Listening as Life Practice
Speaking Practically on Historic Flutes
Launching Music by Black Composers, Flute Volume 1
The Mechanical Perfectionist
The purpose of art is to lay bare the questions that have been hidden by the answers. –James Baldwin Claire Chase, the MacArthur Fellow and flutist who is one of contemporary music’s most…
Winter 2026 – Volume 51, No. 2
During the 2025 NFA Convention in Atlanta, the Special Publications Committee (SPC) celebrated the launch of its latest project: Music by Black Composers, Flute Volume 1, a collaboration between the NFA and…
Winter 2026 – Volume 51, No. 2
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Winter 2026 – Volume 51, No. 2
This issue features interviews with Claire Chase, Gary Schocker, Anne Pustlauk, and curators from Phaoenix’s Musical Instrument Museum. There are articles on Le Merle Noir, the mechanical genius Cornelius Ward, the Special Publications Committee’s newest release in collaboration with Music by Black Composers, getting started on the E-flat flute, teaching musicality, and much more!
Fall 2025 - Volume 51, No. 1
Fall 2025 features photos from the 2025 Atlanta Convention, as well as Lowell Liebermann’s fantastic keynote address. There are also articles on the emotional power of music, teaching wellness and hearing health, finding artistic identity, listening, an Arctic residency, Anders Hagberg, tackling flute chin, and much more!
Summer 2025 - Volume 50, No. 4
Listening is at the forefront this summer: We discuss the lost art of listening—and how we find community in it. We preview the convention, spotlighting some of the numerous performers. We also find out what we can learn from mariachi techniques, how to dress like a pro, a hidden figure in arts advocacy, walking stick flutes, have a catch up with Jennifer Higdon, and much more!
Spring 2025 - Volume 50, No. 3
In the lead-up to the 2025 NFA Convention in Atlanta, we have numerous interviews with some of the composers whose work we’ll be presenting, including Lowell Liebermann, Tilmann Dehnhard, Nicole Chamberlain, Angélica Negrón and inti figgis-vizueta, as well as a note from our Program Chairs, tips on what to do while you’re there from our Local Arrangement Chairs, and features on the 2025 awardees. Dave Weiss discusses what it’s like to work on Broadway, the Library of Congress series looks Claude Laurent’s glass flutes, and there are more memories of Wally Kujala. Plus committee insight, news from members, reviews, and more.
Winter 2025 - Volume 50, No. 2
The Winter 2025 issue features a Q&A with the legendary Sir James Galway in honor of his 85th birthday. We also remember one of the most loved pillars of the NFA, Walfrid Kujala, who passed away in Fall 2025 fall, with an obituary penned by Leonard Garrison, remembrances by others, and some of his old FQ articles. We also look at composer Jiří Čart, instrument provenance via the Library of Congress, articulation, and facing braces. And, as always, there are pieces from NFA committees, reviews, member news, and much more.
Fall 2024 - Volume 50, No. 1
We kick off Volume 50 with photo highlights of the San Antonio Convention and a Q&A with our 2024 Blaisdell winner. We also go on a visit to Cuba, have fond memories of working with Kaija Saariaho, and our Library of Congress partnership continues highlighting the generosity of former FQ editor Mary Jean Simpson. We also dive into an array of topics including social media, articulation, musician mental health, finding new opportunities in a new town, and much more—including news from the NFA and its members.
Summer 2024 - Volume 49, No. 4
This issue previews two of the lecture-recitals that will take place at the San Antonio Convention, looks at the possible legal ramifications of AI on the music industry, and, in the first of an ongoing partnership with the Library of Congress, introduces the LOC’s famed Flute Vault. Plus all of the usual news, reviews, and more.
Spring 2024 - Volume 49, No. 3
We start to focus on the 2024 Convention in San Antonio, chatting with five of the exciting musicians who will be participating in Thursday night’s gala concert, FusionFlute; chat with one of the duos presenting their work with young Native American composers in South Dakota; and get to know our three 2024 honorees, Lifetime Achievement Awardees Trudy Kane and David Straubinger, and Distinguished Service Award recipient Leonard Garrison. We also tiptoe into the world of AI (which will have both negative and positive impacts on our industry), looking at one of the potential positives: its use in the studio. And there’s more, including numerous columns with fabulous insight from our committees, news from our members and the NFA offices, and reviews.
