“I not only like playing my own solos with a piano accompaniment,” explained Jill, “but I also love to see the progress others have made.”
Comments such as these show me that energies have shifted, that my students have grown and changed. After all the focus on nerves about performing, they’re now telling me that their favorite sessions involve playing for others!
“For me,” continued Jill, “the most memorable sessions are when Brooks gives a masterclass for us. I consider it a real opportunity to work with someone like him. What he can do with each individual student in fifteen minutes is amazing.”
During one of Brooks’ masterclasses, Donna was pleased that she could adjust her embouchure the way he showed her to. “I could do it!,” she exclaimed. “It was exciting to learn something I hadn’t thought about before.”
For Dianne, the first time she heard Brooks play in my living room, where our group meets, was the most memorable moment. “I never knew a human being could make a sound as glorious as that. It was musical ecstacy.”
I derive just as much benefit from these sessions as my students. My heart swells when I see my students play beautifully in a relaxed manner in front of others. I learn to be a better teacher by listening to the conversations we have during these evenings, or by watching a master teacher work with my students. My role as the teacher diminishes, and I become one of the gang, just another person who loves the flute and likes to interact with friends in a meaningful way. My soul is nourished by the laughter, friendship, acceptance, and support we extend to one another.
I agree with Dianne, who said, “I like it all!” and with Donna, who said, “I appreciate the opportunity to create music for fun — to experience the simple, old-fashioned joy of making music.”
When we first became The Trill Seekers, I had no idea that the thrills we would find together would be so far-reaching and life-enhancing. In seeking a deeper relationship with music and with our instruments, we’ve been led toward love and joy, as well as social, emotional, and spiritual fulfillment. In the process of becoming music makers together, we’re learning to express ourselves as beautiful, creative, wondrous beings.