Friday, May 28, 2010

Robert Muczynski, Rest in Peace

One of my favorite composers, Robert Muczynski, died Tuesday May 25, 2010 in Tucson, AZ.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/obituaries/2328214,CST-NWS-xmucz28.article 



Click here to listen to me playing excerpts of his wonderful Sonata for Flute and Piano.






Expressive Teaching: The legacy of Alain Marion

Alain Marion (1938-1998) was a protege of Joseph and Jean-Pierre Rampal and himself became one of the most brilliant and influential flute teachers of the 20th century.  I had the pleasure to study flute with Alain Marion for six years, including two years as his private flute student in Paris, and the impact he had upon my playing and teaching was enormous.  Now, I am able to share some of his remarkable teaching with you.

You see, when I was Alain Marion's student in Paris, I recorded my lessons onto a portable cassette tape machine. After his unexpected death in 1998, I thought it would be too difficult to hear the recordings, so I stored them in a shoe box in my basement. In 2008 with the 10-year anniversary of his death approaching, I finally decided to listen to the recordings and what I discovered was an incredible document of Alain Marion's teaching. I have spent the past year digitizing, transcribing, and translating these recordings so that the rest of the world (that means YOU) could benefit from these lessons just as I did in 1995-1997. 

I hope you will take a moment to click the links on this page where you will be able to listen to several recordings of my lessons, download the lesson transcripts, and read some articles I have written which analyze Alain Marion's teaching methods.  Please share this information with your friends and colleagues as these are, to my knowledge, the only existing and publicly available recordings of Alain Marion's teaching. 

Download Lesson Transcriptions and Translations to accompany the audio examples!


Expressive Teaching, the Legacy of Alain Marion by Nina Perlove, as published in Pan Magazine, September, 2008, pp. 39-42.


Une pédagogie de la flûte expressive : L’HERITAGE D’ALAIN MARION 
par Nina Perlove; traduction française par Philippe François

A Tribute to Alain Marion by Nina Perlove (partially published in The Flutist Quarterly, Fall, 1998).

The French Flute School by Nina Perlove, Windplayer Magazine #60
See photos of Alain by Pryor Dodge.
Suggested Reading: 
The Bel Canto Flute by Sheryl Cohen.



Alain Marion (1938-1998) 
Born on Christmas day, 1938 in Marseille, France, Alain Marion studied flute with Joseph and Jean-Pierre Rampal, who went on to become Marion’s mentor and life-long friend.  In 1961 he won the Geneva Competition and subsequently held solo flute positions in the Paris Orchestra, Orchestra of Radio France, French National Orchestra, and Pierre Boulez’s Ensemble Intercontemporain.  He traveled the world giving concerts and masterclasses and from 1977 until his death taught at the Paris Conservatory.  With Rampal, he spent summers teaching at the renowned Summer Music Academy in Nice, France and his former students are among the most celebrated flutists today.

Online Flute Lessons


YES, I make house calls!
I am available for online flute lessons 
for all ages, levels, and budgets!

Private flute lessons via webcam are in real time. But does it work, you ask? Absolutely! It is very similar to having a teacher in the room with you but with the added convenience of not having to leave the comfort of your own home. No more worrying about traffic jams or snow storms to keep you away from your flute lessons. Just turn on your computer and we are ready to go! Email Nina for pricing and scheduling ninaflute@mac.com.





I  also offer more affordable online flute lessons through the amazing new teaching portal Ashbury Music Hall.  This allows us to send private videos and assignments back and forth, at your pace, on your own schedule. Since we don't meet in real time, but communicate by sending videos, audio and text back and forth, you can prepare your online flute lessons when it is convenient for you with the simple click of a mouse.  I tailor your assignments specifically to you and respond to your progress with personally made videos, JUST FOR YOU! You'll love it!


HOW TO RESERVE A LESSON
Email me to set up a day and time for your lesson
Be sure to tell me:
- if you want 1 hour or 1/2 hour lessons
- the repertoire you plan to cover in your lesson
- what is your level and experience
When your lesson day and time has been confirmed, pay for your lesson using paypal.

PRICING AND PAYMENT
$75/hour
$40 half an hour
$25 for a 15 minute consultation
$337.50 Pack of 5: 1 hour Lessons, save 10%
$180 Pack of 5: 30 min lessons
Click the PAY NOW button on this page to pay by secure credit card or paypal
Cancelled lessons without 24 hours notice are non-refundable
If I need to cancel your lesson, it will be rescheduled at no additional charge
Payment must be received 24 hours prior to the lesson




Lesson Pricing Introductory Offers!




WHAT YOU'LL NEED
a computer with high-speed internet access
a video camera
a microphone
speakers or headphones (headphones preferred)
we will first try using oovoo. At the time of your lesson, I will send you an email with a link to click that takes you to our private web call conference room.
You may also want to install a skype or ichat account just in case we have trouble connecting through oovoo.
We may schedule a brief (1 minute) test call a day or so prior to your first lesson to make sure the connection works.

TIPS TO IMPROVE CALL QUALITY
Upgrade your internet speed to the highest speed available through your isp. Try to get a download speed of 15 MB and an upload speed of 4.5 MB or if possible, 1.5 MB upload.
Use direct connect to your internet rather than wireless.
Make sure all other programs except the ones you are using for the call are closed. The best thing is to restart your computer before the call and then only open skype and no other programs until the call is over.
If using skype, go into skype - preferences - advanced - and in the box for incoming connection port, enter the highest number it will allow you to enter. On my computer it is 65535.
Consider buying a skype/webcall headset with microphone and a logitech HD web cam.

TESTIMONIALS
"I've been playing flute (self-taught) for quite a few years and have always strived to achieve a better sound and control on the instrument.  In one online lesson, Nina Perlove has given me invaluable advice which has already helped me make significant improvements in my playing. Not only is she an amazing flute player - she is also a superb educator."
Brian Wilson, Belfast, Northern Ireland.

“Through the incredible medium of the internet, I found that Nina Perlove epitomizes what I’ve always imagined ‘the art of teaching flute’ to be. One incredible insight that I gained from her lesson, is to recognize and self-assess my own progress via objective practice – particularly, with the use of the metronome daily.  Perlove is a master at putting her student at ease, no matter what level of playing one might be.  Perlove has an uncanny ability – through years of incessant training I’m sure – to hone in on her student’s needs in terms of what to focus on, where to work, and how to individually progress wherever their flute-playing endeavors might lay.  And most importantly in a student-instructor situation, Nina knows how to constructively teach her student with a sense of honest feedback that I believe, continues that most important loop of dynamic learning!”
Paula, USA