Flute Fest

MARY JO WHITE, whose parents were musicians, grew up in a house full of music so, it’s no surprise that she chose to venture the world of music herself.

“Music was as an inevitable life choice for me,” White says. “In fact, I would say it chose me.”

White is the principal flutist at the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra and associate professor of flute at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

Why flute, you might ask?

“As a young person, I learned to play the piano, guitar, and finally flute,” White says. “Since my mother was a wonderful singer, I believe I liked the ‘singing quality’ of a flute – very similar to a vocal line and yet my own.”

White, who received a doctorate degree in flute performance from Boston University, started the UNCW Flute Ensemble Festival almost twenty years ago.

This year, the festival starts Friday and Saturday with rehearsals, and the free concert is Sunday from 4 to 6 p.m. at UNCW’s Beckwith Recital Hall.

WILMA: What motivated you to start the Flute Ensemble Festival, and what is the event’s goal?

White: “I started the Flute Ensembles Festival almost twenty years ago as an outreach into the area high school programs – a chance for them to learn and meet other high school flutists, and a chance for them to get to know me and my flute majors who frequently help coach the smaller groups. Our goal is for everyone to develop at his or her level as a better flutist and chamber musician, and for everyone to have fun! This is a very good opportunity for my flute majors to learn to teach and coach chamber music also.”

WILMA: What are some of your most memorable performances?

White: “There have been so many memorable performances in my life!  The ‘firsts’ come to mind.”

“My first concerto played with an orchestra (Flute Concerto – and from memory!) and the thrill of hearing an orchestra playing that beautiful piece with me.”

“Also, my first solos played within an orchestra – Beethoven’s 7th Symphony, the Bach Brandenburg Concertos … and my favorite: Romeo and Juliet by Sergei Prokofiev, which I used to watch on video. Also, my first Carl Nielsen Concerto for Flute and Orchestra – my favorite piece ever – played with the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra.

There are many chamber music performances that stand out for me as well: At a faculty quintet recital at Boston College with my colleagues, we played in the chapel as we watched the snowfall.

More recently, performances at National Flute Conventions in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Orlando, Florida, where Christina Brier, harpist, and I performed and promoted wonderful new music for flute and harp.”

WILMA: What can attendees expect from the Flute Ensemble Festival?

White: “The Flute Ensembles Festival is a weekend for high school flutists to come and work with me on basic flute techniques (breathing, legato, intonation, etc.) while learning flute choir and flute chamber pieces (trios, quartets).

Chamber music skills involve one player on a part and no conductor. Many of these flutists have never done this – it is exciting to learn to communicate with each other and perform on their own like this. On Sunday, we perform several selections that they have read and studied. This is followed by a half-hour chamber concert by the UNCW Flute quartet.”

WILMA: Any tips for people wanting to learn how to play a musical instrument?

White: “For people who want to start learning flute or any other instrument, I would say, ‘Go for it!’ There are several groups in town for beginning adults, New Horizons Band, for example, and band and string programs in schools. There are many private teachers in the area from whom they can take lessons.”