Lamorna Nightingale

Fluteworthy would like to commission Sally Whitwell to write a new 4 minute flute piece appropriate for HSC performance. This piece will be published by Reedmusic.com Publications and recorded by Fluteworthy on their upcoming CD.

Fluteworthy are Lamorna Nightingale, Christine Draeger and Joceyln Fazzone. We are flautists, flute teachers and publishers of flute teaching material. We are passionate about 'flute music worth playing'! In 2010 Fluteworthy collated their favourite Australian repertoire appropriate for HSC performance and created a CD - 'Eat Chocolate and Cry - Australian Flute Music 1999-2009'. We also ensured that all of the sheet music was available to the public through the Australian Music Centre and Reedmusic.com Publications. Following the success of this project we are now preparing to record a new collection of pieces of which Sally's piece will be one.

Fluteworthy have asked Sally to write us a piece because she is an incredibly talented musician! Sally is a wonderful pianist, accompanist, choir master, composer, bassoonist and all-round creativity inspirer! (She also has fabulous pink hair at the moment!) One of her greatest strengths is her ability to connect with young musicians, Sally just seems to know what they are going to love playing! Sally has already written many wonderful arrangements for our Fluteworthy Publications and we sure that she will write a piece that students will really enjoy playing! For more information about Sally Whitwell please visit her website.

To start the commissioning process, Jocelyn, Christine and Lamorna have had lengthy discussions about what kind of pieces students of this age and level most enjoy playing for the HSC and in consultation with Sally we have come up with some guidelines for the composition.

1. We would like a Flute and Piano piece that is about 4 minutes long to make it appropriate for use in the Mandatory Topic, Music of the Last 25 Years (Australian Focus).
2. It should be approximately 7/8 grade AMEB level because this is the level that many students are at when they do the HSC
3. The piece must work well for the flute independently from the accompaniment.
4. The piece should be in the style of the French Conservatoire Competition piece. Slow/cantabile/expressive followed by fast/notey/articulated maybe including a cadenza. Something a just little easier than the pieces in the book 'Flute Music by French Composers'.
5. It should be in a modern style (because we live in the 21st century!) and be enjoyable to play.

As a comparison we have suggested some pieces to Sally that are really popular with students this age and level. (As an experienced and fabulous piano accompanist, Sally will have played all these pieces many times and understands why students love them!)

Ganne 'Andante and Scherzo'
Chaminade 'Concertino'
Poulenc 'Sonata'
Ross Edwards 'Ecstatic Dances' (2 flutes)
Berkley 'Sonatina'
Cook 'Sonatina'
Goddard 'Waltz' (this is maybe a bit of the tricky side)
Piazolla 'Histoire du Tango' (first 2 mvts)
Mouquet 'Flute de Pan' (1st mvt)

We would like to encourage the flute community to support this project. This piece will be a welcome addition to the flute repertoire that we will all be able to benefit from as teachers, students and performers! We would like to raise $2,000, this being the standard Australia Council rate of $500 per minute of music. All of the money raised will go directly to the composer, Sally Whitwell. So basically we need 100 people to donate $20 each. If you think we could do with another fabulous piece by a wonderful Australian woman then please join Fluteworthy in commissioning Sally Whitwell!