Our next First Tuesday is on June 7, online, 7:00 - 7:45.

Honing Our First Instrument, Ourselves! Join GPFS member Donna Maebori  in this interactive workshop to learn more about sensing, moving, posturing and breathing. Donna is a flutist who is a certified Feldenkrais practitioner and a retired physical therapist.

Register Here

We will have a full focus on breathing, that oh-so vital capacity for flutists.  This will be a participatory time together.  Donna Maebori, flutist and Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner®, will lead us through a breathing lesson from the Feldenkrais Method®.   The evening will start with a brief introduction to the Feldenkrais Method, then move into this 30-minute lesson, which Donna will talk us through.  It will be a time to observe, learn about, and experiment with breathing.  The breathing actions will be gentle and unrushed.

Plan on how you want to position yourself for this experience!   One way is to lie on the floor on your back, arms by your sides and legs long.  Have blankets ready to lie on if your room is not carpeted.  Feel free to put a pillow under your knees and a folded towel under your head if that takes away any distracting discomfort.  You can lie on your side if you prefer.  In this case, having legs drawn up with a pillow between legs and folded bath towel under your head works well.  Or, sitting is just fine too.  It’s really helpful to sit fully back, comfortably upright, against a sturdy chairback.  Have a couple pillows on your lap for resting your arms.  Okay!  Those are your choices and decide what works best for you.

You won’t be moving around on the floor, so you only need enough floor space to lie down comfortably.  Do wear comfortable, and warm enough, clothing.  Socks are good to wear too, and shoes can come off if you are lying down.  If at least one person lying down can be seen on video that would be great, so maybe see if that’s a possibility for you.  If not, no worries.   If you are sitting, please plan to turn yourself sideways to your camera so you have an enhanced sense of being in your own experience.  Eyes will be closed throughout the lesson. 

After the lesson we will each walk around for a couple minutes, taking in sensations about our selves.  Then we will regroup back to our meeting together and talk for the few remaining minutes about the experience and how it applies to our flute playing, and yes, more generally in our lives as well.

If you are curious about the Feldenkrais Method, https://feldenkrais.com/ is a good link to use.  Any questions, feel free to contact Donna at donna.maebori@gmail.com or 971-409-3611. 

What: New in 2022, every first Tuesday of the month will feature a performance or a workshop held by a GPFS member. The sessions will focus on the flute and other music topics of interest to members.

When: The online sessions will begin at 7:00 pm each 1st Tuesday of the month (except for August) and last for about 45 minutes.

How: Simply register, link below. You will receive a Zoom link that you will use to logon each first Tuesday you have registered for.

Why: This is an opportunity to feature and celebrate the talents of our membership as well as share with each other our love of music and the flute as our instrument. 

You Can Help: Participate. Invite others. Spread the word. Send your ideas - president@gpfs.org. Submit a proposal (super easy) to present a workshop,  performance, panel, discussion group, etc. Solo and ensembles welcome. Link for proposal submission coming soon!

See List of Past First Tuesdays: Past First Tuesdays