The 2024 Ball State Flute Day is coming up on October 19th, and I am so excited to attend again as an exhibitor along with Flute Specialists! You don’t want to miss this FREE event. Dr. Watanabe and her flute studio have a full day of masterclasses, flute choir, warmup sessions, and recitals planned. If you haven’t registered yet and are free on October 19th, here are some reasons why you should attend: 

You will get to learn from Guest Artist Austin Brown and Dr. Mihoko Watanabe 

Principal Flutist of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Austin Brown, will be Ball State’s featured Guest Artist this year! He will be leading a masterclass and Q&A session, and he will be performing a recital for everyone attending. This is the perfect opportunity to learn from Austin and get to know our new ISO Principal Flutist!  

Flute Professor at Ball State University, Dr. Mihoko Watanabe, is not only hosting this event, but she is leading the mindful warmup session and flute choir reading in the morning as well as leading an open clinic to close the flute day.  

Play with other flutists in the warmup and flute choir session. 

Flute choir reading sessions are SO fun. You don’t always get to play with solely flutes, and this is a unique opportunity to just have fun and play music with your fellow flutists. Dr. Watanabe’s mindful flute warmup will help you get in the mindset to have a relaxed, yet focused and productive flute day. She has done extensive research on applying mindfulness in your practice, so this is a wonderful opportunity to learn from her. 

Meet and make connections with other flutists. 

Flute events like these are the perfect way to network with other musicians. Who knows, you could even make lifelong friends at this event! The music community is smaller than you think, and it is incredibly important to make connections with your fellow musicians. Plus, flute players are the coolest and are so positive, supportive of each other, and fun to be around. 

Try out flutes and stock up on flute accessories from Paige’s Music and Flute Specialists. 

You will have time during the day dedicated to come visit the exhibitors! I am so excited to bring a variety of pro flutes and piccolos for you to try. Without giving anything away, I have some NEW models that I didn’t bring last year. These are some of my favorite flutes that I’ve brought in the shop. 

Hear some amazing performances in the Guest Artist Recital and the Masterclass. 

Did I mention before that this event is FREE? Take advantage of this opportunity to listen and learn from not only Austin Brown, but also collaborative pianist Dr. Michael Seregow and Dr. Mihoko Watanabe. While we don’t know what the repertoire for the recital will be, we do know what will be played in the masterclass! Masterclass performers will perform the following pieces for Austin Brown: Fantaisie, Op. 79 for flute and piano by Gabriel Faure, Sonata by Sergei Prokofiev, and La Flute de Pan by Jules Mouquet. These are very well known and popular flute solos to play, and this would be a great way to learn more about performing them! You can find the scores and more info at the event website: https://ballstatefluteday.weebly.com/