A QUICK LOOK AT CURRENT & UPCOMING ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS

September begins the new program year for GPFS and here’s the scoop! It promises to be another interesting and active year to look forward to.

• The Fall Event: Save the date for 10/29, at Portland State University (PSU), time TBD, probably 9 – 2 or so: This will be an Ensemble Reading Session of all levels and Member’s Recital.  This will be a half day of “let’s finally connect in person, play ensemble music together and hear some members perform live!” Hoorah! Finally!

• First Tuesdays Online: New to GPFS last year, this online series will continue, beginning in October and running through June. If you would like to present a workshop or performance, please message. Currently we are still in the planning stage, but will have a session with Zach Galatis (flutist, piccolo with the OR Symphony), a couple of meet the composer panels featuring their flute music, Camila Oliveira on the topic of Brazilian music, and another Feldenkrais session or two from Donna Maebori. More to come.

• Performance Anxiety/Wellness: There will be a bit of a performance anxiety and performance wellness theme running through the activities of the year and in The Portland Piper! Share your ideas/interests newsletter@gpfs.org. At the turn of the new calendar year, there will be a half day online webinar focused on performance anxiety and wellness which will include a workshop providing information and strategies for managing anxiety, a panel presentation and participant discussion, and a refreshing workshop on the benefits of Alexander Technique and keeping those practices alive in our musical and regular life, including a review of constructive rest practice.

• Youth Outreach and Support: Supporting the new generation, we will continue with Flute Academy as well as providing Student Study Grants - you can help by donating. The more we build this fund to be robust and sustainable the greater the impact we can have – Please Donate to Student Study Grants via this GPFS webpage. You can consider a one-time donation of any size or a small monthly donation. Every bit helps.

• Flute Fair: The GPFS Annual Flute Fair will be held in April again this year and as far as we can tell so far it will be in person. Zartouhi Dombourian-Eby, piccolo player with the Seattle Symphony. will be our guest artist. More details to come as we firm them up! We can look forward to a performance, workshop, and masterclass by the guest artist as well as workshops and performances by members. Vendors will be here in person and there will be the middle school competition and high school competition. Here is an interview – Principal Flute Interview with Zart.

• GPFS Publication: There will be six new issues of The Portland Piper including all the familiar readership columns and one new column called “Noteworthy” conceived and developed by GPFS member Sue Bonfeld. This will be a short list of curated videos, interviews, podcasts and performances of interest to musicians of all levels, but outside the scope of GPFS’s curated Flute Resources webpage, a webpage that is updated regularly and all suggestions are welcome – please just email us at newsletter@gpfs.org.  

All of this depends on volunteers. Most importantly, thank you to the many volunteers who lend a hand on and off and sometimes year after year after year. To all, please consider lending a bit of your time and talent when you can. Send your ideas. Share a performance. Conduct a workshop. Write a short article or two for publication. Review a piece of music or an album. Donate to support the work of GPFS, particularly our support of youth through the Student Study Grants.

• GPFS Annual Report 2020 - 2022 - Much to be proud of, this is a reflection on the GPFS's activities, challenges and successes of the last couple of years - Message from the Board April 2022.pdf.

• Annual Meeting and Nominations - The following list of GPFS officers and members-at-large were approved during the annual meeting held 4/9/22 - Nominations for Board 2022 Members Meeting.pdf.  GPFS particularly welcomes newest board member Tony Merrill as our new, very experienced Treasurer. 

• URGENT - Volunteer Position Needed, Commercial/Sponsor Membership Coordinator - This position is responsible for reaching out to a narrow set of potential vendors to renew their membership annually as well as respond to any specific requests for advertising with GPFS. Maintains the GPFS commercial membership webpage to keep it current. Works closely with GPFS Membership Communications. Approximately 2 or 3 hours a month on average. 

