Flute Lessons in NYC New York

Instruments: Saxophone Flute Clarinet Music

When did you decide to become a professional musician? Was it a gradual decision or was there a defining moment for you?
I decided to pursue art, music and theater when I was 5. It was not a decision to become a professional, it was a decision to focus on specific target, to master arts. It took 20 years for me to find out which area in arts I want to pursue. Finally, after being an actress, singer-songwriter, composer, pianist, guitarist, opera singer, jazz vocalist, I came to play woodwinds and become an improvising musician and a band leader which is now my main profession.

Does music run in your family? Tell us a little about your musical family members.
I come from a musical family, both my parents play piano, and they always had a rich collection of records that I was hearing as long as I remember myself. Both my aunts were classical pianists as well, very strong and virtuosic, and my uncle was a composer and an improviser on piano. My brother is a film composer.

What does a normal practice session look like for you?
Necessarily playing a set of calm breathing - long tones, playing scales that I need to interiorize, improvising, playing etudes that are challenging for breathing and stamina, learning new melodies.

If you have a Music Degree, what is it in (Performance, Education, Musicology, Theory, Composition, etc) and why did you choose that degree?
I have one Master's Degree in Performance (Germany) and one Master's Degree in Composition and African-American Music Studies (US). I did not choose these degrees. I earned them because I went to study first performance, then composition and arranging. In Germany, I won the place at the Conservatory out of 22 applicants, and in the US I was awarded a full scholarship and a teaching assistantship. That is how I earned both degrees.

What is your dream piece to perform and why?
As an improvising musician, I do not have any specific way to play a specific piece, so each time I play anything, is a dream piece for me at this very moment.

If you weren't a musician what do you think you'd be doing instead?
I would be a writer, an author, a translator of writing and poetry, because literature and poetry are my strong side, besides music. I do not know why 27 words are required, it is a very short answer that does not need that many words at all. So I am just writing words in order to fulfill the minimum requirement.

What is your favorite style/genre of music to play and why?
The style that comes out of my being. There is no style of human beings. Each one is unique. Someone who plays any music, has to be who he is first and foremost, not trying to fit any style.

If you play more than one instrument, how did you decide to start playing the second? (Or 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc)!
Why not. I do not know why 27 words are required, it is a very short answer that does not need that many words at all. So I am just writing words in order to fulfill the minimum requirement. Let me write some more, it is still not enough, apparently.... Whew, now it is enough.

Do you use specific teaching methods or books? (Ex: Alfred, Bastion, Suzuki, Hal Leonard) Why did you choose them if you did?
I have specific books that I use, but in my own way and order. In the US, there are no individual method books for teaching saxophone, flute or clarinet anymore, like there are method books for teaching piano. For some reason, woodwind methods are only for a group, a band or a very, very slow personal study which is not fit for an average thinking person. Therefore, I prefer to use my own method which differs greatly from person to person. However, if a child needs help with school band music, I will use the books that he/she will bring along.

What do you think is the hardest thing to master on your instrument?
The hardest thing to understand is that there are no ultimate achievements, that it is important to set small goals and make sure these goals are attainable technically. Learning and mastering never ends, because we ourselves don't stay the same and our understanding of what mastery is, constantly evolves and grows. By learning music, we develop ourselves more than we develop our technical abilities on the instrument. We teach ourselves to grow. And of course, because woodwinds involve our complete body, not just arms or hands, the physical challenge in getting used to it, differs from person to person, from body to body. So I simply expect physical and technical challenges to be very, very individual.

Have any of your students won awards or been selected for special honors? How have they succeeded?
A few of my kids students have been selected to perform at Carnegie Hall for a spring concert of the School Of Music Westchester. One adult student of mine in Belgium has a few records that came out. But more often, I teach amateurs and music lovers who never take part in any competitions, have a very stress- and competition-free relationship with music and simply enjoy playing for themselves.

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