Jeanne Baxtresser at our Flute Fair
by Helen Speilman

This Saturday (November 10, 2007) we had one of the most wonderful Flute Fairs that the Raleigh Area Flute Association has ever had - and no wonder! Our guest artist was Jeanne Baxtresser.

Jeanne Baxtresser had 30 continuous years of playing principal flute in orchestras, the last fifteen, of course, in the New York Philharmonic. Since her retirement, she has been one of the most sought-after master teachers in the world. She says she loves teaching now. Jeannie is so well-loved and respected that in previous NFA appearances, with people sitting on the floor and standing around the walls, they'd squeeze through the door and down the hallway just to catch her words. She won the NFA Lifetime Achievement Award last year. The first time I ever heard Jeannie speak, in 1997, I was so inspired that I had excitement coursing up and down my arms, and I went home and wrote an article about her before I unpacked my bags. Literally. She loves and respects professionals and amateurs alike,
and loves their music - it shows on her face and how she treats everyone with such positive and respectful energy.

We had a masterclass in the morning, followed by a workshop by Ms. Baxtresser called Lyricism and Line: Melodic Interpretation through the Use of Phrasing, Tone Colors, and Vibrato. During both the masterclass and this workshop, Jeannie played for us. She knew, by memory, the solo line of all orchestral excerpts, the second flute
parts, and get this: she knew the *piano parts* by memory. She performed her own arrangement of The Flower Duet from Lakme with our wonderful second flutist from the North Carolina Symphony, Mary Boone, and Nancy Whelan on piano. They also played another piece that was quick and fun that will be published soon.

After some workshops for teen students, we had a gala concert with performances by NC flutists Tadeu Coelho, duo Rosene Rohrer and Kimberly Allemang, Mary Jo White, Mary Boone, duo Rebecca Troxler and Nancy Schneeloch-Bingham, and Debra Reuter-Pivetta. Fabulous, all! - and we're hoping to have more such galas at future events.

On Thursday evening, Jeannie taught a masterclass at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The students, who have been taught this semester by Dr. Nathan Zalman, while Dr. Brooks de Wetter-Smith is on sabbatical, were breathtakingly excellent. Jeannie gave them some wise, experienced words about taking auditions.

After the Saturday event, a few of us were invited to dinner. We had the privilege of hearing more from Jeannie Baxtresser, as she told us about her life in the orchestra, wonderfully warm stories about Leonard Bernstein and Zubin Mehta, her growing up years, and her travels around the world. This was a day to treasure always.

November, 2007