A Night at the Movies

            We had a blast, and I think the audience did, too.  I’m talking about the Enchanted Flute Choir’s spring concert, “A Night at the Movies.”  It may be impossible to re-create a concert in words, but I’m gonna try.

            First, what a wonderful audience!  Our director, Kim Breilein, welcomed our guests into the fun by quizzing them about starring actors in Raiders of the Lost Ark, and they (our guests, not the raiders) continued their lively participation throughout the concert.  Maybe they applauded so heartily because they anticipated the free popcorn and soda afterwards, but I choose to believe they were simply having as grand a time as we performers were.

            Who would think that a dozen flutes could capture the intensity of the “Raiders March”?  The three alto flutes punched out the opening rhythm, building in intensity to the grand appearance of the melody.  The overall effect was exciting, though the individual alto parts were mainly made up of a single note--E^b—and, in the middle of the piece, about eighteen consecutive measures of staccato quarter notes.  But, hey, somebody has to provide the percussion.

            With Raiders’ adrenaline flowing, we abruptly switched styles to the lighthearted “Chim Chim Cher-ee” from Mary Poppins.  Quickly, audience members identified Julie Andrews and Dick VanDyke in the starring roles, and then, a lone voice rang out with “Angela Lansbury.” (Oh, yes, that was the much younger incarnation before her murder mystery series.)  I think we managed to play the familiar tune according to the score instructions:  “Lightly, with Gusto.”

            After a smaller ensemble played “Believe” from Polar Express, the whole flute choir moved—literally, as we did for each number to our different positions—to the heavy, driving beat of “Eye of the Tiger” from Rocky III.  Where does one find a good flute arrangement of a Rocky song?  One doesn’t.  Our talented director created arrangements, specifically for our flute choir, of this and four of the other numbers we performed.  Peggy and I were back on our altos for this number, again providing the percussive momentum along with the 4^th flutes, though Peggy was the only one with the sixteenth notes.  (Well, I had them, too, but at the “Moderate Rock” tempo of 120, my tongue was too tangled up with double-tonguing, so I played eighth notes instead.)

            For the next piece, “Whistle While You Work,” I only had to change flutes, not stands.  The audience successfully named some of the dwarfs.  Too bad we didn’t have hats and beards.  I pictured the original Snow White animation, dwarfs lined up in a row to receive her kiss.  That helped me play “Brightly,” as the music indicated.

            And then it was back to alto flutes for a trio, “Through the Eyes of Love” from Ice Castles.  Why our transition to three stands, especially since I got to keep my old one, was so complicated for us, I do not know, but Kim took the opportunity to say something about “Three Stooges” as we fumbled into place.  I never did look up the words to this particular song:  the flow of the music was enough to show that it required a romantic and somewhat schmaltzy interpretation, which Vic, Peggy, and I rendered to the best of our capabilities.

            The trio set the mood for the love theme from Titanic, “My Heart Will Go On,” which the high school girls in our group especially loved.  Somehow that is a movie I never saw in its entirety, but the music is incredibly moving, and I could picture Kate Winslow and Leonardo DiCaprio on board.

            Since the ship sank, we went “Under the Sea” for our next number.  When we play this piece from The Little Mermaid, I always picture Sebastian the crab belting it out in all his animated glory.  Is it possible to swing to a calypso beat?  I did.

            No night at the movies is complete without “Over the Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz.  The quintet made the music sing and my heart soar.  Ah, Dorothy!  (I feel a special kinship with her, having been unexpectedly transported from Kansas to the wonders of Whidbey Island where my dreams have come true.)

            A significant part of those dreams has been rediscovering the musician within, so I was thrilled to have one of the solos in “The Pink Panther.”  I grooved to the beat with flutter tonguing and glissandos, all the while envisioning the cartoon image of the pink panther doing his on-screen moves before the movie.

            And then, the end:  “Circle of Life” from The Lion King rounded out the evening with its African beat.  Thunderous applause, bowing flutists . . . and there was plenty of popcorn for all.