Tutors: Elizabeth Walker, Sarah Murphy, Mel Orriss.
Accompanist: Aaron Burrows.
Young Apprentices: Annie Banks, Emily Moores.
Attendees: Amanda Ayling, Brad Slater, Charlotte Graham, Hazel Arnill, Jeannette Owen, Kate Hunt, Krystina Gale, Leanda Verrier, Linda Wilson, Paul Woods, Pippa Wilson, Torsten Krebs.
Sponsors: Pearl Flutes, Europe and Wonderful Winds.
This final Flutes in Tuscany was always going to feel different. I wanted it to celebrate the wonderful friendships that have grown over the years, alongside the spirit of collaboration that the staff have nurtured from the very beginning.
Looking Back
Did I ever intend to stop after ten years? No. In truth, I am not sure I ever planned beyond the first course. Each year became a wonderful experiment: some traditions remained constant, such as
- Sarah’s legendary warm-ups
- The inspiring masterclasses
- The annual staff concerts
- The much-loved cinema night
while each guest tutor brought something refreshingly new.
Friendship, Collaboration and Ensemble Playing
In 2026, our focus was friendship and collaboration. The timetable this year would include a double afternoon session of flute ensembles with me, Sarah, and our guest tutor, Mel Orriss from Wonderful Winds. Mel brought her expertise as a flautist, conductor and arranger, along with her long-standing friendship and creative partnership with Sarah and me.
Mel and I supplied boxes of music which were available throughout the day. Duets and larger groups quickly formed, filling the week with informal music-making as well as structured rehearsals. Our large ensemble piece was a newly commissioned arrangement of tunes from Grease; the film we watched midweek. The potpourri of songs soon became the soundtrack of the course, with its earworms echoing around the village and challenging passages practised hard in preparation for the final concert.
Young Apprentices and Recitals
Our two Young Apprentices, Annie Banks and Emily Moores, were both flautists who had previously attended Flutes in Tuscany. This year, they collaborated with pianist Aaron Burrows to present a joint recital.
Together they performed Doppler’s Valse di bravura, Op. 33, which you can enjoy listening to on YouTube.
Their solo performances included works by Saint-Saëns, Bartók, Bozza and Richard Rodney Bennett, including the atmospheric Six Tunes for the Instruction of Singing Birds.
A Special Performance of Edward Lear
The previous evening, Annie and Emily joined the tutors for a varied evening of music, solo and ensemble, including “Improvisation” Andante Cantabile from Richard Strauss’s Sonata for Violin and Piano, opus 18 (1887), Debussy’s Syrinx, and Jane O’leary’s “Feather Headed, Frail, Summoning” (after Syrinx), composed for the celebration of the centenary of Debussy’s death in 2018 as part of Tombeau de Debussy. The piece reflects on the transformation of the nymph into a reed as she is chased by Pan and a piece by Beethoven, recently arranged for 2 flutes by me and newly published by Alry. We finished the evening with a narrated performance of six of Edward Lear’s nonsense poems with original music by Mel Orriss. The character of each limerick was captured in a series of short movements, featuring a brute of a bee, a mean harpist, a sentimental waltzing bluebottle, a lady with a fly-away bonnet, a man dying of boredom, and a very itchy flea.
The piece is dedicated to the inspirational flautist and much-loved communicator Atarah Ben-Tovim, whom we all knew and loved. It felt like the perfect time and place to perform this wonderful work in Tereglio as part of Flutes in Tuscany 2026.
Baroque Flutes, Chapel Concerts and the Final Celebration
Throughout the week, I worked with a small group of baroque flautists. We had our own warm-ups and ensemble sessions, and I arranged a suite of dances and laments from Purcell’s The Fairy Queen for the course. We performed in the final concert alongside an exciting collection of ensembles large and small from the course.
The final concert is always attended by local residents and fully supported by the whole village. This year, it felt like a fitting tribute to everything we have achieved together in Tereglio.
One more significant concert was added to the course: an opportunity for anyone who wanted to perform a solo with Aaron to play for one another in the chapel. We have benefited every year from its fabulous acoustic, which is a real joy to perform in—if you can ignore the heat and the occasional revving motorbike. It was lovely to hear everyone play with such enthusiasm and skill.
Lasting Memories
It was another beautiful year, and it is sad to bring such a great course to a close. Yet I leave with stunning memories and with gratitude for the many wonderful flautists I have met over the years.
Flutes in Tuscany has been an unforgettable, life-changing experience. Thank you to everyone who has played a part in creating such a beautiful experience.
Memories continue to be shared on our YouTube playlist and here on this website.