I thought it would be interesting to write a little about orchestration and what it means to us as orchestral players.

The term 'blend' comes up a lot these days and perhaps each persons idea of what that really means is different. Understanding when it is important to bring your part to the front, or to melt into the sound of other instruments, shows a sophisticated and mature understanding of orchestration and orchestral playing.

Firstly, you need to be aware of what is going on around you. All too often there is a one dimensional view rather than taking in all that is happening in a work. This really matters. Perhaps your part is very difficult to play, and so you want to make sure that everyone can hear just how you have mastered your own part. No, that is not mature, sophisticated, aware, orchestral playing. When your solo comes up, you will have your time to shine. Meanwhile, what did the composer really intend by writing the flute doubling the first violins? What was the composers intention writing 3 flutes on the one part, why does are the 1st and 2nd flute parts in octaves, what does it mean to accompany another instrument?

For the most part, composers are very skilled at writing what they want. It is the individual players that usually decide that they need to be heard above all else, at the detriment of the original vision.

So for starters, go with what is written. Keep to the written dynamics. You may be playing a veritable flute concerto, but if it is written pp, then do that, as it is probably an effect that is to be heard as motion and fluidity in the score, nothing more. When paired up with another instrument, do not fight to be heard. To correctly balance out a pairing you may need to adjust your dynamic very slightly as the flute is very often an octave above the other duo partner. Acoustically when the flute is in the upper octave in such a duo, it will be heard easier, so just under the other instruments dynamic will give a beautiful mix of both instrumental colours.

That is really what it means to blend - it is the creation of a new instrument. Differences of attack, breath needs, bow needs, characteristics of the instrument - all of these can be melded into the characteristics of the flute to create something new. It is not a competition, and it is not about the individual. This is where the conductor will also want flexibility in the individual players to shade his/her interpretation of a work.

To begin with, you develop this art of playing via studying and performing chamber music, and graduating to orchestral playing. Having the score is essential and marking various small notations in your part will help as well. I like to write u for unison with 2nd flute and indications like cl, vln, vc, etc for other instruments. If I am taking over a phrase from another instrument, I will write a slur into my phrase, or out of the phrase if passing on to another. In time, you will understand orchestration concepts of particular composers. For example, Beethoven loves to pair flute 1 and horn 1 in chords, and Mahler loves to double or even triple unison flute lines.

This brings me to another important point. What does the composer want when they write the same unison part for 3 flutes? The answer is that they want a 'big' flute sound. It is not the sound of three individual flute players all playing at once. The goal is to enhance the dynamic of the 1st player, to create a larger version of that one player. Actually in that instance the 1st player should play slightly more than the others, and again the goal is to sound like one player, to support and enhance that quality of sound. It is not a competition but a joint, team effort that creates the correct effect.

Enough on that subject for now, I am sure I will have more to say in the future. Thanks for reading!

Probably the hardest piece of the week has been the Glazunov, titled Birthday Celebration. I am not sure where this piece of music comes from, but I will be sure to copy some of the fiendish solos so that I am prepared for next time! This piece reads literally like an Anderson study.

Carnival of the Animals Voliere is a unique solo. Perhaps the most difficult part of performing the solo is the fact that you cannot control the orchestral intro before the flute even plays. We played it without conductor (actually this is the 2nd time with Orchestra Victoria for me, we also played it at the Port Fairy Music Festival back in 2008). So the strings start with a tremolo, and you are then relying on a perfectly co-ordinated cello and Bass to give you a firm quaver upbeat into bar two, again into bar three where you make your confident and secure entrance. I am grateful to my incredible colleagues Mellisa and Dennis who were 100% When playing the piece without a conductor, you really need to understand who is playing when - at times it is essential to be locked into the lower strings, then other times listening to the interjections from the piano. One thing is for sure - you cannot wait to respond to these musical interactions with the other instruments or you will most certainly be behind the beat. Rather, take the lead and spring over the quaver rests to actively indicate with your body and your phrasing to the other musicians. I find that it is not necessary to worry about projection in this solo. Forcing the sound never works, it may sound full up close but it won't carry very far. I always spend lots of practice time on this solo playing it up to tempo but slurred, attempting to get even sound within a mp to mf dynamic. Because the range is so extreme in the solo, you do not want the low notes to sound weak, or the high notes forced, so slurring helps to even the dynamic out. Ideally this extreme range of pitch should not really be obvious to the listener! It is an amazing solo and I just love playing it.

Playing Classical Symphony in a ballet is a surreal experience, not unlike the feeling I had when playing Debussy L'apres midi d'une faun a few years ago. It too was part of a triple bill, one that required a striking of the pit in the intermission. Under normal 'concert' performance circumstances one would have the luxury of being able to warm up, get stand and seat organized, feel comfortable before playing either one of these major flute works. In this setting, you just have time to get into the pit, adjust your chair which by the way must have been previously occupied by a giant as my feet don't even touch the ground, then the stand is too high, don't forget the sconce light is in the way of you being able to turn the pages of the music, tune up then... in the case of Classical Symphony...wait for about 3 minutes as a DVD is being played! And again wait up to 4 minutes inbetween movements as silent action takes place on stage. When you play in the pit, anything goes and it is up to the performers to make the music work regardless. A couple of tips when playing Classical Symphony -

1. First movement: in the marked solos, be absolutely sure of the rhythm of the two quavers, then the quaver triplets. I can't tell you how often I have heard players rush through both and it really affects the playfulness of the solos.

2. Second movement: keep the triplets in the solo very clearly on the beat, with not accent on the second notes. It is so easy for the second notes in those triplets to sound on rather than off the beat.

3. Fourth movement: It is very fast, not very loud. The loud sections are more flashes of brilliance within a transparent, light, fluttering race. The flute duet 'chatter' should be very much in the background as there are  some amazing solos in the strings and bassoons that will be missed if the flutes decide that they want the world to hear how quickly they can play. Safety in numbers - don't panic about sections that are doubled anyway!

I adore playing this piece, so so much fun and it puts a smile on your face.

I also wanted to write about different ideas that pop into my head regarding flute pieces that I may be teaching to my students each week.

I sincerely hope that any insights I may have will help you achieve your musical goals, and thank you in advance for reading!