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Saturday, June 21, 2003

By Andrew Druckenbrod, Post-Gazette Classical Music Critic

It's not quite the same instrument, but Jeanne Baxtresser has used her flute to be a pied piper.

Her renowned tenure as principal flutist of the New York Philharmonic caught many an ear, and recently her teaching methods have students of all levels flocking to enormous master classes, first at the Juilliard School (in 2000 and 2001) and now at Carnegie Mellon University. More than 100 flutists will participate in the Jeanne Baxtresser International Master Class, which runs today through next Saturday.

"We'll have old amateurs sitting next to hot-shot young players," says Baxtresser, who has assembled well-known professional flutists to help her run the classes.

	The master class will give two gala concerts at CMU's Kresge Recital Hall at 8 p.m. Friday and next Saturday, and also a flute orchestra concert at 5 p.m. next Saturday at Alumni Concert Hall. Tickets to the galas are $10. The public may audit the master class lectures for $40 a class or $75 a day. Information: 412-268-2383.

Baxtresser decided to move the event from Juilliard to CMU after moving to Wexford in February 2001. She already was a professor of music at CMU (she's now in her fifth year), along with her husband, bassoonist David Carroll. Teaching, in fact, is her main focus. Other than performing at teaching events, she has no plans to play in public again.

"It is a fantastic departure," says Baxtresser. "I love to play, but ... I am thrilled to have all of my activity flowing into teaching."

Baxtresser has had what she refers to as "the career of dreams." From her birth in Bethlehem, in eastern Pennsylvania, to her upbringing in Minneapolis, she received a solid musical foundation from her mother, a Naumberg Award-winning pianist. Schooling in Interlochen and the Juilliard School of Music, the latter under famed flutist Julius Baker, led to a stellar career at the orchestras of Montreal, Toronto and New York.

Her 15 years at the Philharmonic established Baxtresser as a giant in the field, something she never thought she'd be. "When I first started, there were no women in the orchestra, so that was not a dream I thought I could have."

With that one fulfilled, she looked to another dream, full-time teaching. Many schools offered her the chance.

"Every major music school in America hoped to bring her to its faculty when she decided to retire," says Alan Fletcher, head of the CMU School of Music. "In the years since [she arrived], she has attracted the most outstanding students from every continent and has had a profound influence on our entire program of instrumental study ... creating a comprehensive and intensive flute curriculum."

The move of an artist of Baxtresser's stature to Pittsburgh has been an added boost to the already active Pittsburgh Flute Club, 350 members strong. "She is one of the few famous flutists with a commitment to the amateur," says board member Wendy Kumer. "She immediately set up a visiting artist series that we co-sponsor with her CMU flute department. Four guest artists were brought in this past year, and we would never be able to do that much ourselves. She insists on community involvement."

Kumer also cites a residual effect from Baxtresser's relocation here from students who stay after graduation to teach.

Baxtresser's national influence is obvious from this master class. All the resident teachers/artists are former students, including Mathieu Dufour, principal at Chicago Symphony, Renee Siebert of the New York Philharmonic, Marina Piccinini, winner of the Avery Fisher Prize, and Tim Hutchins, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra's new principal flutist. CMU's Alberto Almarza and the PSO's Jennifer Conner also will teach and perform.

The master class will be more than honing technique. "I like to address the total musician," says Baxtresser. "Not only how you play the flute but, for instance, how you walk onto stage ... the business of playing your instrument."

A particular focus is on auditioning. In the '80s, Baxtresser was one of the first to seize upon the understanding of how important preparing orchestra excerpts are for auditions. "Her books and CD ["Orchestral Excerpts for Flute"] are the source for all orchestral auditions for flute in America," says Kumer.

"When I auditioned, no one even taught [excerpts], but ... I started teaching them early on," she says.

This echoes her general approach to development, which attracted her to CMU: "It is not enough to graduate from a conservatory or music school -- the opportunity to play may not be there for several years. You deserve to have a backup job that isn't waiting tables. ... It is a moral mandate for those of us teaching musicians to broaden our approach. CMU interdisciplinary approaches prepare them well for life outside of school."