‘Flute Focus’ Magazine: April 2007
May 6th, 2007 by Shardul
I’m almost a full month late with this article, but I would like to let the world know about the April edition of Flute Focus. It was the 10th edition and a real cracker! Flute Focus is an international quarterly flute magazine produced in New Zealand by the ebullient Mary O’Brien. Mary — aside from being the chief editor of Flute Focus, a mother of teenage children and a busy flute teacher — plays second flute and piccolo with the Auckland Symphony Orchestra.
Flute Focus has regular contributions from several ‘well-knowns’ in the world of flute playing and music - perhaps the most well-known being Kiwi flute virtuoso Alexa Still. Other regular contributors are Brendyn Montgomery who presents a page on the Irish Flute, Maori flute aficionado Richard Nunns, flute historian and restorer David Smith, the writer and flute maker Leo Cappel, jazzman Jim Langabeer, piccolo specialist Rosamund Plummer, Suzuki flute specialist Pandora Bryce, PhD, and flute performance graduate Alisa Willis — to mention a few!
“I am very excited to be involved with Flute Focus, a fresh and innovative approach to flute playing. I thoroughly recommend it to flutists of all ages, abilities and aspirations.” — Alexa Still.
This latest edition of Flute Focus has a predominant medieval flavour. The cover was given to the feature article ‘Shepherds, Monks and Soldiers’ — a five page article collated and abridged by Maurice O’Brien from Chapter 1 of Ardal Powell’s renowned publication, The Flute. Shepherds, Monks and Soldiers looks at the history of the modern flute and makes very interesting reading. Leo Cappel presents two articles: the first of which is ‘Of Gemshorns and Russpfeils’ — an article about flutes made from cow and goat horns in medieval times. The second deals with making a medieval style flageolet.
Moving away from the medieval theme, Alexa Still covers two delightful little interludes, Richard Nunns offers a piece on the Putorino — a traditional Maori flute, Heather J Buchanan introduces body mapping, Brendyn Montgomery muses about the humble and much maligned tin whistle — an instrument that has produced many a great Irish traditional flute player, Betty Bang Mather unravels the mystery of Bach’s ‘Flute Allemande’, Rosamund Plummer gives us ‘Six of the Best’ for the piccolo, Pandora Bryce writes about healthy body use in young flute players and Jim Langabeer jostles with jazz. There is more, but I would thoroughly recommend getting your own copy — you can subscribe through the Flute Focus web site. I’m looking forward to getting the next edition in July…
From the final page of the April edition of Flute Focus and perhaps an adage that Mary O’Brien lives by:
“Knowledge is power but enthusiasm pulls the switch.”
... a web site dedicated to the simple system wooden flutes (aka 'Irish' flutes) that are so much a part of Irish traditional and Celtic music, and to the excellent wooden flutes produced by the Irish flute maker 
