INAFA Happenings Day 2

I apologize. It looks like a lot of my pictures came out blurry today. I am disappointed. But I did capture a few moments from the day.

First off, Dr. Michael DeMaria starting the workshops this morning with a wonderful talk on the healing nature of the flute and being present in the moment when playing the flute for other folks. I come back to why this was significant for me later in the day.

This workshop was followed by an excellent workshop by Dr. Ron Warren which focused on singing with the Native American flute. Dr. Ron was accompanied by Janice, who has an incredible voice. Ron and Jessica would join Peter Phippen on stage at the evening concert for an awesome improve with Dr Ron on piano, Peter on flute and Jessica vocalizing.

Next was Gary Stroutsos. Gary had planned to do a workshop on improvisational playing with percussion along with Will Clipman, but Will didn't fly in, in time. So Gary did a solo workshop on what world music means and interpreting the vocal traditions of a variety of cultures on the flute. Here's a picture of Gary during his workshop:

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to attend any of the other excellent workshops today, as I had to go prep for the NCFC Welcome party. But I did manage to visit the vendor booth and catch Geoffrey Ellis playing this ultra low bass flute:

For the NCFC welcome party, we had all of the participants bring an "A" flute to the party. Dan Ricketts then got them to play a drone while the various recording artists played a solo at the mic. Here are a few shots of the participants and the artists jamming at the NCFC party:

R. Carlos Nakai at the mic:

Michael Graham Allen (coyote Oldman) at the mic:

The highlight of the party was the presentation by R. Carlos Nakai and the INAFA Board members of a special commemorative pin to Sherry Kuhl of the Oregon Flute Circle for her contribution over the years to INAFA and for organizing the very first flute circle. Here's a few shots of the presentation:

Mac Lopez had a birds eye view of the party from behind his booth in the vendor area:

Russ Venable plays Frankie Sierra's ultra large flute at the open mic:

Unfortunately, I didn't get any really clear shots of the evening concert. but let me tell you, Ash Dargan was awesome. He is an incredible didj player and story teller. He shared several stories about life in Australia and entertained the audience. Evren Ozan played a short set, but demonstrated his talent and potential. Finally, Peter Phippen and friends filled out the evening. Peter invited several folks on stage, including Dr Ron Warren and Jessica, Jake Hull, Jared Pool, Gary Stroutsos, Ash Dargan, Michael DeMaria and others. It was a great evening.