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2008
2008 Reviews
Volume
5
Issue 8
November 2008
A
little something different this
month. We held a river cane flute making class in honor of the 4th
anniversary of the TNAFC. Yep! We have been around for 4 years! We
have seen many come and go, made many new friends and learned so much
in our time here. We are grateful to each and everyone who came to a
flute circle to learn, share, enjoy, listen and just have fun!
With
39 people of various ages in
attendance the class was a blast! We would like to say thank you to
Doreen, Bob M., Mike, and Joyce for volunteering to teach the class,
and Bob P., Jerry and Jim for volunteering to be our designated flute
makers at each table for the younger students.
The
class started with some historical
use and information about river cane and an acknowledgment of donated
cane from Rick, and Mike. Thank you! After a few short preparation
steps the class was quickly moving along. It wasn't long before some
were already burning their holes with basic wood burning tools, and
other were already getting a sound after about an hour and half!
Congrats!
By
the end of the flute circle almost
the entire class had a playing flute that they made! We were very
proud and hope that everyone enjoys their new flute. Perhaps those
who have never made one, may catch the flute making bug...
For
those regular flute circle members
who had also made their first river cane flute, we are looking
forward to hearing you play at a future meeting! Who knows with the
success of this meeting perhaps we may have another class in the
future...
We
also would like to sincerely thank
those who have contributed in many ways to help raise funds for the
TNAFC which have this class possible. If you would like to know who
those individuals are please see our contributors page!
Overall
a very successful evening of
making a flute, celebrating our anniversary, and I cannot forget the
cake and snacks! There was quite the array of snacks, dishes, and
one huge cake! Let me just say there was not much left by the end of
the meeting.
Again,
we are grateful to everyone who has
helped to make the TNAFC what it is today and we look forward seeing
to you and making new friends in the future!
_____________________________________________________________
Volume
5
Issue 10
October 2008
The Oklahoma Flute Festival a Success!
For photos of the Welcome meeting and festival check out
www.okflutefest.com
_____________________________________________________________
Volume
5
Issue 9
September 2008
_____________________________________________________________
Volume
5
Issue 8
August 2008
This month's meeting was
small but fun. There were some new faces and many great
conversations. After some annoucements about the upcoming
festival and events for the flute circle we did some playing. Thank you
to John, Jerry, and Keith for wondfully demonstrating many great ideas
and suggestions about the flute to our new visitors.
We look forward to seeing everyone next
month!
Reminder: Our
October meeting has been moved to Friday October 3rd, 2008 as our
Welcome meeting for the Oklahoma
Flute Festival.
_____________________________________________________________
Volume
5
Issue 7
July 2008
Tonight was a special treat having long
time TNAFC supporters Leroy Culley and Bob Peel back! We haven’t seen
them since the
last October and it was wonderful to talk with them and catch up.
Thanks for making the drive guys. John Suttles and his wife also made
it down from MO to share some laughs and flutes. Keith made it over
from Muskogee and it was great talking with him. It was good to see
Jerry stop by and play a tune for us. Thanks everyone. 
There might have only been 8 of us, but
its fun, relaxing and we had plenty of cookies!. We hope to see you in
August
_____________________________________________________________
Volume
5
Issue 6
June 2008
Joyce and Mickel opened with the usual updates about the Flute
Festival.
Dennis and Kappy came from AR and showed us their newest pieces of art.
Also, wanted to remind everyone of Kappy’s beadwork class that
will be the Friday of Flute Fest. Very limited seating please email
okflutefest@yahoo.com to reserve now.
 Darlene brought her
friend Joseph who was in town and enjoyed the rhythm they shared on the
drum and rattles.
We had a Muskogee
representative in John. We missed Keith this month. Jerry came by
to share his flutes too.
We also had new
friends from out of town. And we really appreciate them stopping by to
listen.
We hope to see you in
July
_____________________________________________________________
Volume
5
Issue 5
May 2008
Tonight
was a special treat in that we had a photographer from the Tulsa World
with us taking photographs of all the performers for a future article
in Tulsa World. I was able to see a couple of them in preview and they
look good. I hope the articles turns out nice and brings more faces to
the circle next month.
John
Suttles looked like he was
ready to chop some wood, until he showed us that he took an ax handle
and turned it into a flute. Amazing John!
We see the first appearance of Jim Sinclair of the year. It was great
seeing him and his wife again since the Flute Fest in October. Keith
was generous enough to bring is audio equipment and play us a couple of
nice tunes. Darlene
and her friend both played wonderful songs that filled the atrium.
Dennis
and Kappy as well as the
Fallen Branch Tribe will be at the Sacred Grounds Flute Festival May
23-27th in Arkansas. Stop by and say hi.
It was a fantastic
evening of music and fun. We hope to see you in June.
_____________________________________________________________
Volume
5
Issue 4
April 2008
What a great flute
circle this month!
There were so many performers it is
hard to remember them all but here’s a few: Dennis, Darlene, Keith,
Jim, Joyce, Ro, Vera, Bob and Robert. It’s great to see everyone
sharing their talents and everyone’s respect for it. You guys are
improving every month.
Keith was generous enough to bring is audio equipment and play us a
couple of nice tunes.
 We even had an
impromptu flute Choir with Keith, Dennis, Joyce and Jim. Sounded
great.
We also wanted to remind everyone to
visit John, Dennis and Kappy at the Sacred
Grounds Festival May 23-25 in Murfreesboro, AR. It’s a great
cause and we love supporting our flutie friends. 
Tonight was a special treat in having a
surprise guests. Gina Burnett and Robert Lewis stopped by after a long
day on the road to say hi. Gina will be teaching a Cherokee
Pottery Water drum class in October and Robert will be performing on
stage during this year’s Flute Fest.
 We even got a preview
performance by Robert who shared a couple legends with us including a
duet with Joyce on the flute. Everyone was dancing by the end. Thanks
Robert!
There was more music and fun then I can
remember. We hope to see you in May!
_____________________________________________________________
Volume
5
Issue 3
March 2008
 The cold weather finally gave to let all the friends come
together for the flute circle in March. The CHC atrium was packed with
22 flute enthusiasts. It was great to see Fallen Branch Tribe return
after their great flute-making workshop. We even had a couple of their
students come back too. Other friends return like Ro and Vera, Dennis
and Kappy, Roland and Ileen and Keith provided us with the amplitude.
We
were very honored to have Morgan Fawcett and Sue Hempel come and talk
to us about the Sacred Ground Flute and Art Festival that will be in
May in Arkansas. More info at http://www.nativefluteonline.com/sacredground/index.html
. Morgan is an awesome flute player and is raising funds and flutes to
help kids back in Alaska. It is a great cause that we support. I know
Morgan received at least one flute donated to the cause on Friday.
We
had a quick announcement about the OK Flute Festival including the new
web design by Joyce. Check it out at www.okflutefest.com
We
were playing late and talking later, but that is why it is so much fun.
We hope to see you in April
_____________________________________________________________
Volume
5
Issue 2
February 2008
Thanks to everyone who
came out on Friday. It was a nice little circle with our Tulsa friends Ro and Vera, John from Muskogee, and the
return of Dennis and Kappy! It was great catching up with you and we
hope everyone is feeling better and staying warm wherever you are.
We also want to remind everyone about the flute events that are
happening before our next circle March 21st.
Rick's Heart of the Circle event is March 1st in Dallas with a lot
going on that day. Check out his message for details or send him an
email. Also check out http://www.fluteportal.com/flutecircles/6
Also the Cherokee Heritage Center Presents a Fallen Tree Branch Flute
Making Class March 7, 6-9pm and March 8, 2008 9am-3pm. (with 1 hour
Lunch break) the cost is $65 per student. There are only 15 Total Spots
Available, 1st come basis. The Instructor is John Suttles of Fallen
Branch Flutes. Materials are included but feel free to bring your own
tools (gouges). Lunch is not included. Sign up by contacting Tonia
Weavel email: education@cherokeeheritage.org or call (918) 456-6007,
ext241 toll free 888-999 6007 toll free. Spaces are filling up so call
soon.
