Now that I am back home, I am so excited to share with you some things that I loved about the 2024 NFA Convention! The atmosphere was electric in San Antonio, and it was so fun to catch up with fellow musicians and geek out together on all things flute. I attended several amazing concerts that even premiered new compositions, which I already have a sheet music shopping list started. I am especially excited for some new music by Ian Clarke! Here are a few things I experienced that I think you all would especially be interested in:

New Products to be on Your Radar:

While I was at the convention, I had the opportunity to try out the new products that Haynes Flutes has developed: a redesigned Amadeus headjoint, Q series piccolo, and a 9K Q Series flute. I am so excited for these! From now on, the step up Amadeus flutes that we will receive in the store will have the redesigned Amadeus headjoint. The biggest change is the lip plate is wider so that it will sit comfortably and be more stable on the players chin.

The Q series piccolo is in the pro level category, and I think it would be a great piccolo to try out if you are in the market for one! It has Pisoni Star pads, a solid silver mechanism, and a High G# mechanism. This piccolo will be available from Haynes later this year, so let me know if you are interested in trying it out!

The Q 9K flute is another new product I HIGHLY recommend trying if you are interested in gold flutes. I loved the warm, rich tone quality of this flute. The 9K has 10K white gold springs, silver rings, silver soldered tone holes and mechanism, and Pisoni S2 pads. You are also able to choose your headjoint option from one of Haynes’s professional Custom headjoint cuts.

I was also able to visit the Trevor James booth and test out some projects they have been working on: their Copper Alloy C flute with a wooden lip plate and their alto flute with a .958 silver headjoint. I absolutely loved the sound on both of these flutes! The wooden lip plate brings such a nice and warm tone quality to the copper alloy, and the .958 silver headjoint on the alto has a deep, rich tone quality. I could tell a huge difference in my sound on the .958 silver vs. the sterling silver headjoints.

Sessions on Performance Anxiety & Mindfulness

While there were many fantastic sessions that I attended, I especially enjoyed the ones that addressed the “player” as the instrument instead of the flute. If you are like me (and most musicians) you deal with some amount of performance anxiety. Flutist and Mindset Coach, Chelsea Tanner, led a great session on managing performance anxiety. We went through exercises on how to manage your anxiety as well as gained a better understanding of why our bodies and minds go through this. If you’d like to learn more about this subject and learn more about Chelsea and her work, go check out her website at www.chelseatanner.com.

I also went to multiple sessions that addressed mindfulness for musicians. We were led through guided meditation and learned how to approach a growth mindset when you are practicing flute. Ball State University’s own Dr. Mihoko Watanabe led an insightful and inspiring session titled “Mindful Musicians: Holistic Practicing Using Mindset and Mindfulness with Professor Mihoko Watanabe”. This session definitely helped me be more self aware, and I left with practical knowledge on how to bring mindfulness and a positive mindset into my daily flute practice.

These are just a few of the highlights of this wonderful convention. I could write so much more about it, but I would love to talk to you all about other concerts and sessions if you have any questions about them!