Pender Island Flute Retreat FAQ
What do I bring?
- a yoga or pilates mat and comfy clothes for morning classes. The weather can range from warm and dry to cool and wet. We’re pretty casual on Pender.
- A music stand.
- Please bring the following music: Taffanel & Gaubert, Marcel Moyse Tone Development through Interpretation and “24 Little Melodic Studies” as well as Reickert ”7 Daily Exs” and Dohnanyi “Passacaglia”. A complete repertoire list for the flute Masterclasses will be available shortly in May 2012
- Please read Les Pearson’s Body Mapping for Flutists book and Don Green’s Performance Success. It is recommended that you fill out Don Greene’s online performance skills inventory. Mr. Greene charges a fee for this analysis – just follow the directions given on the website.
How do I get to Pender Island?
Pender Island is located in the Gulf of Georgia in between Vancouver on the mainland and Victoria on Vancouver Island. (For more information and visuals go to www.penderislandguide.com)
Pender Island is accessible by BC Ferries from Vancouver (2 hours – Reservations recommended), Victoria (1/2 hour) or from the other Gulf Islands. Please visit www.bcferries.com for more information. Click on “Southern Gulf Islands” to receive schedule times for Vancouver (Tsawwassen) departures and Victoria departures (Swartz Bay). The Ferry terminal on Pender Island is called “Otter Bay” and yes there are plenty of Otters on and around Pender Island (as well as orcas and deer).
The other site that is very helpful for travel/links is the Pender Island Handbook.
What is the Alexander Technique and how is it relevant for musicians?The Alexander Technique is a method by which a person learns to apply the basic principles of the body's natural coordination to improve the quality of his or her own movement. The basic principles of the coordination of the body, which function unconsciously in infants and animals, can be learned and applied consciously to improve the functioning and integration of the whole individual. The new coordination may provide relief of stress and pain, make repetitious tasks easy, and provide a new opening for excellence in performers and others who need to use their bodies for maximum efficiency and endurance.
F.M. Alexander considered the relationship of the head, neck and back fundamental, and called this relationship the Primary Control. The Technique's basic idea is that when the neck muscles do not overwork, the head balances lightly at the top of spine. The Primary Control includes releasing the neck, allowing the head to be forward and up, and allowing the whole torso to lengthen and widen. Awareness to habits and attention to the ways in which the head balances at the top of the spine provide new quality to our overall coordination. This coordination is achieved when we are able to stop our habitual responses, and it provides the space for explorations of new ways of being. An Alexander teacher facilitates this change process through observation, analysis of habits and hands-on work.