_____________________________________________________________
Volume
5
Issue 1
January 2008
Happy New Year! We saw a great turnout at the flute circle
meeting. It was so nice to see our friends again and a few new
faces. The evening started with announcements about the upcoming
year including the progress on the Oklahoma Flute Festival which dates
and venue will be announced soon! All other events for the flute
circle will be added to our events page as
soon as they are scheduled. The Heart of the Cedar
Flute Circle in Texas is having a great "Special
Event Day Program 2008: Flute Event Program" the first weekend in
March. They plan to have performances, workshops, and traders market,
flute raffle and more! For more inforamtion on this event please
contact Rick Mcdaniel at 972-420-9461 or by email at: lallure1@verizon.net
Everyone took turns performing and showing off their newest flutes like
Keith who showed us the wood burning and carving he did on his
beautiful flute by Gary Reed. What a great flute! John
showed us his finished limb flute from the Fallen Branch Workshop last
October and created a great looking and sounding flute! Doreen
played a wonderful hymn on her first limb flutes from the Fallen Branch
Seminar in 2006.
 Later in the evening there was an
impromptu sharing of historical information on the Rivercane flute and
some heard stories about Rivercane flutes for the group by Joyce.
It was a wonderflul evening with great playing, sharing and
conversation. We welcome all our newest members and hope to see
you all again next month!
Notice:
Also, the Cherokee Heritage
Center is offering a class in fallen branch flute
making March 7 & 8, 2008 with Instructor John Suttles from Fallen
Branch Flutes. Learn to make your own flute from fallen tree
branches. Materials are supplied and you are welcome to bring
your own
tools. This class is part of the Cherokee Hertiage Center
Educational classes for 2008. There is a fee for this class of
$65 per person with a limit of
15 seats available so sign up soon! More information about this
class and others can be found on
our news page, or by contacting:
Tonia Weavel
email:
education@cherokeeheritage.org
(918) 456-6007,
ext241
888-999-6007 toll
free
See
you next month!
2007 Reviews
Volume 4
Issue 12
December 2007
_____________________________________________________________
Flute
Circle Review
Volume 4 Issue 11
November
2007
It’s amazing how time flies, but it really has been three years since
the first flute circle in Tahlequah. It was great to see everyone who
was able to make it before their holiday travels.
There was
discussion about last month’s Flute Festival that was such a huge
success. Ideas were discussed for a future event and everyone’s great
memories. Jim Sinclair and Bob Peel brought some of their pictures to
share. We really appreciate these snapshots.
When we started playing, we were fortunate enough to have the ‘Garyoke’
machine for people to use while performing. We were happy to have Danuwa Analihi join us and display
his wonderful talented music. We know it was a long drive, but it was
great to have him with us finally. The Fallen Branch guys showed off
some new pieces and Amos and Harold played. We had a couple new faces
that came to Branch Making Workshop last month to show off their
finished flute. They looked and sounded great. Good Job!!
The night ended with some munchies and Anniversary cake with the Flute
Circle’s logo on it. Thanks for everyone who came out and we will see
you in December for a special early edition of the Flute Circle on
Friday, December 14th.
_____________________________________________________________
Volume 4
Issue 10
October 2007
Member
Flute
Circle Review
Karnalis
performing from the balcony of the atrium for the TNAFC!
It was a packed house with 97 + people in attendence!
For more photos check out the okflutefest.com
website!
Osiyo
Wow what a night!
This month’s
flute circle was moved to the first Friday of the month so we could
open up the
inaugural Oklahoma Flute festival and everyone was there with us. The Tahlequah Flute Circle
welcomed everyone with open arms and we all had new friends by the end
of the
night.
The guys from
Fallen Branch
Workshop had started the day with a branch flute making workshop at the
Cherokee
Heritage Center
which was a blast. John Suttles donated a flue to be auctioned off to
raise money
for the circle and we received over $100. That night, we had a record
97 people
from all around the country come and play. There were other flute
circles
represented from Maryland, Nevada, California, Florida, all around the
central
US and more. I would like to thank a few people, but I know I won’t be
able to
name everyone who helped and performed. Thanks to Keith for setting up
the
audio equipment it sounded great all night. We had great performances
by: Amos
Fleetwood, Jan Sedien, Joyce Barnes, Johnny Lipford, Jeff Martindale,
Sandy
Czerwinski, Steven Cumberland and so many more. It was a night full of
wonderful music. Thanks to everyone who brought and made wonder
munchies to
snack on. We sold quite a few TNAFC t-shirts to raise money for the
circle. We
can’t say it enough, thanks to everyone.
We would like to sincerely thank all of you
who participated in the Inagural Oklahoma Flute Festival! Your
time and effort into making it a great first year is greatly
appreciated and we look forward to seeing you again next year!
Check out all of the great photos on the okflutefest.com website!
More photos are still being added to it so keep checking back.
Notice:
The next Tahlequah Native
American Flute Circle
will be at its usual day and time, November 16th from 7-9pm
at the Cherokee
Heritage Center.
We will be celebrating our 3rd anniversary. See you there!
We are currently revamping this website. Soon we will have a
great new look!
_____________________________________________________________
Volume 4
Issue 6
July 2007
Flute
Circle Review
Osiyo,
July’s meeting was a
packed house. We had many
friends return to the circle after their summer trips. Everyone met in
the Cherokee Heritage Center chapel and lined the walls with newly
created flutes. There almost wasn’t enough room for snacks, but we
stuck them in there. Dennis and Kappy brought many new flutes of every
color and medium. Copper, bone, and wood oh my! The Fallen Branch Tribe
gave us a report on the Zion Festival and some wonderful pictures of
the canyons that they weren’t supposed to be in. Rowena and Vera
introduced us to their grand kids who were welcomed by everyone. We had
a few new faces, which is great. Keith’s decorated flute is looking
great and Gary did find his way to the chapel for our comedy relief.
_____________________________________________________________
Volume 4
Issue 6
June 2007
Flute
Circle Review
Osiyo,
A gathering
of flute enthusiast’s formed June
15 around 7pm. The Circle was moved to the Cherokee Heritage Center
Chapel due to the Summer Performance being performed at the same time.
We had a wonderful time and had some new faces.
The meeting started with announcement
about the OK Flute Festival, the Norman Flute Circle , Red Earth
Festival and Joyce’s interview. (See below)
 We went around the circle with everyone
playing a couple licks. Everyone is sounding great and some beautiful
new flutes where on display.
Some new visitors, Janice Trytten and her
husband, who came from Cincinnati, Ohio to visit our circle, shared
some wonderful flutes from their collection. Many of these flutes
Janice Trytten performed on her CD’s that she had. She also donated 2
CD’s to the Flute Circle archives – WADO! Janice and Joyce played a
couple of improvised duets that left everyone wanting more. Two wonder
players. Watch out for the ladies! Later Janice, Joyce, and Bob Peel
played an improvised trio, great job! Janice is a wonderful
player and we hope her and her husband are able to come south again for
a visit.
We also had some young guns with us.
Amber Harris and Josiah Myers brought their flutes and impressed
everyone with their playing. They are both improving very well and the
future of Native Flute Music is safe with the next generation.
We missed some of our regulars, but
understand the summer is a time of vacations. We also look forward to a
full report of the Zion Festival from the Fallen Branch Tribe on their
return in July.
TNAFC had some press this month. Joyce
Barnes gave a wonderful interview to OklaTravelNet.com which aired
online Friday before the circle. It should be posted on the archives
sometime soon. The station has asked her to return in October with
participant for the OK Flute Fest.
Reminder that the next flute Circle
will be July 20th and will again be held in the Cherokee Heritage
Center Chapel which is located on the North side of the property. Make
a left when you come in, not a right. Follow the signs!
Thanks everyone for a great circle
again.
I. Mickel Yantz
Museum Curator
Cherokee Heritage Center
CherokeeHeritage.org
_____________________________________________________________
Volume 4
Issue 4
April 2007
Flute
Circle Review
Osiyo,
The monthly circle
meeting was great as always. The weather could not have been more
pleasant. We had a great attendance of 20 people. A very big thanks to
everyone that made the trip. Especially those that made the long trips.
The meeting opened with Joyce and Mike letting us know the progress of
the flute festival and the available workshops and performances.
The
growing interest in the project will be a great experience for all that
attend. Should anyone wish to help out please contact us through the
web site.
The circle meeting
had some great playing by the
members new and old. We got to see performances with 3 and 4 players.
Thanks to everyone for the great music. Many new flutes were displayed.