• Here are some specific, short-term volunteer opportunities that can be done at your own pace:

o Short reviews (your choice) of sheet music, instructional methods, books or albums. This is an especially good option for the teachers among us, but open to all with an interest in sharing your thoughts and suggestions with fellow membership.
o Help us keep this GPFS flute resources page current and relevant by reviewing it and making suggestions for additions, subtractions or other adjustments. This page was recently featured in the notes for one of the Flute 360 podcasts! Let's work together to keep it vibrant!
o Interested in the above or other volunteer opportunities, message newsletter@gpfs.org

• Flutist Friends Worldwide - Upcoming Opportunities: As a benefit to our members, we keep track of some of the upcoming events and other opportunities from our flutist friends across the country and world. To peruse these, go to this GPFS Webpage: Opportunities Country and Worldwide. Flutist Amelia Lukas has upcoming events. And, the International Low Flutes Festival is online this year - very accessible and affordable if you are interested.

• Keep us Posted on You and Others - Share What You Know: Remember, as a member, you can ask to have your upcoming events, publications or recordings posted to membership via our calendar, webpage, and ENew and/or The Portland Piper publication. Contact newsletter@gpfs.org. Generally, information provided by the end of a given month will be posted in the next month’s GPFS communication. Please too let us know what you are aware of going on anywhere in “the fluting world” that you think members might like to know about.

LOOKING BACK ON THE RECENT PAST FOR GPFS

• GPFS Annual Report 2020 - 2022 - Much to be proud of, this is a reflection on the GPFS's activities, challenges and successes of the last couple of years - Message from the Board April 2022.pdf.

• Flute Fair 2022, Online - Another success despite not being able to conduct this event in person again this year. Read about Flute Fair 2022 here, including links to other learning material from the event - Flute Fair 2022 What to Know April 2022.pdf. Login to The Portland Piper website for access to all of this material and summary articles on the workshops, performance, masterclass and more! 

• FLUTE ACADEMY 2022 A SUCCESS: Teaching and Learning MidValley Flute Academy Highlights Feb 2022.pdf, and Teaching and Learning Sydney Carlson WarmUp Session Feb 2022.pdf. Flute Academy is an annual event geared toward youth. Visit our webpage to learn more.

• 2021 FALL GUEST ARTIST EVENT A SUCCESS: Visit our webpage to learn more about this annual fall event. And, here are a couple of The Portland Piper articles inspired by the event: Teaching Column Mihoko Mindfulness Dec 2021.pdf; Teaching and Learning 3 Introduction to Mei Article NFA August 2021.pdf; Reflections on Fall Guest Artist Recital Oct 2021.pdf; and, MeiSpring2008NFAArticle (003).pdf.

• NEW WEBSITE - A BETTER RESOURCE EVERY DAY: Please remember to visit the new GPFS website as it continues to fall into place - https://gpfs.org/. Most importantly, please pass the link on to your flutist friends and encourage them to join GPFS. Check out our Flute Resources webpage, and help us make it even stronger by sending your suggestions.

• GPFS ONLINE PUBLICATION/NEWSLETTER: Login to your GPFS Members Only site to enjoy the  new fully online newsletter featuring a range of new readership columns and links to resources nearby and around the world. Provide your feedback, content ideas, news, articles, pictures or other input through newsletter@gpfs.org. We also welcome your contributions.  This member benefit is now published six times a year.

• LENDING LIBRARY/NEW PIECES: New pieces are added to the library routinely. These new additions are communicated in the GPFS newsletter The Portland Piper.  Remember too that borrowing sheet music from the library is easy and free.

HOW YOU CAN HELP GPFS NOW

• Growing Student Memberships in GPFS - For this membership year (2021-22),  the GPFS board challenges itself and membership to sponsor 30 youth memberships - value $15 each. These memberships can be "purchased" at the time individuals join or renew their membership by simply choosing that membership option on the form. Or, one can similarly "donate" a Student  Membership by going to the "Donate" option on this GPFS website - Donate. 

• Help Support GPFS Scholarships for Youth and Other Activities: Please consider making a one-time or monthly donation to GPFS. Even a small monthly donation of $5 to $10 significantly supports the GPFS mission! Consider donating here: Donate

• Your Help Growing the Library: There is still opportunity for you to help grow our free music lending library by encouraging members to donate items.  We have a new “Sheet Music Wish List” as an option for selecting your donation.