Ok, this is a completely separate entry for today, but I had to go and write it because I was so surprised to learn the following…
So I went to my second audition for the Stanford Flute Ensemble tonight. (I had to do a second audition because the first one wasn’t actually with the woman who runs the ensemble…so tonight was the first night I’d ever met her, and she wanted to hear everyone, hence the “second” audition.) Anyway. So I played, and sight read, and afterwards I stayed for a few minutes chatting with the woman who directs the ensemble, Karen. It turns out that two of the women who heard me play at my first audition on Tuesday are widely-renowned in the flute world. One was Alexandra Hawley, who it turns out is quite accomplished, having made many recordings and studied under great flutists. The other was Alexandra’s mother, Francis Blaisdell, who was the first woman to ever graduate from Julliard and one of the first women to play a wind instrument in a symphony orchestra — in the late 1930s; she’s played with the New York Philharmonic and New York Ballet. Her name is up there with the top flutists in the world!!
So I was shocked and amazed to learn this, and so incredibly humbled to think that I played my piddly piece in front of someone so utterly huge in the flute world. Since I have never delved into the professional world of flute playing, I was totally and completely unaware of the caliber of teachers the music department here at Stanford has. I was just blown away, and so even as Karen contined telling me more about the ensemble, I sat there looking at her with my mouth wide open in amazement.
I am so glad I didn’t find out who Francis and Alexandra were until after my audition!! If I’d known, I don’t think my nerves would have let me play a single note.