Many seemed to enjoy the new flutes shown. I really loved the sound of
Amos’s walking stick flute. He is magic with creations. The evening
ended up in many groups of discussions. I can never get over the
feeling of the wonderful people that come to our meetings. It is
absolutely magic to experience.
There is still
openings in the flute making class for
the Octobers meeting.
Please get your name in soon if you expect to attend. The fallen branch group are
amazing
teachers.
We look forward to visiting with all of
you again soon.
Wa-do,
D&K
_____________________________________________________________
Volume 4
Issue 3
March
2007
Flute
Circle Review
Osiyo,
Our meeting started with a welcome of over 26+ people and many, many
new flutes. We were happy to see old friends, new faces, and our
friends from neighboring flute circles. There were so many great
performances we were so proud of everyone who performed. Almost
everyone of our members got to perform, or their flutes were
played. The flutes in attendance were just as impressive and
included artistry from a buffalo horn flute by Dennis Frederiksen, which
captured the attention of Mike, a new member; to new limb flutes
by Fallen Branch, to a
beautiful beaded flute brought by Leroy and Gail Cully. We also
have to say wado to Leroy for bringing the metal flute spacers for our
members. There has been a lot of discussion about how great they
are.
These
metal spacers were often found
on many plains flutes where the flu was not dug out of the flute but
rather was the job of the spacer to create the flu beneath the bird or
totem. They also act as a splitting sound edge for the air rather
than the wood of the flute. More information can be found at::http://www.flutetree.com/nature/InsideNAPF.html
After
the performances we heard a
presentation by Roland Mischke speaking about the flute and it's
roll in healing. Wado, Roland.
Our opening announcements
included a reminder about the Awareness Jam at
Roxie's Roost on St. Patrick's Day. The music will start at 4pm
and go most of the night. Come out and support members of the
TNAFC who will be performing: Joyce Barnes, Dennis Frederiksen,
and Keith Purtell. More info about when and where the Awareness
Jam is being held is on our News Page.
We also announced some updates
about the inaugural Oklahoma
Flute Festival. We now have a website available with
information about the festival and details for those wishing to vend or
perform at the festival. This website was available for viewing
at the flute circle. We were also answering questions and
announcing participants already signed up for the festival. There
is also a request for volunteers and ideas for the festival. If
you have any ideas or would like to help please email the festival at:
okflutefest@yahoo.com.
We are always adding to the website as we develop and festival and add
more events. Please keep checking back to learn more.
The Tahlequah Native American
Flute Circle will be offering a Limb Flute Making Workshop as part of
the Oklahoma Flute Festival.
This is a TNAFC presented work shop, with Fallen Branch teaching the
workshop. We are very grateful to John Suttles, Amos Fleetwood,
and Harold Ruckman of Fallen Branch, joined by Joyce Barnes
Coordinator of the TNAFC, for donating their time to teach this
workshop on Friday October 5th, 2007 from 10a.m. to 4p.m. This is
the first workshop of the festival and will be held at the Cherokee
Heritage Center.
More details of this work shop can be
found on our events page. If
you are interested in this workshop please send and email to tnafcmail@yahoo.com. It
will be a free workshop with limited seating, donations welcome.
All donations go to benefit the TNAFC.
NOTICE: The meeting of the TNAFC
in October will be moved to Friday October 5th, 2007 from 6-8pm which
will be a welcome meeting for everyone involved in the Oklahoma Flute
Festival and Fallen Branch workshop earlier that day.
After the break there was great
mingling about all the great flutes and information available to our
members. Many of the discussions ranged from performing to
working with spacers, to working with cane. It was so great to
see everyone again and we look forward to seeing everyone next month.
gonadagohai
(until we meet again!)
_____________________________________________________________
Volume 4
Issue 2
February
2007
Flute
Circle Review
Over
20+ people and flutes attended our flute circle this month, a great
turnout! It was so nice to see everyone again. There were a
few new faces and some returning friends. The opening
announcements of the circle included the Awareness jam coming up in
March in which members of the TNAFC will be performing. The
Awareness Jam was started by Kelie Myers Brown in honor of her brother
who passed away from kidney disease. Her brother was a musician
and very much enjoyed performing.
The Jam is an evening of great
bands and music from all over
Oklahoma with all proceeds raised being
donated to the National Kidney Foundation. It is being held at
Roxy's Roost on Hwy 10 out side of Tahlequah, Oklahoma.
Come out and support members of the TNAFC and this great cause.
For more information about the Awareness Jam please visit: http://www.myspace.com/awarenessjam
We are pleased to announce the
inaugural Oklahoma Flute Festival.
After many discussions and lots of thought we are going to build a
flute festival in Oklahoma. This first flute festival is being
held at Tenkiller Lodge in Keys, Oklahoma (Flute Festival
sponsor) just outside Tahlequah near beautiful Lake
Tenkiller. Tenkiller Lodge not only has great grounds for our
first flute festival but the lodge itself offers log cabin like rooms
right in the action just feet away from the festival. This
festival is being hosted by the Tahlequah Native American Flute Circle
at the Cherokee Heritage Center, who will be benefiting in part
from the funds raised from the festival, to create a budget for future
educational programs. The overall planning of the festival is a
collaboration between members of TNAFC, LogJaM Arts, and many
other individuals involved in other flute circles in and around
Oklahoma.
As this is our first year we are
very excited to see what will develop. We are also very grateful
for the input, support, and volunteers from our neighboring flute
circles and flute enthusiasts. Information about the
festival can be found at: www.okflutefest.com
After some wonderful performances
from many of our members we heard some suggestions from one of our
members Roland about some proposed changes to the format of the
flute circle and it's upcoming meetings. Following his proposals
he gave a very nice brief presentation about Flute healing.
Afterwards we had a break for
snacks, mingling, and conversations about our members newest flutes or
questions about flute making, and performing. Overall, a very
nice evening. We look forward to seeing everyone next month!
_____________________________________________________________
Volume 4 Issue 1
January
2007
Flute
Circle Review
Osiyo,
Even
though the weather was not so good
this month, it cleared up enough for us to hold a flute circle
meeting. We had a fair turnout despite the cold, and even
saw a few new faces. The meeting was a pleasurable experience of
new music from our regular members, and lots of great conversations and
mingling. We even had a short impromptu flute instruction session from
a newcomer to our flute circle. A great leaning
experience.
Earlier in the month our members Dorene
accompanied by Joyce Barnes, gave a wonderful presentation on Cherokee
Flutes and their history for the Tulsa Cherokee Community Organization
in Tulsa, OK. This was a very informative persentation and Doreen
did a great job displaying,
demonstrating, and
speaking about her and
other's flutes, all by Cherokee Flutemakers. There were many
insightful questions and
interest fromt the audience and we are so
proud of her. Congrats Doreen.
Also,earlier
in the month a promotional presentation was given by members of
the flute circle at the Tahlequah Public Library and was a great
success. There were over 30 people in attendance, lots of great
questions, and lead to a column in the Tahlequah Daily. Wado!
That article
is available at: http://www.tahlequahdailypress.com/homepage/
local_story_012095039.html?keyword=leadpicturestory
Towards the
end of the flute circle there were some ideas proposed on how to
improve the meetings and bring more to them. These ideas will be
proposed to the flute circle again at the next meeting in February.
Once again, a
wonderful evening with great music and conversations. We know the
weather has effected many and many more were without power. We
hope your power returns soon and are staying warm. We look
forward to seeing everyone next month.
gonadagohai
(until we meet again!)
2006 Reviews
Volume 3 Issue 12
December
2006
Flute
Circle Review
What a wonderful
turnout we to our December 2006
meeting. We saw over 25 people and their wonderful work or
collections come out the Cherokee
Heritage Center. Over 50+ flutes and whistles were on display
along side many various percussion instruments such as tuned
tongue drums, ocarinas, didgeridoo's, rain sticks, noisemakers, and
much more available for everyone to try.
The gathering
started out with brief announcements
and appreciation to our members for helping to keep our group going for
over two years now. To end the year we decided to try a
instrument jam. After some experimentation John Suttles of Fallen Branch Flutes, started
us off with a slow drum beat from which the rest of the group could
build on. It grew into one big improvisation of many different
kinds of instruments playing at once. Some of our members would
get up and grab another instrument off a table to try, while the beat
was constant.
Afterwards we took a
short break to mingle, get some
snacks, and catch up with friends. Some of the conversations
included some education on tuning and making Rivercane flutes.
