When I last wrote about my music studies, I was working on the second of Petites Etudes Mélodiques by Ernesto Köhler, Op. 33, Book 1. I am now working on the second of 18 Studies for Flute by Joachim Anderson, Op. 41. Neat symmetry there. This means that I am about halfway through Robert Cavally’s Melodious and Progressive Studies from Andersen, Gariboldi, Koehler, and Terschak for Flute, Book 1.

I returned to in-person lessons with my private instructor in mid-May, but I have decided not to return to band. By the time I checked in for a few Zoom rehearsals with them this summer, the group had shrunk to seven members. In-person rehearsals resumed this month, but for now I will fulfill the “play well with others” aspect of my music education by working on duets with my husband. After some success on a few short selections from Rubank’s 78 Duets for Flute and Clarinet: Volume 1, we are tackling Nick Homes’ arrangement of George Gershwin’s “Summertime.” It is much harder than Homes and Charro Flores make it sound, but we’re enjoying the challenge. My teacher also continues to assign duet work; I am polishing the last two (of ten!) pages of Haydn’s Duetto No. VI, Op. 101 (Based on Quartet, Op. 17, No.6), which is the second selection in Selected Duets for Flute, Volume II (Advanced).

I prepared “Scherzino” (Joachim Anderson, Op. 55, No. 6) from Robert Cavally’s 24 Short Concert Pieces for the spring recital, but when the program moved from the recorded Zoom format to an in-person venue, I withdrew and simply supported my studiomates from the (live) audience. (I also attended two delightful senior recitals this summer.) My current solo is “Hungarian Sérénade” (Victorin Joncières), also from the Cavally edition, which I will present for the last time at next week’s lesson.

The flute organization I joined last year sponsors a vibrant and motivational program of online seminars with such artists and teachers as Paul Edmund-Davies, Gaspar Hoyos, and Raimundo Pineda. Some of their exercises, tips, and practical wisdom have made their way into my daily practice, which has expanded to include the additional duet:

— 20 minutes: long tones and scale work
— 20 minutes: Melodious and Progressive Studies
— 20 minutes: assigned duet
— 15 to 20 minutes: second duet
— 15 minutes: rhythmical articulation
— 15 to 20 minutes: solo

As someone who feels she achieves more if the day has reliable rhythms (unintentional pun), I have taken to rising by 5 a.m. each day to complete daily chores and walk three or four miles before my husband starts his work. Over the last few months, I’ve added thirty minutes on the exercise bike and some simple stretching and weight work. After showering and catching up on paperwork and whatnot, then, I now generally begin my music practice by 10 a.m. and finish in time to prepare lunch, which leaves me the remainder of the day for reading and other pursuits.

As I said last September, music ameliorates the isolating effects of the pandemic; I remain so grateful for the opportunity to continue my studies.