NEWSLETTER

WINTER 2009

After giving 12 solo concerts in December (indoor and out) both in CA and out of state, and sending out nearly 600 postcard announcements, I have sold over 700 CD’s in six weeks. Those weeks from Thanksgiving to Christmas were a bit of a blur and went by fast. I am grateful to all the buyers who contributed with a purchase or two or three! I hope your Christmas season was a blessed one this year and that the New Year in 2009 will bring with it a host of exciting new changes for you. It does for me anyway!

The first and foremost exciting new change is the anticipation of our second child in early May. We dare not underestimate the change that a new baby will bring to our household, be we eagerly look forward to this new and precious blessing from above!

I took January off to regroup, practice new concert material and prepare for upcoming concerts scheduled in February. My baby has now gotten used to the loud passages in my music that used to startle him (or her? …we’re keeping it a surprise). I don’t get jolted with a kick quite as often as before. It is an amazing thing to be playing and breathing with the music while feeling the bones of an independent life inside of me — a hand or foot stretching to define his or her space and moving to the music. I’m maintaining a steady exercise routine (swimming and walking) to keep my lungs strong and in shape for these performances.

This February I have the delight of playing one of my favorite flute concertos with a fabulous orchestra, Redwood Symphony. It is a Flute Concerto by the Scandinavian composer Carl Nielson. This concerto is memorable to me because it was the first flute concerto that I ever heard performed live with orchestra when I was just12 years old. My father took me to hear Jim Walker perform this fabulous work, and it was then that I made up my mind to pursue flute to that level and someday perform the same flute concerto. Immediately following that concert, my flute teacher set me up to take a private lesson with Jim Walker backstage. Jim was so inspiring to me that I remember to this day what he taught me about breath support, projection, and stage presence. As he picked up his gig bag and headed out for the night, he turned once more to say, “I hope to hear you on a recording someday. Good luck.” For a 12 year-old that was pretty impressive that he would look beyond all the years of work I had yet in front of me and anticipate the end result. There have been times in my pursuit of a music career when I’ve been close to giving it all up, but statements from mentors like that are invaluable and have kept me moving forward.

For obvious reasons, the Nielson concerto was not the first concerto I learned. I started with Vivaldi and then Mozart, but the Nielson was the third concerto I tackled in my late High School years, and then revisited later in my college music studies. I have had several conversations with Jim since, and I still love hearing him play live or on recording whether it is with his Free Flight jazz band or performing classical music.

If you are in the area, I hope you can come out to hear this whimsical concerto. There are so many personalities and emotions wrapped up in this performance. The flute takes on characters such as the hero, the carefree and light-hearted, romancer, the one in captive, and the over-comer and victor. You will hear emotions ranging from bold to sensual, sentimental, lamenting, and joyful; the musical conversations between the orchestra and flute are captivating. You can visit my Performance page for details.

Yours,
Jamie Mulfinger