Great job Rowena and Vera!
During the break we
had a surprise visit from Tommy
Wildcat, a full blood
Cherokee award winning flute player and performing artist from
Tahlequah, Oklahoma. His work as a lecturer, historical story
teller, flute maker and player has taken him all over the United States
and Hawaii. For more information on Tommy Wildcat you can visit
his website at : http://tommywildcat.lori-h.com/
To sum up the
evening and end the year we encouraged
our members to perform their new works or thoughtful
improvisations. Their new music, and new ideas were very
inspirational and wonderful to listen to. Each time we hear them
perform they are sounding better and better. A bit of
education was also thrown in with a performance and story about the
Maori people from Dennis and Kappy Frederickson of Jade Eagle Flutes from NZT Designs.
At the request of
one of our members Tommy Wildcat
performed one of his stunning songs for our group. It was a very
soothing and haunting melody. He visited with many of our members
and chatted with the flute makers about their flutes on display.
We very much enjoyed seeing Tommy and welcome him back to future flute
meetings! Safe travels Tommy!
On a personal note,
I want to say how much Mickel
and I appreciate the efforts, contributions, and sharing that everyone
has given to this flute circle. It as made it a pleasure to plan,
and a blast to attend. As we have said before it is you who make
this flute circle possible, and we look forward to seeing our friends
and hopefully many new faces next year!
gonadagohai
(until we meet again!)
_____________________________________________________________
Volume 3 Issue 11
November
2006
Flute
Circle Review
We can only describe the last flute circle as an amazing experience of
friends, photos, music, and of course we can't forget about the great
chocolate cake and goodies our members graciously brought to celebrate
the 2nd anniversary. November's flute circle was the largest
attendance yet, and with so many people came the largest array of
flutes. Over 70+ flutes as the last count.
We opened with some
short announcements, a big Wado
(thank you) to all who came out to celebrate with us, and especially to
those who come out time and again over sometimes very long distances to
show share their excitement for the flute or their newest
creations. The reminder of the Flutes of the Circle Certificates
were awarded, congrats Phil, John S., Amos, Harold, Dennis, Kappy, Bob,
Gary, Jerry, Joyce, Mickel, John T., and everyone else who helped with
this event.
Because we had so
many new faces at this flute
circle we went around the circle to introduced ourselves, as well as
doing a little playing in between. During our performances by our
members John Suttles of Fallen
Branch Flutes gave us a demonstration of the different types of
drone tunings. Gary Reed instructed us on a way to determine
complimentary keyed flutes, meaning two flutes with keys that sound
good together, through the use of his diagram. Amos Fleetwood of Fallen Branch Flutes performed
a wonderful song with recorded sound of drums and effects in the
background.
Doren gave us a
demonstration of her newest
creation, a gourd flute with elaborate and wonderful painting her
husband did. Gary performed a great improvised piece on one of
his creations. One of our newest members performed for us on the
same flute he often played while he was in Iraq. Roland and
Eileen, back from an extended trip to Nova Scotia performed a wonderful
duet.
Dennis Fredrickson
of NZT Designs performed on
his
incredible recreation of a 1880’s Sioux flute based on photos and
dimensions obtained by Joyce Barnes from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
Collection. Joyce performed on a joint project flute of yellow
cedar by herself and Dennis, inspired by a mid 19th century Lakota bird
beak flute, also from the Smithsonian’s
NMNH Collection.
When we broke for
chat, snacks, and conversation
everyone one headed back to the tables and tables of flutes to chat
with the flute makers or entered their name for a door prize Rivercane
flute by Joyce. We also had photos of Zion Canyon by Bob
Peel, thanks Bob! There were multi-wood and beautiful
turned flutes, branch flutes ( some great new creations by Danny
"Eagle" Stanley of Danny
Eagle Flutes and the Fallen
Branch guys) , gourd flutes, Rivercane flutes, bone flutes ( an
incredible fully carved giraffe bone flute by Dennis and Kappy NZT Designs). Even flute
projects for upcoming art shows! Everyone who brought their own
flutes also sparked conversation with many of the flute makers like the
Ken Light flute! As one of our members put it “there are a lot of
custom flutes here”. I think we all inspire each other to new
heights.
During the break I
got the pleasure of speaking with
many new people, hearing many wonderful stories, and making some great
friends. If I have left anyone out who would like to be included
in this review please email
me. I try to give as accurate account as possible but I am just
one pair of eyes and ears.
Towards the end of
the evening we announced that the
winner of the door prize was Danny Stanley! Congrats Danny, we
hope you enjoy the flute, but would like to thank all who donated to
the flute circle. Donations are greatly appreciated and help in
the planning and implementing of our events, as well as keeping the
flute circle going!
Another fundraiser
that will be ongoing is an online
store at:
www.cafepress.com/logjamarts/2010865. Here you can purchase
merchandise with the TNAFC logo on it and the sale proceeds go to the
Tahlequah Native American Flute Circle. So please check it out
and send us some feedback or if you have any questions please email us
at: tnafcmail@yahoo.com
To end the year on a
high note we are having an end
of the year open JAM for our December flute circle on December 15th,
2006! All instruments are welcome to participate or come out just
to listen. There will be an array of instruments including
flutes, didgeridoos, drums, and various other percussive
instruments. So if you are free and want to experience all that
the TNAFC and its members have to offer please come out for some
musical and holiday fun!
For more info as well as upcoming
events please visit our news page: www.freewebs.com/news
We look forward to seeing you
there! Happy Holidays!
Wado
_____________________________________________________________
Volume 3 Issue 10
October
2006
Flute
Circle Review
To kick things
off we handed out Certificates of Wado (thank you) for those who
participated in the Flutes of the Circle flute exhibition and sale
between August and September. For those of you who haven't
received yours please remind me at our upcoming flute circle if you are
going to be there, or contact me and we can make other arrangements to
get your certificate to you.
Also, during this
event the Tahlequah Native American Flute Circle was gifted two
wonderful flutes from Bob Peel and Phil Teter. The TNAFC and the Cherokee Heritage Center
would like to thank you for your generous donation. These flutes
will be sold or auctioned during a later date to help raise funds for
the TNAFC for future events. Wado Bob and Phil!
We got a summary of
the Zion
Canyon flute festival in Utah from Gary Reed. I sounded like
it was a blast! Flute demonstrations and presentations,
performers and makers. An entire weekend of flute, flute,
flute. Gary brought his flute from a flute making class at Zion
to show his new skills and craft along side of his own work. Very
impressive Gary! We heard that other of our members who
attended the festival also had a great time.
At every flute
circle there is something new to learn about the flute and about the
people who are interested in them. During our playing and
performing time our members and guests are learning new things to play
partly from each other and partly from within themselves.
As we progress from one flute circle to another and grow as a group and
individuals I am always impressed with the innovation of playing,
making, and creation of interest that we instill in each other.
What impresses me more is the sharing of this innovation and knowledge
to keep the interest going.
Many times I have
seen this inspire even the most timid to stand up and present their
best knowing that we are all in the same boat together and we are only
here to support. I have been privileged to witness someone with
no playing experience at all get up in front of a group of strangers
and perform beautifully drawing from their inner inspiration. Or
someone who has never played with others perform duets that harmonize
with each other.
Our members come
from close and far away. The farthest so far are our friends
Dennis and Kappy Frederickson. Kappy is from New Zealand Maori
people. With her husband Dennis they craft exquisite flutes and
traditional Maori instruments. Kappy graciously
demonstrated one of these Maori instruments for us, the Pukea.
Much like a didgeridoo the Pukea is about 4 feet long with a tapered
bore, but carved in the shape of a large animal mouth on the end.
There is also meaningful carvings on the outside which Kappy explained
to us, as well as over 90 feet of hand braided kemp by Dennis.
This instrument is truly a rarity to see here in America. They
are regular members of our flute circle and if you would like to ask
them a question or see these wonderful instruments please come to one
of our flute circles. More of their work is also online at: www.nztdesigns.com. Wado
Dennis and Kappy.
Many times our
members bring flutes and traditional instruments and with their
permission you may get to play some of these finely crafted
instruments. To do so is an honor and privilege and we hope you
take the opportunity to ask such permission while these instruments are
available.
