A friend of mine who is a pretty good player told me I had to go… So I am! She said that Catherine is an excellent teacher. I think she teaches mostly at a school in Ireland, so she has a lot of experience. J.
Like virtually every flute teacher at one of these “summer camp” events, Catherine McEvoy’s teaching style is tune-based, by which I mean she’ll start each session with a new tune. She’ll give it to you phrase-by-phrase by ear until you’ve made it through the whole tune, she’ll play it through slowly and up-to-speed so you can record it, and she’ll write it down on the board for you in ABC notation. She’ll spend a good bit of time marking down where she puts the cuts in the tune, because basically for her the cut is all there is in terms of ornamentation. (Rolls of course being nothing more than a cut and a tap - the inverse of a cut, when it comes down to it - placed in the right spots.) Sounds pretty basic, doesn’t it, but then again what is there really to playing the flute beyond blowing into one hole and moving your fingers over six other holes? Simple, right? (Yeah, right…)
The genius in Catherine’s teaching style in comparison to others, though, is in these kinds of things: First, she won’t let you hide in the back of the class - by which I mean at any time she may point to you and say “Play it.” (You’d be surprised how many teachers will never listen to their students individually in classes like this.) Once you’ve played for her, she’ll tell you the one or two things you need to do to improve on the snippet you just played. Over the course of a week, after you’ve played for her several times, you’ll have a good idea of where you’re at as a flute player and what you need to work on to get to the next level.
Second, she’s patient, encouraging, tough but gentle. A lovely woman altogether.
Third, and most important, she’s a brilliant player. As has been said elsewhere, her recordings really don’t do her justice. Just being in close proximity to her over several days is bound to inspire you and give you a roadmap as to how Irish music ought to be played on the flute. I’ve taken several week-long workshops from Catherine myself, and when I showed up for the second one she saw me and said “You’re back again? Sure, you already know all of my tricks.” Which of course I did, but that’s not the point. Knowing and doing are two very different things, and it never hurts to have a reminder of where you need to be going. No matter how many weeks I’ve already spent with Catherine, no matter how good I ever get as a player, spending more time around her is always going to be exactly the thing I need to motivate myself. Unlike, say, Matt Molloy or Seamus Egan, her playing is not going to hit you over the head immediately with its brilliance and flash. It’s going to seem accessible, something you could actually have a hope of reaching yourself some day. But as you work your way into it, you’ll realize exactly what brilliance lies within her playing. You may never reach that level yourself, but it’s something you can realistically aspire to, again as compared with Molloy and Egan who will always seem beyond reach. It’s the realism of the aspiration, and the help along the way, that makes Catherine such a great teacher as well as a great player, IMHO anyway.
edit Ooops, forget this…did not notice the 2nd page 
Thanks, this was very informative… I’m even more excited about the camp now!
I don’t need any convincing that she’s one of the best and most tasteful players out there. 