The Ives/Flute Project - An Introduction

In the fall of 2018, while pursuing my Masters Degree in Flute Performance at George Mason University, I took a class taught by Dr. Tom Owens about the Music of Charles Ives. For our final project, we were to choose a chamber work by Ives, and figure out what we wanted to say about it.

I approached finding a piece by thinking about what would I, as a flutist, want to play. I found an energetic, fun work called, "Scherzo: Over the Pavements," which was not super long (only 5 minutes), had an interesting piccolo part, and seemed to have numerous resources out there I could draw upon to come to some conclusions.

My research led me to email Dr. Richard Bailey, head of historical sound recordings in the Irving Gilmore Music Library at Yale University. I had not intended to physically go to Yale, but was inquiring about a way to get access to the recordings online. Dr. Bailey proposed if he could get me an interview with James Sinclair, the author of, A Descriptive Catalogue of the Music of Charles Ives, would I come to Yale?

My answer was, of course, a resounding, "YES!"

Not only did I get an interview with James Sinclair, but also with Kevin Sherwin, an expert on performance practice, who is also currently working on a project cataloging all of Ives' online recordings.

My interviews with Mr. Sinclair and Mr. Sherwin were nothing short of amazing. Through their generosity, I discovered many answers to my questions about Ives, his music, and how to approach it from a performers' perspective. I came home inspired to further my research and continue on pursuing my DMA in Flute Performance at George Mason.

To my surprise and honor, the GMU School of Music awarded me with the Presidential Scholarship, making it financially possible for me to go to school and devote my time to researching Ives' music. The Ives/Flute Project Blog will be a way for me to show the process of my research and how I uncover answers, which invariably will lead to more questions. At the end of each week, I intend to sum up my progress and pose logical next steps. To me, the music of Charles Ives is exactly that, a puzzle yearning to be deeply contemplated. Enjoy!