To close our account
of this flute circle we would like to announce that next month's flute
circle, November 2006, is the 2nd anniversary of the Tahlequah Native
American Flute Circle at the Cherokee Heritage Center. So come
out and celebrate with us. There will be music, fun, flutes, door
prizes (2 river cane flutes by Dennis and Joyce), cake, and a great
group of wonderful people to talk shop or chat with. See you
there!
-Wado
_____________________________________________________________
Volume
3 Issue 9
September
2006
Flute Circle Review
by
John Suttles (Ozarkguru)
ozarkguru@yahoo.com
It
has been such a joy to see Dales' dream of the branch flute grow, as a
seed planted in fertile ground. Each meeting, I see wonderful new
flutes that have their origins in the branch flute idea of Dales. And,
it is exciting to see the new faces, and the new visitors each meeting.
The flute makers are showing growing talent, along with the music which
is played by the members each meeting. Those who make other styles of
flutes are to be complimented also for their talents. The circle is
becoming complete, the start and end joining and encircling all who
attend.
- John - Ozarkguru
_____________________________________________________________
Volume
3 Issue
6-8
June/July/August
2006
Flute
Circle Review
Osiyo,
This summer has been quite a fun time for the
TNAFC. Over the last 3 months we have grown and seen more and
more flutes on display at each flute circle meeting. In June we
were happy to see some returning participants from the Fallen Branch
tree limb flute making Workshop in May, where they reveled their
finished work. Among them an array of beautiful flues by Gary, a snake
flute by Doreen, and a bird head flute carved from the natural bird
shape of a tree limb by Bob. Way to go!
The
teachers of the workshop again brought in
some of their new creations each month. John, Amos, and Harold
continue to display wonderful array of wood and flute making
styles. An end blown totemless hopi-like flutes made by Amos,
which he demonstrated for us. Also, we got to try his entry for
the Zion Canyon Flute Festival, a sweet sounding driftwood flute!
We got to try John's little mini drone and some of his newest and
wonderful sounding creations out of catalpa wood. Harold's
beautiful flutes were adorned with meaningful wood burned designs and
real pleasure to play.
Some of our new guests were from as far away
as New Zealand! Dennis and Kapotahi Fredricksen (Cherokee and
Maori) www.nztdesgins.com,
brought in some of their beautifully crafted and carved flutes.
An amazing horn made from a conch shell that got the attention of the
room when it was blown. Also, two incredible fully carved bone
flutes and an array of wooden drones and single chamber flutes adorned
with wood burning and turquoise.
Joyce brought in her newest creations to share
with the group, including a large hemlock and walnut drone, a couple
beaded flutes with beadwork by Lee Harris, as well as a few flutes from
her personal historical collection. A new addition to our flute
circle which was provided by Joyce is a the use of some audio
equipment. We set it up for the participants of our flute circle
to get in some performing practice for the group and share what they
have been working on. Also, the availability of the sound effects
allows the group to hear what their flute would sound like with various
effects in the atrium.
We
were delighted to see that almost everyone
was egger to get up and perform for the group! One meeting turned
into a jam session combining two drones, multiple flutes, and even
guitar and flute for a series of blues improves. It is a lot of
fun to see how each of our members improve at each meeting. We
are excited to see what they will come up with next.
The
TNAFC is in the process of planning events
and workshops. One event and fundraiser we decided on was a Flute
Exhibition and Sale called "Flutes of the
Circle". You can find more information on this event on our events page. Over the last two
years we have had many flute makers come through our flute circle and
share their craft and knowledge with us. In appreciation we
wanted to highlight their contributions to our group by highlighting
their work. In partner with the Exhibits at the Cherokee Heritage
Center and Curator, Mickel Yantz we were able to put 46 flutes from
several flute makers on display at the Cherokee Heritage Center between
August 18th, 2006 and September 15th, 2006. A list of the flute
makers participating in this event are as follows (listed in
alphabetical order of last name):
Amos Fleetwood
Dennis & Kapotahi
Frederisken
Jerry Fretwell
Dorene McMaber
Bob Peel
Gary Reed
Harold Ruckman
John Suttles
Phil Teter
John Timothy
Joyce Barnes & Mickel
Yantz
So
far we have had a great response,
especially over the Cherokee National Holiday over Labor Day Weekend.,
when thousands of visitors came through the grounds. To help
promote this event and the flute circle was an information booth on the
grounds at Holiday that was run by two volunteers of the flute circle
Dennis and Kapotahi Fredricksen. Bringing along their flutes,
they were able to speak to over 300 people about the flute circle and
it event. They heard so many positive comments and were able to
reach out to many of the local community.
The
TNAFC would like to extend a very
appreciative thank you to these two for their dedication and wonderful
promotion of the TNAFC at Holiday! WADO!
We
would also like to thank those from the
flute circle who came by to lend a hand with the TNAFC booth and check
out holiday. WADO!
One
more thank you goes to the people who like
to come to our meetings to just listen, watch, and may even try
out a flute. You may not always get included in the newsletter,
but we are thinking about you and very much appreciate you coming to
our flute circle. The circle is free and open to everyone whether
you make or play flutes or not. If you are interested we
would like to see you at our meetings.
We
look forward to seeing everyone again at
the next meeting: September 15th, 2006 7-9pm!
REMINDER: All flutes
in the "Flute's of the Circle" Flute
Exhibition and Sale need to be picked up this at the September
meeting! Please contact us if you need to make special
arrangements!
Wado!
_____________________________________________________________
Volume
3 Issue
5
May 2006
Flute
Circle Review
Osiyo,
The
Fallen Branch limb
flute making seminar/ workshop was a great success! People from not
only our area and surrounding states came to participate in the fun and
adventure of flute making, but we saw people from Arizona and Oregon as
well. The hands on approach of the seminar/workshop successfully
creates an environment in which participants were able to work out
questions and construction issues with the instructors while they were
here. During the introduction of the Fallen Branch seminar/workshop
instructors participants were given some background on the history of
the Native American flute and the many woods used both traditionally
and in contemporary construction.
Demonstrations on
preparing the wood for carving, splitting the wood with hand tools, the
proper way of using gouges and knifes, and tuning the flute once it is
carved gave participations an immediate working knowledge to get
started on their journey of making a flute. Each participant received
their own flute blank from such woods as Tennessee Cedar and Mimosa to
put these techniques to work. With the wood chips flying around the
room the conversations were both entertaining and amusing as everyone
got to know each other. It was wonderful to see one of the kids who
performed with the Flute Youth Ensemble come out with her mom to maker
own flute, Cheyenne Fields.
Over the potluck dinner
we did a recap of the seminar/workshop during casual conversation and
good food. Moving right into the flute circle there were introductions
about the Flute Circle and its history to those from out of town. The
flute circle started out with a impromptu lesson on improvising on the
flute by it's coordinator and flute maker, Joyce Barnes. As everyone
got out their flutes they had brought with them we started with a round
of improvisation around the circle. Passing of a melody played from the
heart from one person to the next. Then working on various improvising
techniques to get whole group participation.
One of the participants,
Bill Wakoty a maker and demonstrator of old time wood working tools,
brought out a dulcimer he made, and an Appalachian zither to
demonstrate for our group. Through some experimentation we were able to
play flute with dulcimer which sounded wonderful. Robert Lewis, a
Villager at the Cherokee Heritage Center ancient village, made an
appearance to jam on flute and some rather interesting drum rhythms.
Later on in the flute circle Bill was teaching Cheyanne to play the
dulcimer. The amazing things that happen at a flute circle.
The instructors of the
seminar/workshop, John Suttles, Amos Fleetwood, and Harold Ruckman,
also brought new flutes for us to try. John's newest Rivercane flute
had a smooth sweet sound to it which was very pleasant to play. Amos
brought on of his newest creations, a limb flute made from dried
driftwood. It had an amazing sound and just incredible that it is made
from driftwood. Getting to see Harold's flutes for the first time was a
great experience and couldn't pass up the opportunity to try them out.
They all have a wonderful sound to them and are a joy to play.
The Tahlequah Native
American flute circle would like to thank John, Amos, and Harold for
donating their time to our group to teach this wonderful
seminar/workshop on making flute from a fallen branch. It was a great
success! We would also like to thank John Suttles from his incredible
donation of a Plum tree limb flute. The silent auction we held for this
flute raised funds, along with donations, will go back into the flute
circle for future programs and events. Also, congratulations to the
person who took home the flute! For more information on flutes by John,
Amos, and Harold, please visit their website at www.fallenbranch.com.
