"Practice your scales! Your Taffanel & Gaubert needs more attention. Did you work on your arpeggios? Keep those 16th notes even! Pay attention to this passage and these notes and ... everything!"
Does this sound familiar? Did it make you cringe a little?
With all of this stress and perfectionism, it's hard to remember why we play flute at all!
On Saturday, December 5th at 1pm, learn how to make every part of playing the flute fun - including your technique exercises! Sorcha Barr-Deneen, SDFG Recording Secretary, will share her favorite tips and tricks for practicing and performing, and overcoming perfectionism to truly enjoy music.
After an injury and 3 corrective surgeries, Sorcha thought her performance career was over. All those years of practicing, dreaming, and making plans had gone to waste, ruined by 1 bad fall... or so she thought. And so, Sorcha put her flute away.
Months later on a lazy afternoon, a little voice in her head spoke up. 'Maybe you could try playing again, just for fun... see how it goes...' As time passed, that voice spoke up more and more often until Sorcha was once again playing every day, just for fun. That fun spread from holiday songs to favorite classics to etudes until the day she pulled out her technique books and had a blast seeing what she could do, what was better than yesterday, what new adventure she could go on with the exercises. Before Sorcha knew it, she finished one degree and moved to the next, performing across the US and in Europe, premiering works and reaching new heights. Since then she has always kept one idea central to her music-making: This is all just for fun.
Sorcha studied with Dr Jonathan Keeble at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Christina Jennings at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and Hideko Amano in Illinois. She has premiered and recorded works across the US and enjoys performing electroacoustic music in addition to solo and orchestra works. She is an active teacher, performer, and adjudicator. Learn more about Sorcha at sorchabarr.net.