NEW MUSIC - EXTENDED TECHNIQUES - IMPROVISATION - ELECTRIC FLUTE

Wildacres Retreat, Little Switzerland, NC
June 15 - 21, 2024

Come join us for a masterclass with Robert Dick on contemporary flute music in the beautiful Wildacres Retreat, North Carolina. The five and a half day workshop will consist of morning workshops, afternoon chamber music sessions, and evening masterclasses. In the morning workshops Robert will explore and teach techniques used in contemporary music.  These include throat tuning (also incredibly important in ALL flute playing), multiphonics, glissandi, quartertones, singing and playing, percussion sounds, and (of course!) circular breathing.  Each session will conclude with a brief group improv using the sounds and ideas discussed in the workshop.  

Melissa Keeling will lead afternoon chamber music sessions using these new sounds and musical approaches.  Melissa will also demonstrate the electric flute and the music that can be created by amplifying and processing the flute sound — she’ll cover a range of styles including Rock Flute!  Participants get to try the equipment out and see where their imaginations can fly to.  Robert teaches the evening masterclasses where individual performers explore works from the new music repertoire.  If you would like to explore improvisation, Robert will be delighted to help.

Robert will also demonstrate his radical Glissando Headjoint® and will have headjoints on hand for trial and purchase.

Melissa Keeling will be assisting, helping with learning new expressions and techniques and offering instruction in electric flute playing.  To hear some of Melissa’s spectacular music, please visit www.melissakeeling.com.

There is a place for all persuasions of flutists in this exciting course. New music aficionados may attend as performers and play in the evening masterclasses, receiving one-on-one instruction from Robert Dick. Flutists who are not versed in extended techniques will benefit from the morning workshops, where they can become familiar with these new ways to play the flute. “Newbies” are welcome as participants. Anyone who just wants to listen and learn but not participate may register as an auditor.

Wildacres Retreat is a conference center offering its facilities to non-profit groups conducting educational or cultural programs. At an elevation of 3,300 feet, Wildacres is situated on 1,600 acres atop Pompey’s Knob, a mountain near the Blue Ridge Parkway in Little Switzerland, North Carolina. It offers double occupancy rooms with private bath, a dining hall, a concert hall, an amphitheater, and many teaching spaces.