Thanks to Tania,
Education at the Cherokee
Heritage Center for finding us a date in which to use the gathering
place and your help in reservations.
Thanks to Mickel Yantz,
Curator at the Cherokee
Heritage Center for helping with the organization of the event.
Thanks to Joyce Barnes,
Co-Coordinator of TNAFC, for coordinating the event and putting
together all the little details that made this event possible.
A special thanks goes out
to all the participates in the seminar/workshop and flute circle for
traveling distances near and far to make this event such a success.
Your donations and support are what make it all happen. We hope to see
you again soon!
Photos of the event will
be posted soon on the special events page!
Reminder:
Because the flute
circle was on Saturday May 13th,
there will be NO
flute circle meeting on Friday May 19th.
The Tahlequah Native
American Flute Circle is free and open to everyone. If you would like
more information about us or our events please send email to tnafcmail@yahoo.com. Wado to all
our members and we look forward to seeing everyone at the next flute
circle meeting. Keep checking our website for more updates!
Wado!
_____________________________________________________________
Volume
3 Issue 4
April
2006
Flute
Circle Review
Osiyo,
This month's flute circle
we saw a great turnout of people from not only our area, but from
Arkansas, Missouri, and a group of people from Texas just stopping by
to listen. As a reminder our flute circle is open to everyone no matter
your skill, interest. Or if you just want to listen to some flute music
for the evening.
Our circle began with a
brief introduction of it's history and coordinators, and circle
business. Announcements made about the upcoming
limb flute making seminar and workshop
at the Cherokee Heritage Center with instructions from the Fallen Branch tribe: John
Suttles, Amos Fleetwood, and Harold Ruckman.
The collection of flutes
where so diverse and wonderful that the conversations on flute making,
history of the Native American Flute, and meeting the flute makers
created a very creative atmosphere. We are always happy to see a
beautiful and always great sounding new collection of limb flutes from
the Fallen Branch tribe (John, Amos, and Dale). Their newest creations
filled the atrium with sweet melodies.
The evening progressed
and closed with a discussion about tuning techniques. Our members each
have a different way of tuning a flute. Having the chance to learn
about each way greatly expands our knowledge as flute makers,
collectors, players, historians, and enthusiasts.
One the great things
about our flute circle is we get to see new flute makers from our
surrounding areas who come to share their art and knowledge of the
craft of making a flute. This month we where happy to welcome flute
makers Dennis (Cherokee) and his wife Kapotahi Frederisksen (of the
Maori tribe of New Zealand). Their limb flutes made from fallen
branches were just a joy to play and wonderful in their appearance as
well. Their collection of flutes also included a bullet shell
mouthpiece on a lathed flute and two incredible femur bone flutes
carved with intricate detail of Mississippian designs (designs found
among Indian tribes dating from about 1600 and earlier in the
Mississippian valleys).
After we went around the
circle sharing song and story the evening closed with casual
conversation and snacks. We would like to thank everyone who was able
to attend and look forward to seeing you next month at the limb flute
making seminar/ workshop and flute circle.
Reminder:
Next month's flute circle has been changed from
Friday
May 19th, 2006 to Saturday May 13th, 2006 from 5-7pm as an evening
event after the seminar/ workshop.
The Tahlequah Native
American Flute Circle is free and open to everyone. If you would like
more information about us or our events please send email to tnafcmail@yahoo.com. Wado to all
our members and we look forward to seeing everyone at the next flute
circle meeting. Keep checking our website for more updates!
Wado!
_____________________________________________________________
Volume 3 Issue
2
February
2006
Flute
Circle Review
Osiyo,
Our
circle began with the brainstorming of ideas for upcoming events. We
thought of many great ideas and will soon be implementing them.
Afterwards we heard new music by Roland Mischke, and music played from
the heart from Amos Fleetwood, John Suttles, and Joyce Barnes. Wado to
Roland for his beautiful new piece and donation to our flute music and
information archive, which is available at any flute circle meeting.
John Suttles and Amos Fleetwood brought another array of beautiful hand
made limb flutes from very interesting woods. Each one with its own
unique personality and wonderful sound. Especially the flute John made
from his families old cedar walking cane. The sound was very surprising
as it was subtle and sweet and very easy to play. John and Amos are
both very prolific flute makers and always have something new at every
flute circle. Many of their flutes can be found on ebay.
Roland Mischke's creation of a low sounding flute with finger holes in
easy reach was quite intriguing and the cedar it was made from has a
beautiful sound. Joyce Barnes brought in several little flutes made
from Rivercane that were studies to get a clear and louder sound out of
Rivercane. It is very exciting to try a new flute at every flute circle
and we greatly appreciate our members and anyone who shares their
creations or finds with our group. It greatly expands our knowledge of
the flute today.
The evening progressed and closed with a discussion about tuning
techniques. Our members each have a different way of tuning a flute.
Having the chance to learn about each way greatly expands our knowledge
as flute makers, collectors, players, historians, and enthusiasts.
Just a reminder about our limb flute making seminar with John Sutttles,
Amos Fleetwood and Harold Ruckman. Details about the seminar are on our
special events page!
The Tahlequah Native American Flute Circle is free and open to
everyone. If you would like more information about us or our events
please send email to tnafcmail@yahoo.com.
Wado to all our members and we look forward to seeing everyone at the
next flute circle meeting. Keep checking our website for more updates!
Wado!
_____________________________________________________________
Volume
3 Issue 1
January
2006
Flute
Circle Review
Osiyo,
Happy
New Year! The first
flute circle of the new year was filled with song, story, and
discussion. We got to see new flutes and hear new music from our
members. After some playing our members got to see original photos of
Woody Crumbo (Potawatomie) on loan to us from Ataloa Lodge on the
Bacone College Campus in Muskogee, Ok.
Woody
Crumbo was a flute
maker, teacher of traditional arts and crafts, and Director of Art at
Bacone in the 1930's and 40's. Many of the flutes made at Bacone were
modeled after Woody's flutes. The current Director and flute maker of Ataloa Lodge Museum,
John Timothy, graciously allowed us to take these photos on loan from
the wonderful collection and articfacts the Ataloa Lodge as to offer.
If you are ever in Muskogee this museum is a must see especially for
flute enthusasts.
In our discussion many
great ideas went around about the possible agenda for the flute circle
this year.One idea we are excited to announce is our upcoming limb flute making seminar in May. John
Suttles and Amos Fleetwood of Fallen
Branch Flutes in Missouri are going to be teaching a seminar on how
to hand craft a flute from fallen branches. This seminar is going to be
very exciting as they both make beautiful and wonderfully sounding limb
flutes. So if you have ever wanted to know how to make a flute from
scratch this would be a wonderful seminar to attend.
More information about
this seminar will be added soon. You can watch for details about the
seminar on our special events page!
We would also like to
announce the addition of our newest section of our website in
appreciation of all those who support our group. Our contributors page highlights those whose
efforts toward the benefit of our group do not go unnoticed. We would
especially like to thank all our members for the their input, time, and
contributions that make our group possible. Those people behind the
scenes that donate their time and talents to keep this group running
are invaluable and greatly appreciated.
Our evening came to a
close with some more playing filling the atrium with the sounds of
flute music. We wish everyone a safe trip home and look forward to
seeing you at our next flute circle!
Wado
.2005
Reviews
Volume
2 Issue
11
November
2005
Flute
Circle Review
Osiyo,
Our one year anniversary
celebration was a wonderful evening of conversations, flutes, and food!
The evening began with some introductions from our members and
welcomeing new members to our group.
Many flutemakers and
players filled our circle with wonderful presentations of their flutes
and skills. It was especially nice to see returning members from far
reaches of Oklahoma and Missouri.
As the evening progressed
an interesting discussion on flute making grew from the presentation of
many unique flutes owned by our members. It is very exciting to see the
enthusiam everyone has for this wonderful instrument.
John Suttles and Amos Fleetwood from Missouri,
and Dale who has traveled
the farthest distance from France, brought more new wonderful limb
flutes to our circle. Each time we see them they have more new flutes
for us to try.
At the end of the evening
after cake and casual conversing the lucky recipient of a beautiful
spanish cedar flute donated to us by Butch
Hall was Leon Murdock! Congratulations Leon!
