Bonjour September, it’s la rentrée
September. The leaves are starting to turn, and although it’s still warm (well, here in southwest France it is) there’s an unmistakeable back-to-school feel in the air. In a country which basically takes the whole of August off, September means just one thing: la...
A week of inspired fluting in France
This May's Flutes in France was my 20th course, and the second in our own beautiful venue in southwest France. When we moved to France in 2020 the vision was to create our own superb studio where we could run our flagship international flute courses for adults (you...
Publications honoured at NFA
We were thrilled to get the news that no fewer than five of our editions published by Aurea Capra were honoured in the NFA Newly Published Music competition this year. MICRO ETUDES: Melodic Technique Exercises for daily practice by Elisabeth Parry was highly commended...
Autumn in southwest France
Autumn in southwest France... who would have expected October to be like this? Every day, temperatures are hovering in the mid to high 20s (or 70s if you're in Farenheit) - just as it was last year. The skies are a cloudless, deep blue. The harvest of grapes and plums...
A surprise encounter at the Abbey of Saint-Ferme
A surprise encounter at the Abbey of Saint-Ferme, where I am doing a concert next year, introduced me to a corner of history I was not expecting to find there. Our concerts- including course concerts - are often in churches and abbeys which might date back to the 12th...
Creating a flute studio in France
On a cold December day nearly two years ago, I escaped to France from the grey Oxfordshire countryside in a car packed to the roof with flutes, music, suitcases - even a digital piano. The perfect storm of Covid and Brexit had created the opportunity to realise my...