Richmond Virginia Retreat Oct. 16-19, 2025

REGISTRATION DEADLINE September 15th 2025

Welcome to this 21st year of Low Flutes Retreats!

If you haven’t been, you should go! A wealth of information, connect with other low flute players. It really is for all levels of players. Doing a chamber piece and hearing the other chamber pieces at the concert was so much fun. Even though I’m not a beginner musician I am fairly new to low flute and highly recommend doing these! Kathy Thompson

Richmond, Virginia is the location of a Low Flutes Retreat Oct. 16-19, 2025. All skill levels of alto, bass and contrabass players are welcome. We will be playing Maro – an Armenian Folk Song, By Kells Waters by Kelly Via, Funeral March of a Marionette by Gounod and Gelato al Caffe from Paige Dashner Long’s Gelato Low which will be premiered at the NFA Convention in Atlanta in August. Everyone will also be assigned a chamber music piece.

Location: All Saints Episcopal Church 8787 River Rd, Richmond, VA 23229

First meeting: 7:15 PM on Thursday, October 16th at the church.

Retreat ends: Sunday about 8:30 PM after a group dinner.

Recommended Housing Location: Country Inn and Suites by Radisson 8010 W Broad St. Richmond, VA. To reserve a room call the hotel directly 1 (804) 755-6605 to get the best rate.

Workshops Topics: Tone Development and, Intonation

Registration Form: 2025-Richmond-registration

RETREAT DETAILS:

Dates: Thursday, October 16, 7:15 PM through the Sunday, October 19. Friday and Saturday we start at 9:15 AM and go till about 9 PM with meal breaks. Sunday’s Concert ends at about 5:00 PM. Fun group dinner lasts until 8:30 or so on the 19th!
Tuition: $400
Transportation: The church and the Country Inn are 7-ish miles apart so a car or Uber will be needed. The only hotel closer (Regency Inn – 3 miles ) is a dump, do not stay there.
Registration Deadline: Monday, September 15th 2025. 2025-Richmond-registration
Sunday Public Performance: 4:00 to 5:00 The concert is free. CedarField Retirement Community 2300 Cedarfield Pkwy Richmond, VA 23233
Required Workshop Books: Seven Steps to Better Intonation, the Alto Method and/or the Bass Method Buy/bring both Methods if you have an alto and a bass and want to work on both. Contra players bring the Bass Method. The books are available from chrispotterflute.com, Flute World, world-wide via Amazon, Flute Specialists, Carolyn Nussbaum’s, The Flute Pro Shop, West Valley Music, Flute Center of New York and Just Flutes (UK).
Private Lessons: Contact me first to see if there are times available. Will be taught Thursday the 16th between 10 AM and 5 PM at the Country Inn and Suites.

Workshops – Tone Development and, Intonation. We will work on developing a tone that has something important to say. Clarity of the sound and your ability to send a compressed, consistent, reliable stream of air at the right angle into the flute is essential. Control of dynamics and vibrato are part of this process. Required – the Alto Method and/or the Bass Method Buy/bring both Methods if you have you have an alto and a bass and want to work on both. Contra players bring the Bass Method.

The Intonation Workshop starts with Step 1 of Seven Steps to Better Intonation. Step 1 is an online assessment with Chris prior to the Retreat and we will find out how well you know your instrument at this point in time. At the Retreat we will learn how and when to make adjustments with the help of the other six steps.

Evening Events – Thursday night at the church we will start at 7:15 PM and introduce ourselves then read through our full ensemble pieces. Friday night is a recital at the church featuring players who have asked to play solos/duets/trios. Saturday evening at the church is a group sight-reading session. Bring music to share. Sunday we will have a 1:30-3:30 rehearsal and 4:00 concert at CedarField, then a group dinner at an area restaurant.

Repertoire – Armenian Folk Song – Maro, By Kells Waters by Kelly Via, Funeral March of a Marionette by Gounod and Gelato al Caffe from Paige Dashner Long’s Gelato Low. Everyone will be assigned a chamber music piece. All pieces will be performed on Sunday starting at 4 PM.

Thursday Sight-Reading Session – All participants are invited to bring a few ensemble pieces. Music with parts for both altos and basses are preferred, but c flute duets/trios/quartets can work for all altos, all basses, or all contras. You are responsible for making extra copies of parts and conducting your piece if it has more than three parts.

Informal Recital – On Friday night of the Retreat there will be an opportunity for the players to perform a solo or other chamber music piece. There is no piano available. Sign up on the Registration form.

Private Lessons – Contact me first to see if there are times available. cpotter@mac.com. If you are interested in a private lesson, check the lesson box on the registration form and include a $90 payment with your tuition.

Housing – Country Inn and Suites by Radisson 8010 W Broad St, Richmond, VA. To reserve a room click here Hotel Reservation

Tuition – $400. Payments are accepted through check, PayPal, Venmo or Zelle

Paypal: send to cpotter@mac.com. Send $412 which ends up being close to $400 after PayPal takes out their fee. If you are able to find and send via their “friend” option, they do not charge a fee – send $400.
Check: My address is 2985 18th St. Boulder, CO 80304. Make payable to Chris Potter.
Venmo: is now charging a seller transaction fee. Send $412 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 $93 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 2025-Richmond-registration
Snail mail the completed Retreat registration and tuition check so that it is received by September 15th along with the Retreat tuition – $TBD With private lesson $TBD+90. OR, scan and email completed form by September 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 15th for the Retreat. No refunds after the 15th.