Today we’d like to introduce you to Donna Pattison.
Donna, before we jump into specific questions about the organization, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Shimmer Flute Choir started as a quartet in 2006, consisting of members of the Houston Symphonic Band’s flute section. We found it was difficult to rehearse and perform regularly with just four members due to work and family schedules. We expanded to an octet and the group agreed on the name “Shimmer Flute Ensemble”. This was actually a name I had envisioned while in college. It’s the sound I imagine light would make as it reflects off an icicle on a cold, sunny morning. Our first album was titled “If Light Were Sound”, in honor of the background for our name. In 2011, we started getting inquiries from flautists outside the Symphonic Band asking if they could join us and we expanded again. Flute players with alto and bass flutes joined us and we were able to expand into music written for flute choir. We filed as a separate 501(c)3 organization in 2013 as our membership had shifted to primarily flute players outside the ranks of the Houston Symphonic Band and we changed the name to “Shimmer Flute Choir” to better describe the organization. The flute choir literature is generally scored for piccolo, multiple C flutes, alto and bass flute.
We had a helping hand from a number of individuals along the way. Many members of the Houston Symphonic Band have been strong supporters and advocates for the flute choir through the years. Fred Angerstein, director of the Houston Symphonic Band, has been a tremendous resource, arranging several performances for us in our early years, and providing continuous support and advice. Marie McElroy, principal chair of the flute section in the Houston Symphonic Band provided tips, guidance, served as a clinician, and filled in as needed for performances in our early years. Various members have recommended us for paid performances which has provided us with some wonderful venues and a budget so we can expand our music library. We typically hold a formal concert every fall, our Fall Frolic, and have been joined by the Houston Symphonic Bands Clarinet Choir and Saxophone Choir. We have thoroughly enjoyed sharing the stage with these talented groups. Foundry United Methodist Church generously allowed our group to rehearse in their choir room for many years which I think was critical to stabilizing our membership and allowing us to grow. We literally outgrew my living room. I used to joke that we would have to find rehearsal space elsewhere when I found myself conducting in the breakfast room and there came a point where we just didn’t fit. We are grateful for the generosity the Foundry membership shared with us. We are currently rehearsing at First Presbyterian Church in Tomball and are likewise appreciative of their generous gift of rehearsal space.
We have been blessed with two professionals who have written and arranged music for Shimmer Flute Choir. Sondra Tucker is a well-known composer for handbells, choir, organ, and flute choir. Fortunately for me, I did not recognize her name when she first turned up for rehearsal or I would have been a nervous wreck. She told me she wrote music for choir and asked if I wanted to try any of her tunes. I said, sure, just bring one or two in. I finally asked what she had written and she emailed me a list. I paused, went and looked in the filing cabinet and emailed her back “Are you Sondra Tucker of Quicksilver Publications?” I got a one word answer back: “Yep”. We already owned a number of her works in our library. We have had the joy of playing many of her works and premiering works written specifically for our choir. We were sad when she moved back to Tennessee to be near family and are delighted, she has recently returned to Houston! We were also fortunate to have Allison Vitek join our group. She has arranged a number of Christmas tunes for our choir that are among our favorites to perform. While Allison’s current attention is focused on her own group “Aurora”, she continues to arrange for us and join us for performances if we find ourselves a bit short-handed. The original contributions of Sondra and Allison to our choir and to the flute community through their literature have been truly a joy.
It takes more than a director to keep the flute choir operating. I originally formed the flute choir as a way to play and be heard and to be challenged. It’s easy to hide in a symphonic band. It’s impossible to hide in a quartet or even in the choir given the number of split parts in the scores. As the group grew, however, we reached a point when things just were not holding together and I put the flute down, flipped my stand around and started conducting instead. While I had never ended to actually conduct the group, it’s what I spend most of my rehearsal time doing these days. We have had two Assistant Directors over the years and are currently looking for a new one as the last two both moved out of state. Cynthia Tanner served as our Business Manager for years, handling our finances, rehearsal schedule, and emails. Elaine McNelly currently serves in that role and also arranges many of our performances and handles the Facebook Page. Victoria Savelli handles our Instagram account to try to reach a younger demographic. Crystal Shin organizes our social gatherings. I have been fortunate to have members with design talents. Priya Natarajan designed our logo and our first two album covers. Zoraya Stern designed the cover for our newly released album “Flutes A-Wassailing”. Our webpage was designed by Karen Schuster. Our albums have all been recorded and mastered by a long-time friend, Roger Willis who I originally met through Bayou City Blues Senior Drum and Bugle Corps. All of our members have contributed in various ways to keeping the group running. A handful of our members are professional musicians but most of us do something else for a living. We’ve had scientists and engineers, lawyers, finance specialists, librians, architects, teachers, nurses, high school students and retirees. Love of music is the glue that holds the group together.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
We’ve had a number of challenges. Declining numbers as members moved out of state or stepped out to balance work with a newborn baby, or found themselves with work shifts that interfered with participating was particularly frustrating in the early years. Every time I was ready to throw in the towel and fold the group, though, the phone would start ringing and I would get an influx of new players. It’s a running joke between my husband and I that all I have to do to attract new members is to mentally start contemplating quitting. Finding a variety of venues to perform in is also challenging for this type of group as is generating enough revenue to cover our operating costs.
Please tell us about the organization.
Shimmer Flute Choir is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization. We perform any kind of music we can get our hands on. Our busiest season is the holiday season and we have a sizable library of holiday tunes both sacred and secular. It is our favorite time of year and our busiest time of year for performances. We do a lot of Patriotic performances as well. We have run a flute/clarinet workshop for middle school students, performed with students from Kipp High School, and for the Cy-Hope summer band camp. We also perform regularly at several retirement communities and for church services around Houston. We have performed at Bayou Bend for their Family Days, the Houston Children’s Museum, for the Jones Plaza Live! series, Zoo Lights, Candlelight Tours in Sam Houston Park, Heights Home Tours, Memorial City Mall, and for events at the Chappell Hill Historic Society Museum. Perhaps one of the things that sets us apart from other groups of our type is a philosophy that we exist as a space for players to grow in their skills on flute. One of the greatest pleasures I have is looking up from a score in the middle of a performance and realizing on this particular day, only one player is covering the part and they are playing gloriously and it is someone that would not have been able to do that when they first started. I try to rotate around solos so that every member of the choir has an opportunity to shine. No one always plays first part and no one is always stuck on 4th part. It helps make sure that everyone remains flexible in both the upper and lower ranges of the instrument as well. I think this rotation of parts and deliberate attention to making sure everyone has solo opportunities once they are ready has been vital to our growth and sustainability.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success comes in a few forms. The most important marker is rehearsal attendance. If the membership is happy and enjoys participating, rehearsal attendance is pretty high and regular. When attendance starts flagging, it’s time to step back and review how relationships with the membership are going, what are we playing and does it appeal to both the group and the audience, and what types of performance opportunities and activities do we have lined up. We aim to perform a minimum of six times a year unless it’s a year where we are preparing an album. If the number of performances we have lined up drops below 6, we lose momentum and interest.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sites.google.com/site/shimmerflute/home
- Phone: 713-240-8933
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/shimmerflutechoir?igshid=1lj1tynw96kx9
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShimmerFlute/
Image Credit:
Victoria Savelli (group photo)
Brett Pattison (individual photo)
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