Makin’ music

What: Davis Youth Flute Choir performance, a culmination of the 28th annual Flute Camp instructed by director Maquette Kuper

When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 21

Where: Brunelle Performance Hall at Davis High School, 315 W. 14th St.

Admission: Free

The Davis Youth Flute Choir, under the direction of Maquette Kuper, will hold its 28th annual Flute Camp in Davis from July 11 to July 21. Applications for participants are now available.

The junior choir applicants (approximately grades 7 through 9) can sign up at the Davis Art Center either online at http://davisartcenter.org or by calling (530) 756-4100. The senior choir applicants (students in 10th grade through college) can download an application at the Davis Youth Flute Choir website, http://davisyouthflutechoir.org, or call (530) 756-7380.

The camp will conclude with a performance of both the junior and senior divisions at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 21, at the Brunelle Performance Hall at Davis High School, 315 W. 14th St. The public is welcome.

The Davis Youth Flute Choir specializes in both classical and jazz music and performs using the standard C flute, but also piccolo, alto flute and bass flute.  College students who are alumni of the choir come back to perform every summer as alumni guests.

The senior choir performs varied flute choir repertoire that will challenge the most advanced senior high flute students and still allow for the participation of flutists just entering senior high, Kuper says.

All the sheet music is provided for the students, and it is learned during the Flute Camp practice. Students learn advanced ensemble technique and gain confidence by improving their solo and ensemble skills, Kuper says.

The junior choir students need to be proficient on the instrument, be able to read music well, perform all notes (at least low C to high G) and have a basic understanding of rhythm. These students will learn elementary flute choir music.

The junior choir performs mostly on C flutes, but the alto and bass flutes are available to those who want to try playing them. Refined listening skills will be developed in order to improve the students’ intonation and rhythm. The music will be varied in style and period.

The junior choir will perform a few of their favorite selections and then will join with the senior choir to form the largest group of the day.

For the past 15 years, Fredrick Lange, director of bands at Davis High School, has added the jazz element to the program. Ordinarily, classical flute students have little or no exposure to jazz performance. But Lange has coached the students in the jazz style and conducted as well as arranged jazz pieces for the group.

Jazz flute choirs were introduced at the 2007 National Flute Convention by prominent jazz flutist Ali Ryerson, making flute choir performances in the jazz medium ever more popular.

The senior choir will perform not only classical music, but several jazz pieces. In the jazz selections, the choir will be backed by a combo featuring Neil Heaton on piano, Andy McCauley on bass and Stefan Waterstraat, drums. All members of the combo are in college or are about to start. All are also former members of the award-winning Davis High School Jazz Band, directed by Lange.

Since 2007, the Davis Flute Choir has rehearsed and performed year-round. In June 2008, the choir toured Japan and represented Davis in its first cultural exchange with its sister city, Inuyama.

In August 2010 the choir performed at the National Flute Association Convention in Anaheim. The flute choir has accepted an invitation to perform in Sanju, South Korea — another Davis sister city — in June 2011.

The choir also organizes annual benefit concert performances that have raised funds for the music programs of Davis High School as well as Emerson, Harper and Holmes junior high schools. Each December, the choir performs holiday music at the Sacramento International Airport as well as at various Davis and Woodland venues.

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