Flute performers gather for Bothell performance
Published 10:35 pm Thursday, August 23, 2007
You’ve got to like their motto: “Bringing music to the world one breath at a time.”
Flute music, that is.
Flute Quest 2007 is a series of concerts and workshops this weekend that honor one of the oldest instruments in the world: the flute. It celebrates the versatility of the flute and will showcase world-class performers for three days starting today at Country Village in Bothell.
The Washington Flute Circle, a nonprofit group, founded Flute Quest in 2004 to provide education and a mentoring mechanism to create and support flute circles in the Northwest, as well as a way to provide goodwill services to surrounding communities while celebrating the native American flute.
Flute Quest’s concert series this year has the following lineup of performers:
6 to 8 tonight: Flute player and cultural presenter Nino Reyos was one of five flute players selected to performer at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah. Michael Graham Allen began building and selling native-style flutes in the mid ’70s. In the late ’80s, he introduced the native flute to mainstream and alternative music markets and made such recordings as “Tear of the Moon” and “Night Forest.”
2 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday: Composer, arranger and performer William Hoshal Jr. is a trained saxophone and woodwind player whose music has been featured at jazz festivals and on the concert stage here and abroad. Ancient Sounds is a group that creates world ethnic music from a wide range of cultures.
6 to 8 p.m. Saturday: Guitarist Vince Chafin does jazz, blues, R&B and country and most recently turned to playing native American, Anasazi and pre-Columbian Aztec flutes. Ron Warren performs on Native American flutes and keyboards and has been called by the Washington Post a “pensively evocative” musician. Self-taught flute player Jeff Ball has produced an album, “Cedar Moon.”
2 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday: Gary Stroutsos and David Lanz combine their talents to create serenades for piano and flute on the new album “Spirit Romance.”
In addition to hearing performers play, potential performers have a chance to shine on the New Breath Stage, Flute Quest’s answer to the open microphone.
The stage is set for new and emerging talent. The format is first come, first serve. Organizers ask that if you have CDs, bring them along. The stage is accepting new talent from 1 to 4 p.m. today and Saturday. For more information, go to the Flute Quest Web site at www.flutequest.com.
