The GPFS Fall Guest Artist brings a national or international flute performer/teacher to Portland to perform a recital and give a workshop or masterclass. This is a great event for student and adult players alike to perform for internationally renowned visiting artists.

Past guests have included Paul Edmund-Davies (2011), PROJECT TRIO (2012), Jean Ferrandis (2014), Sarah Jackson (2017), José Valentino (2018), and Jackie Cordova-Arrington (2019).

The Fall Guest Artist for 2020 was Paul Edmund-Davies!

Paul ran a two hour Zoom session for our participants on October 17th. The class, entitled "How to warm up constructively" was a live online program aimed at all ages and stages, where Paul provided instruction and exercises in what he refers to as the four pillars of technique, namely: Breathing and Phrasing (incorporating Sonority) Finger work, Articulation, and Intervals. 

By focusing on these four areas, with regular and dedicated practice, Paul put forward that not only can we maintain our technical facilities on the flute, but we can also steadily improve them.

Those attending will received a brief talk about what to look out for in these four areas and after a demonstration will play along with the exercises sent out as PDF files in advance or downloaded from an URL.

This was a highly interactive and stimulating class that kept our members enthusiastic and "flute active"!

Paul Edmund-Davis ARCM, AGSM, Hon ARAM 

Paul Edmund-Davies established his international reputation as flutist and soloist in the twenty years that he was Principal Flute of the London Symphony Orchestra and then five years at the Philharmonia Orchestra.  

In June 2007 his book, The 28 Day Warm up Book for all Flautists…eventually! was first published. This 150 page, now in its eleventh edition, has been translated into Japanese, Spanish and Russian and has reached most corners of the world. 

His latest book, A Consequence of Sequences, was published in February 2018 and is in its third edition. 

Paul has also played on many Hollywood blockbuster film soundtracks, From Star Wars and the early Harry Potter films to Mission Impossible, Interstellar, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them, Beauty and the Beast, Wonder Woman, Kingsman: The Golden Circle, Victoria and Abdul. And more recently Godzilla, Shazam, Angry Birds 2, Dora and the Lost City of Gold, Wonder Woman 1984 and the soon to be released James Bond movie, No Time to Die. 

He is very honored to be Officier de l’Ordre des Coteaux de Champagne.