KiwiCelt Wooden Flutes

Flute Focus is an international flute magazine produced quarterly in New Zealand.

Octobers bumper edition of Flute Focus highlights the Native American flute with a two page feature on the late master Comanche flute player and artist Doc Tate Nevaquaya (1932-1996) who is credited with the rejuvenation of traditional Native American flute playing. Also featured is an introduction to artefact examples of two-chambered flutes of North America including plains-style flutes; an article titled North American Flute Goes Classical – new identities in contemporary music; Piping On The Plains looks at the history and various flutes of the indigenous peoples of North American and internationally renowned master flute maker Odell Borg provides a short article about the origins of what is called ‘the love flute’.

Under the banner of ‘Irish Flute’, Bob Bickerton offers an article which looks at some of the methods and concepts involved in recording the wooden flute. Bob is the founder and current chairman of the Celtic Flute School of New Zealand which is based in Nelson – a multi instrumentalist performer, composer, recording artist and educator who’s first love is Irish traditional music and the wooden flute.

Along with all that, Flute Focus offers all the regular features that make it such a great publication including an introduction and article from Alexa Still and editorial from Mary O’Brien who recommends watching this video clip on YouTube: Saint-Saens – ‘The Swan’ played on a bicycle pump. Mary also offers this pearl of wisdom from Mary O’Connor:

It’s not so much how busy you are,
But why you are busy.
The bee is praised.
The mosquito is swatted.

If you would like to subscribe to or obtain back issues of Flute Focus, visit the website: Flute Focus. Be informed and support a home-grown international publication that is going from strength to strength.

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