We are lucky to have so
many members from far away places who make and/or play flutes either
part-time or full-time attend and contribute to our circle. We would
very much like to thank those who come out to our circle to show and
speak about your flutes. There something new to learn from each person
who attends our circle and in turn pass that education on to the next
person.
It was wonderful to see
so many at our one year celebration and wish everyone a safe trip home.
We look forward to another wonderful year of our flute circle! There
are many projects in the works for this upcoming year so keep checking
back with us!
Wado
_______________________________________________________________
Volume
2 Issue
10
October
2005
Flute
Circle Review
Osiyo,
Casual
conversations and
seeing new flutes began our meeting. The night progressed with
insightful conversations about the construction and tuning of the
Native American Flute. We heard new songs from our members such as a
dedication song by Roland Miscke, and inspiration inspired music by our
other members.
The
new flutes at the
circle were a pleasure to play and wonderfully made such as a first
cedar flute by Lee Harris, and an array of new limb and drone flutes by
John Suttles and Amos Fleetwood.
Each
new flute circle leads us to places
that give great insight into the vision for the Native American Flute
and its preservation. Wado to all of our members and new members for
attending. We look forward to seeing next month at our 1 year
anniversary!
Wado
_______________________________________________________________
Volume
2 Issue
9
September
2005
Flute
Circle Review
Osiyo,
Here
a flute, there a flute, everywhere a flute, flute! As people made their
way to our circle they were greeted by an array of flutes. Arkansas
flute makers John Suttles, and fellow flute maker Amos Fleetwood put on
an impressive display of their beautiful hand carved limb flutes.
On
the other side of the room local flute maker and co-organizer of the
Tahlequah Native American Flute Circle, Joyce Barnes, brought in a
wonderful selection of her hand shaped and scroll sawed flutes for our
members to try.
The
evening began with an informal perusing of all of the flutes in the
room by our members. The room was filled with the soothing sound of
flute music as everyone got a chance to play each one, and talk to the
flute makers. Each flute was unique and presented it's own personality,
including an intriguing drone tree limb flute, and an impressive
walking stick flute over 6 feet tall with a crystal on top, made by
Amos Fleetwood .
Once
things got started, we heard from each of our members the new songs
they have been working on since the last flute circle, like the
wonderful duet performed by Roland and Eileen Mischke for makeshift
drum and Native American Flute. Roland also presented his newest
beautiful flute he made of Western Cedar and tuned in the key of low
"C".
After
introductions and announcements flute maker John Suttles generously
donated one of his hand carved limb flutes to our group. We deeply
appreciate your donation John, Wado!
John
and Amos will also by working with our group to set up a weekend
workshop in the spring on how to make limb flutes. John's donated flute
will go to one lucky recipient at the end of this workshop. All the
details will be worked out soon and sent out via newsletter.
Much
of the discussion leaned towards the construction of the Flute, as John
Suttles and Joyce Barnes, and Roland Mischke shared some of their
knowledge of how they make their flutes. Also, Joyce Barnes presented
the group with our archive of music which is made up of all of the
music donated to the group from its members, and is available to the
group at any flute circle meeting.
Later
in the evening local flute maker Joe Ward presented some of his sweet
sounding flutes to the group to try, and will be helping our group out
with advertising, Wado Joe!
After
taking a late snack break the rest of the flute circle was very casual
and allowed more time for everyone to try the flutes. Many people were
intrigued with the unusual reversed scroll saw work on a feather flute
made by Joyce Barnes with scroll saw work by Claude Michael Yantz of
Phoenix, AZ.
John
Suttles brought in a little drone of Tennessee red cedar that what was
just too cute for words and fun to play! His newest limb flutes made
from the fallen limb of various fruit and other trees filled the room
with a wonderful spirit and sound all their own.
We
would like to thank all of the flute makers, enthusiasts, and educators
who come to our flute circle and contribute your knowledge, experience
and passion for this instrument. Your gracious contributions are what
make this flute circle possible, and help preserve the Native American
Flute for future generations! Wado!
Wado
_____________________________________________________________
Volume
2 Issue 8
August
2005
Flute
Circle Review
Osiyo,
Our
flute circle is growing each
month as we welcome new members from the surrounding areas. This
month
we welcomed Gina Burnett, Cherokee Heritage Center Villager and basket
maker, who came with her family including her daughter who plays
flute.
Local flute maker, Joe Ward,
brought some of his beautiful new flutes for our members to try.
Flute maker, John Suttles,
comes to our
flute circle from Arkansas with his impressive display of hand made and
wonderful sounding flutes that our members got to try. His flutes are
hand gouged and hand shaped from fallen limbs sometimes taking him
around 70 hours to complete.
During the snack break we were
entertained by the wonderful sounds of one of our members, Jeanette
Teehee, who is just leaning to play the flute. Wado Jeanette!
Our
opening song was performed by
Roland Mischke, who later performed a unique duet with his wife Eileen
he composed for two Native American Flutes a 5th apart .
We
would like to thank everyone who
attended and graciously shared their flutes, knowledge, and enthusiasm
with our group. Every flute circle holds something new and
exciting
and we look forward to seeing everyone next month!
Wado
_____________________________________________________________
Volume
2 Issue
7
July
2005
Flute
Circle Review
Osiyo,
This month our flute circle welcomed Missouri flute maker Jerry Fretwell and family (www.fretwellflutes.com).
Jerry brought with him some of
his wonderful flutes to speak about and play for the members of our flute circle. It
was a wonderful gathering of
people from all over our area filled with song, discussion, and enjoyment for the Native American Flute.
Jerry also spent time working with some of the children involved in the Tsalagi Flute Youth
Ensemble on the previous
evening. Wado, Jerry for coming to our flute circle and ensemble meetings to
share your knowledge and wisdom,
we hope to see you again soon.
If
you would like more information about Jerry Fretwell and his flutes you can contact him via his website. We would like to thank
everyone who came out for this
meeting and look forward to seeing you all again next month!
Wado
_____________________________________________________________
Volume
2 Issue
6
June
2005
Flute
Circle Review
Osiyo,
Our circle begins with a opening song and short introduction of our
members and welcoming of our new members, thank you for coming!
Afterwards a presentation of new songs and stories each of our members
have been working on since our last meeting. It is always a
pleasure to hear the new songs and pieces everyone in our circle is
working on.
We
welcomed to our flute circle flute maker Rick Heller from
Arkansas. He shared his beautiful flutes and how he got started
making flutes. They came in many shapes and sizes and beautiful
sounds. Thank you Rick for coming to our flute circle, we look
forward to seeing you again!
After snacks the evening progressed with several smaller conversations
throughout the group while a “show and tell” of each members flutes
filled the atrium of the Cherokee Heritage Center with many different
and soothing sounds of simultaneous flute playing.
Our evening came to a close with a “round robin” of improvised flute
playing by each of our members. A group conversation through
flute sounds that echoed throughout the artium… until next month!
“With song in our journey through life, we are never alone” - Author
Unknown
Wado
_____________________________________________________________
Volume 2 Issue
5
May2005
Flute
Circle Review
Osiyo,
Every flute circle is a learning experience. This month our
discussion involved the many differences and preferences in the wood
used to make a Native American Flute, and how that wood effects the
sound. We heard new songs from our members composed since the
last flute circle, and improvisations from two members of the
Tsalagi Flute Youth Ensemble.
We
were excited to see and try an array of flutes made by one of our new
members, Joe Ward. His flutes are not only quite stunning, they produce
a very beautiful and warm tone. - Wado Joe!
Towards
the end of the circle ideas were passed around about possible
discussions or workshops for the future. We are currently
incorporating these ideas into the next few flute circles. If you
have an idea we would love to hear from you. You can email us at
the address found at the end of this letter. We would like to
leave you with a quote brought in by one of our members, see you next
month!
“Within every tree lives a song. The tree shares its song
with the wind and the song continues forever as a gift to you through
the hands of the flute maker” - Jim Adams (Cedar Song Flutes)
Wado
_____________________________________________________________
Volume
2 Issue
4
April
2005
Flute
Circle Review
Osiyo,
This month we got to hear from all our members. After our opening
song we heard new songs and wonderful stories about how our members got
interested in the Native American Flute. Each one getting time to
speak about their experiences and history with their treasured
instrument(s).
