full time musician. Experience is invaluable in the music industry and putting yourself out there is 99% of the puzzle. Social media allows you a means to get your name out and connect with those in a position that you want to be in. Now, knowing my back-story clues you into knowing that not everything on social media is “real”. I still very much struggle with my own mental health, but sometimes that creates a good push to utilize social media in the “healthy way”. Like everything, moderation is important. Give yourself some guidelines for success: Post 3 times per week (This is a healthy average that allows “breathing room”) Engage with your followers and those who follow you (This seems like common sense, but sometimes we get caught up in creating our own content to appreciate the content of others) Find those people who create great content and reach out to them (Behind those beautiful, staged pictures are real people with real stories and advice. Sending a private message takes very little time or effort. After all the worst that can happen is they don’t respond, that’s how you know they’re not here to help you) One of my goals as a musician was to gain an endorsement from a company that I love (many others have this goal, so if that’s you, you’re not alone). It’s all too easy to make posts featuring your favorite brands- also, these companies LOVE free advertising. Most companies spill lots of money into marketing because good marketing turns into good, life-long customers. Turn a focus of your posts into highlighting brands and in a year or two you may be looking at an endorsement (just don’t forget to engage with the brand of social media as well). In my story, it took a year to reach a point where I earned an endorsement, and the final piece was reaching out to the company to ask if it was possible to buy reeds direct through them. EXPERIENCE is something that makes for good social media content. Everyone has low-paying gigs, especially at the start of their career. Turn those low paying gigs into social media posts- will it be hard? Yes. Does it lead you to feeling like a phony? In some cases yes. But realize that EVERYONE starts at the bottom and it’s nothing to be ashamed of. Are you giving lessons for $10? Awesome! Shout it from the rooftops and gain your student base as you expand on social media. Eventually you’ll be giving lessons for $50+ AND you’ll be a successful teacher while your at it. So, let’s pull some points together as a final thought: Engage with everyone on social media (comments, messages, the whole mess of it) Post on a regular schedule (Don’t overdo it and burn yourself out) Get that experience (When starting out “YES” is your friend, but don’t let yourself be taken advantage of) MAKE GOALS ___________________ About the author JON OLEJNIK D'Addario Woodwinds performing artist Jon Olejnik is one of the United States most in-demand instrumentalists and touring musicians. Most recently Jon has been on tour with The World Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra, performing 220 dates over 48 weeks of touring, playing Tenor Saxophone, Clarinet, and Flute Past tours/acts include Bernadette Peters, Jazz drumset legend Jimmy Cobb, featured soloist with Princess Cruise Lines, Harlem River Noise, and the Broadway North American Tour of "My Fair Lady" As a multi-instrumentalist Jon plays, performs, and records on over 36 different woodwind instruments ranging from modern-day winds (saxophone, flute, clarinet, etc), to world folk instruments (Indian Bansuri, Bulgarian Kaval, Albanian Duduk, etc), all the way to Early Music winds (shawms, recorders, etc) Jon's playing has been lauded as having an abundance of creativity, being called "a musician's musician". Discography: "When You Feel It Within", Steve Sholz (2012) [Sideman: Tenor Saxophone] "Not All Who Wander Are Lost: a musical memoir", John Díaz-Cortés (2013) [Sideman: Clarinet] "Irresponsible Days", Harlem River Noise (2018) [Sideman: Tenor Saxophone] "Now Hear This!", Jon Olejnik & Aaron Krings (2020) [Leader: Tenor Saxophone/Clarinet]

First off, thank you for visiting my website and your interest in this page! I created a blog for my website in order to better connect with musicians all around the world. I want to connect with you, and that is where this page comes in. The incredible Brené Brown shares the importance of courage, compassion, and connection in her book Daring Greatly, and that's what I choose everyday. I believe that connection, especially, doesn't stop just because we aren't in the same geographic location. On here I will present topics from some of my favorite people, shops for flute materials, articles/videos I found interesting or helpful, and one on one interviews with other musicians. Reading this and thinking: 'I would love to contribute to this page', don't hesitate to reach out to me on my contact page or through my socials. I want to see how we can work together and collaborate on new projects. I can't wait to get started! Guilherme Andreas