Winter 2024 - Volume 49, No. 2
The Winter issue includes Q&As with three arts leaders who offer some insight into their visionary ideas on IDEA initiatives. We look at the science behind why we should practice with the brain in mind, and look at one university program making musicians’ wellness an integral part of learning. There are new columns from the Jazz and Career and Artistic Development committees, as well as a new Donor Spotlight series. We learn more about a Career Enhancement Grant recipient put her award money to work, and the New Music Committee chats with some of our newly commissioned composers. Plus news from the NFA and your fellow members, reviews, and more.
Fall 2023 - Volume 49, No. 1
Fall 2023 includes two photo essays from the 2023 NFA Convention in Phoenix, and we hear from two young flutists who had transformative experiences at the convention. There’s news of a discovering a folio of music by Marin Marais and some contemporaries, a look at one a Space Age flute, and a piece on the joy of teaching adult flute learners. There are also articles on keeping pain at bay, the health benefits of student-centered teaching, pieces from the IDEA and New Music Advisory committees, and news from and information for NFA members, reviews, and more.
Summer 2023 - Volume 48, No. 4
This issue focuses on conversations between people at the peak of their craft, from general chats to more focused conversations. Additionally there are committee pieces taking a look at the benefits of meditation, some of this year’s commissions, and a big update from the newly renamed Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility Committee. And, as always, we have news from our members, reviews, and more.
Spring 2023 - Volume 48, No. 3
Spring 2023 looks ahead to the Phoenix Convention, from tributes to the four awardees to session previews, including further remembrances of beloved colleagues and insightful how-tos. It also shares insight on the importance of lifelong learning, as well as wisdom from our committees, the members of which look at the importance of lifelong learning and the impact of diet on chronic pain and offer tips on better serving neurodiverse musicians. There’s also a chat with indigenous flutist and storyteller Paul Chiyokten Wagner and a call to be more expansive when thinking about repertoire. And as always, there is news from our community, reviews, and much more.
Winter 2023 - Volume 48, No. 2
Meet some of the LGBTQ+ NFA members who have spearheaded initiatives, learn more about Chinese flute music, one flutist’s lifelong journey of interpreting music in performance, Q&As with two composers commissioned by the NFA, reports from two C.R.E.A.T.E. recipients and a Frances Blaisdell Competition winner, regular articles from committees, and much more!
Fall 2022 - Volume 48, No. 1
The Fall 2022 issue features photos and thoughts from the 50th Anniversary Convention in August, two remembrances of Doriot Anthony Dwyer, multiple nuts-and-bolt pieces, a primer on Ukrainian music, Q&As, news, reviews, and more.
Summer 2022 - Volume 47, No. 4
Jacqueline Cordova-Arrington talks to three other flutists about “The Joy in Waiting.” In advance of the 50th Anniversary Convention in Chicago, we look at the many exciting events, celebrate the Golden Anniversary Award recipients, share a few NFA member memories, and highlight some more of the NFA commissions. Katherine Saenger and Robert Dick look into the science behind the Pitch of the Plonk. Erik Nugent and Robert Bigio give us a closer look at the instrument that inspired flute maker Verne Q. Powell’s famous Spoon Flute. And much more!
Spring 2022 - Volume 47, No. 3
The Spring 2022 issue celebrates the NFA’s incredible tradition of commissioning with a look at what it’s done so far, as well as Q&As with three of the commissioned composers whose works are premiering at the NFA’s 2022 convention: Jennifer Higdon, Thea Musgrave, and Julia Wolfe. Additionally, there are tributes to the convention’s special honorees, Nancy Clew, Fritz Kraber, and Ransom Wilson; a deep-dive into a George Crumb trio; tips on a career in chamber music; pondering empathy; info on participating in a special oral history project; and more.
Winter 2022 - Volume 47, No. 2
In this issue: NFA’s amazing scholarship programs, Piazzolla, Paganini, the historic flutes of the Sigal Museum, composer Daniel Cueto, supporting first-generation college students, why performance anxiety is a misnomer, the C.R.E.A.T.E. Competition winners, graphic notation, the latest on the 50th Anniversary Convention, and more.
Fall 2021 - Volume 47, No. 1
This issue features José Pablo Moncayo’s Amatzinac, Lowell Liebermann, the importance of discussing and dissecting health in the music industry, dealing with the COVID lockdown, how to better serve students from diverse backgrounds, and much more.
