Tuesday, September 12TH, REGISTRATION DEADLINE
Welcome to this 19th year of Alto and Bass Flute Retreats! Featured in Bethlehem will be Nicole Chamberlain’s Beyond the Pale being premiered in August at the NFA Phoenix convention. We will also play either Jonathan Cohen’s Forbidden Forest or Alexandra Molnar-Suhajda’s Canticum Orbis Terrae from Alchemy of Earth. We will be performing at a church service so Fairest Lord Jesus as arranged by Bill Holcombe and two other easy tunes suitable for church will be programmed.
In addition to playing in the three large ensemble pieces, all participants will receive a part for an all-alto piece or an all-bass/contra piece. See details below under Repertoire.
Workshops topics this year will be Vibrato and, Alternate Fingerings
We first meet at 7:15 PM on Thursday October 19th to play through our three large ensemble pieces, the two pieces just for the church service and, have introductions of the class members. The location is The Cathedral Church of the Nativity, 321 Wyandotte Street, Bethlehem, PA 18015. Rehearsals and workshops begin Friday at 9:15 AM at the church and continue through Sunday the 22nd culminating in a Sunday 4 PM performance, followed by a group dinner at an area restaurant.
Evening Events – Thursday night is a read-through of our three large ensemble pieces and the two easy pieces for the church service. Friday is a recital featuring a few people who have asked to play solos, Saturday evening is a sight-reading session for all, Sunday is our group dinner at Hotel Bethlehem after our 4 PM concert.
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THE RETREAT AT A GLANCE:
- Dates: Thursday, October 19th 7:15 PM through Sunday, October 22nd at 8 PM.
Tuition: $350 - Registration Deadline: Tuesday, September 12th by
midnight EST - Retreat and Location: The Cathedral Church of the Nativity, 321 Wyandotte Street, Bethlehem, PA 18015.
- Housing Location: Comfort Suites Bethlehem 120 W. 3rd Street, Bethlehem. See instructions below for making a room reservation.
- Required Workshop Books: The Vibrato Workbook the Alto Method or the Bass Method. Buy/bring both Methods if you have an alto and a bass and want to work on the workshop topics on both.
- Sunday Performance: 4 PM at the church
- Private Lessons: will be available between 10 AM and 5 PM on Thursday, October 20th at the church. Fee is $90 an hour on a first-come first-served basis. Email me to see what times are available. cpotter@mac.com. If you want a lesson, arrive early on Thursday, or better yet, Wednesday night.
- Click here for the 2023 Bethlehem Registration Form
Repertoire – we will rehearse and perform Nicole Chamberlain’s Beyond the Pale and either Jonathan Cohen’s Subduction or Alexandra Molnar-Suhajda’s Canticum Orbis Terrae from Alchemy of Earth. Fairest Lord Jesus will be performed both at the church service Sunday morning and at the 4 PM concert.
Each participant will also receive a part for an all-alto piece and an all-bass/contrabass piece. Altos will play Gamelan by Murray Schafer, a piece inspired by the Gamelan orchestras of Indonesia. The basses and contras will play the Gaubert Madrigal arr. by Erv Monroe. Advanced players who play both instruments can play in both groups. Parts will be sent out after the registration deadline. The pieces will be performed on Sunday starting at 4 PM.
Workshops – Vibrato and, Alternate Fingerings.
Required Books – The Vibrato Workbook, the Alto Method and/or the Bass Method.
The books are available from chrispotterflute.com, Amazon, Flute Specialists, Carolyn Nussbaum’s, The Flute Pro Shop, Flute Center of New York, West Valley Music and Flute World.
Sight-Reading Sessions – All participants are invited to bring one or two duets, trios or quartets for an informal sight-reading session on Saturday night. Pieces with both alto and bass parts are preferred.
Informal Recital – On Friday night of the Retreat there will be an opportunity to perform a solo or other chamber music piece. There is a piano available. If you bring your own sound system, you can do something with a pre-recorded accompaniment.
Private Lessons – If you are interested in a private lesson, check the lesson box on the registration form and include an $90 payment with your tuition.
Housing – Is at the Comfort Suites Bethlehem 120 W. 3rd Street, Bethlehem. First, go to the Hotel Website, then click on the Groups tab at the top of the page. Scroll down to “Start Planning Your Event” and enter code XU71C2 in the Group Code box. It will then take you to a page with our two room options – one king bed or two queens. Average price per night over the five night period is $129 king, $130 two queens plus tax. Friday and Saturday nights are in the $150 range. Make your selection, fill in your CC info. This hotel is easy walking distance of the church.
Other nearby by options are:
The Sayre Mansion https://sayremansion.com
The Wilbur Mansion https://www.wilburmansion.com
Hotel Bethlehem https://www.hotelbethlehem.com
All of which are very nice but more expensive.
Tuition – $350. Payments are accepted through check, PayPal, Venmo or Zelle
- Paypal: send to cpotter@mac.com. Send $360 which is close to $350 after they take out their fees. If you are able to access their “friend” option, they do not charge a fee – send $350.
- Check: My address is 2985 18th St. Boulder, CO 80304. Make payable to Chris Potter.
- Venmo: is now charging a seller transaction fee. Send $357 to ChrisPotterFlute (Sometimes Venmo asks for the last 4 digits of my phone number – 6492)
- Zelle: Contact me if you want to use Zelle – cpotter@mac.com.
- To pay for a private lesson, add $90 to your check or add $93 to your PayPal payment, or $92 to your Venmo payment.
Contact me at cpotter@mac.com if you want more information about the Retreat.
- Use these guidelines to determine your Repertoire Level which you need to know when filling out the Retreat Registration.
- Click here to download and complete the 2023 Bethlehem Registration Form
- Snail mail the completed Retreat registration and tuition check so that it is received by September 20th along with the Retreat tuition – $350. With private lesson $440. OR, scan and email completed form by August 15th to cpotter@mac.com (payment must be received within 5 days).
Chris Potter
2985 18th Street
Boulder, CO 80304
50% tuition refund until September 12th for the Retreat. No refunds after the 12th.
Chris Potter 