I saw that flutemaker Gille (Jil) LeHart just won a duet competition (Jil on biniou kozh accompanied by Daniel Le Feon on bombarde). This win qualifies them for the semi-final at Gourin.
Anybody know of any other flutemakers doing non-flute activities?
Cheers,
Aaron
Someone once told me he actually won his first bombarde competition a year or less after he started playing, which is quite a feat in itself.
One “non-flute activity” that a surprising number of flute makers seem to be involved in is competitive bicycling. Chris Abell, Bryan Byrne, and Chris Wilkes have all been pretty serious bike racers (I believe Wilkes is still very much at it), and I remember hearing of a few other flute makers who were also competitive cyclists.
Fascinating! This will be a fun thread!
Not as exotic as competitive cycling, but John Gallagher is first, a fiddle player and quite a good singer as well (according to Harry Bradley), though I’ve not had the pleasure of hearing him.
Cheers,
Casey Burns is (from his website) in another life a..
Casey also pursues avocational paleontology and other natural history interests, and has become something of a regional expert on Pacific Northwest fossil echinoderms - one of which forms the basis for his instrument stamp.
I got an email from him earlier this week saying that he is off hunting for fossils this week.
MarkB
Gilles isn’t only a flutemaker, and he also makes biniou. Great musician!
Very true, Mark. In fact the star he stamps on his flutes is his favorite echinoderm.
Cheers,
Aaron
Michael Copeland is into steel drums and keyboards. He used to keep bees.
I’m afraid I’m going to disappoint. My main not-flute-making activity is flute research. Sheesh, unimaginative, eh?
In my own defence, I can plead accompanying Jesse’s singing (on guitar), and cooking. I really enjoy cooking, but isn’t that just another workshop situation?
And care of our local carillon, (he added gratefully, warming to the topic). 40 tonnes of bells and steel framing, so a bit bigger than the flute. I voice the flutes with a fine scalpel blade. For carillons, you use an angle-grinder.
Oh and helping out our local community (Public) arts & music radio station.
Did I mention flute research?
Terry
Yes you did Terry, I think! I got these bells ringing in ears right now! I started to learn to be a bell ringer at my church when I was a teenager but we moved away.
MarkB
Hi, Terry.
Yo Jessie
Good to see you and the little one. We’ve added one of our own earlier this year (see the totally over-the-top account by the proud mum at:
http://www.mcgee-flutes.com/Roisin.html
Caution - only go there if you have a fast link and a lot of time!
So should I be adding Multiplication to my list of extra-curricular activities?
On paper and parchment they taught me to write
And in Euclid and Grammer they opened my eyes,
But t’was in Multiplication at which I proved bright
Agus fa’gaimid siu’d mar ata’ se’.
Terry[/b]
wow what a little corker!
Master craftsman/flutemaker Chris Wilkes plays the uilleann pipes in a band called Killorglin
Terry, she’s beautiful!! Congratulations! I didn’t know you’d had a third, and a girl! What a lovely family!
My daughter’s name is Joey Rose.
Yes, a girl at last, so I’m off the hook now! Whew!
So Joey Rose, eh? As you would have seen, ours is Roisin (“Ro-sheen”), Little Rose.
And yes, Chris Wilkes is nice on the pipes; we went to a session with him while I was visiting in 2002.
Terry
Interesting that so many makers have been involved in competitive cycling. I’m no maker, but I’m a competitive cyclist. David Levine was on the UC Berkley racing team in the late 60’s, raced road bikes.
vojne
I also used to be a bicycle mechanic.
Casey
Aha!, ok what’s the connection between bikes and fluting?
I’m starting to wonder about that myself, having been a racing cyclist for most of the 1970’s. Now I live next to a bike trail and I can hop on my bike and ride 10 miles to visit Dan Bingamon whose workshop is right next to the same trail.
Dave Copley
Loveland, Ohio