We
got to hear about a wide spectrum of performing techniques and
composing music for the flute. Everything from written
music and transcribed music from books, to improvised music coming from
the heart or inspired by an experience. The styles of music
performed we very peaceful and relaxing to listen to. This
meeting was very eye opening to see the many different ways the Native
American Flute can effect people and inspire them.
We are
grateful for our members for coming and sharing this with us and the
wonderful food that was made for the potluck! The closing
song was performed by one of our members! Wado!
We look forward to seeing
everyone next month.
Wado
_____________________________________________________________
Volume
2 Issue
3
March 2005
Flute
Circle Review
Osiyo,
This month we were pleased to hear the stories of local storyteller
Robert Lewis. Robert’s stories were wonderful to listen to and
his ability to get our members involved in the story made it an
experience to remember. Wado, Robert!
During the course of the evening we got to hear beautiful flute music
from our members and see the flutes they both make and collect.
We would like to thank everyone for coming out to share with us their
interest in the Native American Flute.
Before leaving, our closing song was a improvised piece between many of
our members. The song was explained and demonstrated by members
of the Tsalagi Flute Youth Ensemble. Overall, it was a great and
entertaining evening. We look forward to seeing you next
month!
Wado
_____________________________________________________________
Volume
2 Issue 2
February
2005
Flute
Circle Review
Osiyo,
This month we were honored to have Kiowa Elder “Smoky” attend our flute
circle to smoke and bless the youth’s involved in the Tsalagi Native
Flute Youth Ensemble, the members of our Tahlequah Native American
Flute Circle, and the Cherokee Heritage Center with the assistance of
Lee and Julie Harris. We would like to extend a special “wado” to
Smoky for honoring us with his knowledge, blissing, and presence.
Many of the youth’s involved in the Tsalagi Flute Youth Ensemble
regularly perform in the Tahlequah Native American Flute Circle.
We are always excited to see what these individuals will come up with
and share with the group. This month Cheyanne Olson performed an
honoring song for Smoky. Amber Harris also performed her
song “Sunrise” to honor the sun rising over the new day. Rebecca
Batchelor and Catlin Coney performed new songs that they have been
working on for the past few weeks.
Our presenter this month was local flute maker Sonny Arm in
Trout. Sonny brought along several of his beautiful flutes to
demonstrate for us. Some of the woods range from various maples
to aromatic cedar. His presentation on his flute making methods
and his knowledge of the Native American Flute was exciting to hear and
enjoyable to watch. Thank you Sonny for a great presentation!
As
we went around the group our members got to share with us their
beautiful songs and interests in the Native American Flute. We
got to hear from our friends from Tulsa, thank you for coming!
Director of the Cherokee Heritage Center Richard Fields, and Curator
Mickel Yantz, were there to help with the smoking ceremony. As
always we appreciate the Cherokee Heritage Center for letting us
utilize their facilities.
The
night was wrapped up with a short closing song. Please bear with
us as we continue to work out the format for these flute circles.
We are learning as we go and are going to add more features to the
circle during the year. If you have an idea for a flute circle
agenda or discussion please call or email us so we make sure to give
you all the time you need. We appreciate any ideas or comments
you have for or about our group. One idea we are continuing is
our opening and closing song. To end where we began, completing the
circle.
Wado
_____________________________________________________________
Volume 2 Issue 1
January
2005
Flute
Circle Review
Osiyo,
Welcome
to the first flute circle of the new year! We are looking forward
to a wonderful year for the flute circle. Our group is slowly growing
and expanding through the knowledge and talents of its members. This
month we had the best turnout yet! Our visitors come not only
from our local and surrounding communities but from Tulsa and OKC
also. We appreciate everyone who can make it to our group and
contribute the growing spirit of the Native American Flute.
This
month’s opening song came from Joyce Barnes. Other performances
include a song by Lee Harris and “Sunshine” by his Daughter Amber
Harris. A new song by Cheyanne Olson entitled “Coyote”. Our
visiting members from Tulsa shared some of their own songs and music we
us, as well as, performing a duet later on.
Just
after some playing and discussion we took a break to get our pictures
taken and let our member converse to get to know each other. I
know some of you would like to have copies of these pictures so I will
get them to you as soon as I get a copy of the originals myself.
For now they have been put up on the Blogger page of the Cherokee
Heritage Center News. If you wish to view them you can reach them
through the article entitled “Cherokee Flute Circle” at the following
url: http://cherokeeheritagecenter.blogspot.com/
As the
night progressed we heard a short presentation on flute history by
Joyce Barnes, which spawned a discussion on the topic. We
encourage all our members to jump in during a discussion and contribute
your own personal experiences with the flute.
The night
was wrapped up with a short closing song. Please bear with us as
we continue to work out the format for these flute circles. We
are learning as we go and are going to add more features to the circle
during the year. If you have an idea for a flute circle agenda or
discussion please call or email us so we make sure to give you all the
time you need. We appreciate any ideas or comments you have for
or about our group. One idea we are continuing is our opening and
closing song. To end where we began, completing the circle.
Wado
2004 Reviews
Volume
1 Issue 12
December
2004
Flute
Circle Review
Osiyo,
This month’s meeting saw the addition of many more people to our flute
circle. Amber Harris, one of our younger members and
one of the first members of the Tsalagi Youth Flute Ensemble,
performed two beautiful songs to get us started, thank you Amber.
Cheyanne Olson, also one of the first members of the Tsalagi Youth
Flute Ensemble, performed a piece she composed entitled “Grandmother
Moon”, thank you Cheyanne. Along with all the good Christmas
candy and disserts to eat, there was a wonderful sharing of songs and
history throughout the evening.
We would
like to send a special thank you to Choogie Kingfisher and his
fiancé Christin for coming to our meeting, listening to
our younger members perform, and sharing his knowledge and history of
the Cherokee flute with our group. Choogie’s performance of his
own beautiful flutes and songs are very moving and wonderful to
hear! We look forward to seeing them at a flute circle in the
future!
As the
evening went on we did more playing such as a duet on “Amazing Grace”
between Cheyanne Olson and Joyce Barnes. Also, a reintroduction of a
tablature technique for learning to play the flute given to us by a
member from our last meeting. Later on the discussion topic
switched to learning to play the flute and some techniques that might
help one get started.
Overall,
our second flute circle meeting was a great success and we hope that
over the next year our group will continue to grow and share knowledge
and songs of the Native American flute and culture. We invite
anyone to come out to our flute circle. The Tahlequah Native
American Flute Circle is run entirely by volunteers so is free. We
encourage you to bring a dish as the food is potluck! The
Cherokee Heritage Center is a wonderful place to meet, and we have
heard repeatedly that the atrium acoustics and soothing sounds of the
water pond make it a wonderful place to play.
For pictures of our flute
circle meeting this month please visit the URL:
http://cherokeeheritagecenter.blogspot.com/
We wish everyone a wonderful
Holiday and Happy New Year! See you all next year!
do-na-da-go-hv-i (Until we
meet again),
Wado
_____________________________________________________________
Volume 1 Issue
11
November
2004
Flute
Circle Review
Osiyo,
We are
pleased to announce that our first gathering of the Tahlequah Native
American Flute Circle was a wonderful success. The gathering
started out with songs performed by members of the group, along with
introductions about the goals and mission statement of the flute
circle. We also received a brief history and explanation of our
meeting place, the Cherokee Heritage Center. There was also
information about the Tsalagi Youth Flute Ensemble that is currently in
being set up.
As the
night progressed there were many wonderful ideas and concepts shared
with the group such as the new type of notation shared by one of our
members that gave us the chance to play a duet, as well as, teach the
younger members of our group a different version of some well known
songs. There was also a sharing of culture, language, and
artistry within the group. It was very exciting to hear one of
our members speaking to us in Cherokee.
I would
like to thank those of you who attended and drove long distances to be
with us. I would also like to thank Teri for helping to provide
the wonderful food, those little smokies are really good, and helping
to get this group going. Your efforts are greatly appreciated.
The next meeting of our
flute circle is Friday December 13th from 7-9pm at the Cherokee
Heritage Center.
For Directions to the
Cherokee Heritage Center please visit:
http://www.cherokeeheritage.org/maps/mapcity.html
Please note: During
this time of year the driveway into the Heritage Center may be dark so
please follow signs posted to guide you to the main building.
There should be someone outside to let you know which door to enter.
If you have any questions
you can reach us by email at:
morningstarmusic@yahoo.com
Wado
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