Spring Skiing in December

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Duo for Flute & Chairlift

There have already been waves of snowstorms in Southern Ontario, and in fact it was the first coast-to-coast white Christmas in Canada since 1971 – but late in December, the weather had turned mild and I found myself just north of Toronto with an hour or two of muted daylight on my hands: a perfect chance for a little spring skiing in December!

As I steered my car into the muddy parking lot for my inaugural visit to the Mansfield Ski Club, it suddenly dawned on me that there was a unique Urban Flute Project recording opportunity in the making.

I’ve had some odd flute ‘conversations’ in the last year or two: flute and paddle, flute and pneumatic drill…but the possibility of a duet for flute and chairlift totally caught me off-guard!

Tucking a bamboo flute in the sleeve of my Nike parka that a student recently had brought back from India for me – thanks, Sarah! – and securing my trusty Edirol digital recorder in one of my zip pockets, I was ready to hit the slopes. This was my first bomb down the hills in a couple of years – just like riding a bike I kept reassuring myself!

My thanks to Debby, Barb, Brendan and all the staff at Mansfield Ski Resort!

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You’re currently reading “Spring Skiing in December,” an entry on Urban Flute Project.

Published:: 01.02.09 / 7pm

Category:: (BACK TO TOP), RCM EXAMS

About

With a love of teaching and chamber music, Toronto-based flutist JAMIE THOMPSON has performed as both soloist and chamber musician in Canada and the United States, and continues to be active as aFreelance Musician, Teacher, Adjudicator and Clinician, specializing in community outreach, multi-media events and creative, performance-preparation workshops and coaching sessions.

Jamie has been on the Flute Faculty of the RCM since 1988. In addition to teaching and coaching, he has served as Chair, Woodwind Brass and Percussion Department, and has served on numerous committees, including The Community School Divisional Committee, Academic Council and the Council of Examiners. In addition Jamie has presented workshops on Examination and Performance Preparation, co-ordinated the RCM Professional Development Lecture Series, and has co-chaired the Faculty Advisory Committee for the RCM’s new TELUS Performance and Learning Centre, scheduled to open in 2008.

Bruce 01.02.09 / 8pm

Brilliant photo here, James. I love the blurred vignette. How did you get that effect? On another note, I stumbled across this website: http://www.iaai.ca/otf/otf.htm . I think you will find it interesting. Also, check out my latest set of photos of the Holocaust Memorial on phanfare. I would welcome your feedback.

Spring Skiing in December 01.02.09 / 8pm

[...] JR wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt [...]

Brandon 01.08.09 / 12am

Hello. Great website. Just thought I’d check it out after you visited Mansfield since I was working there that day. That was me in the rental shop. =)

Jamie 01.09.09 / 10am

Hi Bruce -I’ve been meaning to get back to you, so apologies for the delay. Glad you like this image which has been – uncharacteristically, I might add – ‘photoshopped’! Like my sound-files (98+% unedited), I take the same approach to how I post my photos…ie no cropping, tweaking, etc, etc…however recently I inadvertently downloaded what’s called Picasa (you know, like Picasso I guess, right?) and it’s actually amazing and very intuitive/easy to use.
I’m sure there are all kinds of platforms, however this is the first one I’ve ever tried and it works for me, especially since most of my photos are taken on my phone(!)
Just a word of caution, however, and that is that Picasa can appear to be quite invasive once you import it: it systematically runs through all of your drives, exporting a copy of each and every photo on your system onto the Picasa platform – this is done very efficiently, but don’t be alarmed if it takes a while. Once you have it set up, it’s a handy option to have, and edited images can be re-filed as needed.
Now if I can find a platform for editing my soundfiles that’s equally good I can proceed to select portions of my longer soundfiles, like our concert recording of Kalais performing last year at the Unitarian Congregation from last year!!
Hope this helps!
Cheers, J

Jamie 01.09.09 / 11am

Hey Brandon, Thanks for checking out Urban Flute, and glad you like what you found including the Duos for Flute and Chairlift! That was a lot of fun that day, so I’ll have to get myself back to Mansfield later in the season – for more than 45 minutes next time! Thanks for the ski equiptment: couldn’t have made the recording without your ‘tech support’ and expertise!!
Cheers,
J

Urban Flute Project

Spring Skiing in December

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