Five Questions With Flutist Lish Lindsey

Lish Lindsey is one of the most in-demand teachers at Lessonface. She’s a very talented flutist, as you can see from her videos, but also an equally talented and passionate flute instructor. She was kind enough to answer this week’s “Five Questions” during a rare moment when she wasn’t actively engaged in spreading the gospel of the flute.

Lessonface: How did you first get introduced to the flute, and what kind of music were you listening to at the time/growing up?

Lish Lindsey: I originally started my musical adventures by taking piano lessons and then chose to play the flute when it was offered in the 4th grade. I'm not exactly sure what influenced my decision to pick flute, but I remember attending the seasonal band concerts in the cafetorium and thought the flutists looked like they were having the most fun, though that's probably because they were in the front row and caught my attention. I didn't listen to much classical music in middle school, but I did have a healthy appetite for Concrete Blonde, R.E.M., Whitney Houston, Squeeze, Bon Jovi, Madonna, Violent Femmes, Duran Duran, Michael Jackson, The Bangles, N.K.O.T.B., and The Cure. As I got older I spent a lot of time listening to my parent's vinyl collection, which included The Beatles, Janis Joplin, Jethro Tull, The Doors, King Crimson, Elton John, and Iron Butterfly. In high school I favored CDs by James Galway and Jean-Pierre Rampal and the music of Debussy, Copland, Beethoven, Mozart, Stravinsky, Cage, Prokofiev, and Brahms.

Lf: Did you take lessons or have particularly influential mentors early on, or later as you progressed?

LL: My high school band director suggested that I start studying flute outside of school, so I began working with a private teacher who introduced me to the challenges and rewards of flute playing. Later I was able to work with great teachers/mentors including Julius Baker, Dr. Bradley Garner, David DiGiacobbe, and Dr. Dent Williamson, so I try to pass on their wisdom to my students.

LF: What got you interested in teaching online and through Lessonface? How long have you been doing online lessons?

LL: During an average week I'm teaching in various locations, which include Northeast PA, the Bronx and upper eastside of Manhattan, and southern/central/northern NJ. Each day I am at a different location, so I found that offering online lessons was a convenient way to meet with students who needed a makeup lesson or wanted to reschedule on a different day other than their regular lesson. Those meetings were so successful that I was able to confidently accept personal requests for coaching from flutists I had not met in person. I started teaching private lessons in 1999 and incorporated online instruction over the past several years, so collaborating with LessonFace, a portal that embraces remote learning and sincerely supports students and teachers, is a very exciting opportunity.

Lf: If you had to recommend one video or performance for prospective students to check out in order to understand you and your style, what would it be?

LL: I recently recorded a Karg-Elert Caprice at the request of a YouTube viewer and really enjoyed working it out and breaking it down so she could prepare for an upcoming audition.

Lf: Can you tell us a bit about what's going on with any musical projects you're working on, and any latest news about them?

LL: I play flute (C, alto and bass) with TwtrSymphony, an orchestra where each member records their track remotely and then all the parts are combined in the studio. We just released Symphony No. 2 "Birds of a Feather" written by musical director Chip Michael. I'm also the piccoloist with the Eastern Wind Symphony, a professional level wind ensemble based in New Jersey. We will be recording a new CD for Klavier Records as well as making our Carnegie Hall debut in March 2013. Of course I'm continuing to record videos for my YouTube Flute Toot-orial project and have received many enjoyable requests from flutists across the country.

To learn more about Lish or to book a lesson with her, please visit her teacher profile. Click here to learn more about how Lessonface works or here to read our blog.