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Fresh flute music... and a little fun!

Mary Matthews and Mark Cramer at the NFA 2024 conference in San Antonio.
Valentina Barrera-Ibarra
/
TPR
Mary Matthews and Mark Cramer at the NFA 2024 conference in San Antonio.

I was told it’s the largest gathering of orchestral musicians devoted to one instrument in the country. Like there’s a violin convention, and a percussion convention, a clarinet convention, et cetera… but the National Flute Association convention is the biggest of all of them, with nearly 3,000 musicians that attended the 2024 convention, which was held in San Antonio at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center.

The stop provided an opportunity for TPR to capture a few performances, including several World Premieres, from a brand new sonata by Carlos Franzetti, to a light and airy work by Adolphus Hailstork called “Circus Butterflies.” Both of those featured the stellar flutist Laurel Zucker.

Mary Matthews didn’t hold it against her musical partner Mark Cramer that he was playing clarinet! They brought a lot of humor to their set, including some fun theatrics on pieces like “Frenemies.”

Finally, flutist Nicole Esposito and harpist Çağatay Akyol delighted everyone with melodies from Turkey and neighboring countries. The virtuosic performance had folks cheering!

Use the audio player at the top of this page to hear the entire session, plus commentary from composer Carlos Franzetti on his new piece, “Through Fields Into the Ocean.”

Applause for the performers.
Valentina Barrera-Ibarra
/
TPR
Applause for the performers.

PROGRAM:

Laurel Zucker, Christine Gangelhoff, Allison Franzetti

  • Adolphus Hailstork: Circus Butterflies
  • Carlos Franzetti: Through Fields Into the Ocean

Mary Matthews and Mark Cramer

  • Shulamit Ran: Flight of the Brave Chicken: Ode to Nina
  • Ruth Ellen Harrison: The Nightbird’s Song
  • Nicole Chamberlain: Frenemies
  • Anne McKennon: Rival, Duet, A Competitive Sport

Nicole Esposito and Çağatay Akyol

  • Arno Babadjanian: Melody
  • Fikret Amirov: Nocturne
  • Assen Karastoyanov: Spintress
  • Arr. Yusaf Yalçin, trans. Akyol: Three Old Istanbul Songs
Çağatay Akyol and Nicole Esposito perform melodies from Turkey.
Nathan Cone
Çağatay Akyol and Nicole Esposito perform melodies from Turkey.