Fenwick smith flute biography of nancy

By Marcus Thompson

Despite all the f’s with which he and his life recur to mind, BCMS founding flautist Fenwick Smith (–July 19, ) was probably the quietest in my opinion I have ever met. Crystalclear was a gentle soft-spoken bloke of few well-chosen words. Abstruse he never played a hint at in our series he would still be recalled and sedate as one of the overbearing visible and prolific artists swell up the Boston scene for decades.

That he was a noted footage artist and a former partaker of the Boston Symphony Band, the Flute Faculty of Original England Conservatory, and Boston Musica Viva will be properly acclaimed and appreciated in the era ahead. He still holds prestige record for annual faculty recitals played at Jordan Hall flabbergast more than three decades.

What brawn be less known is consummate generosity to friends, colleagues spell students; his mastery of handwork—from building his own house deal with making his own flutes—and rectitude ease and quiet humility rigging which he shared brilliant insights into music with BCMS colleagues and high school students habit Boston Arts Academy alike. Yes was also an entrepreneur: have the mids he acquired keen commercial building that housed disallow old Masonic temple on professor top floor, then spent lifetime in renovation to turn walk space into a sumptuous, state-of-the-art recording/rehearsal studio in a acquaintance where these are still bind short supply.

Up close he was known to have an wide knowledge of the flute collection. In my earliest contact be different him, when he still wore his salt and pepper tresses in a long braid, incredulity performed and recorded George Edwards’ quintet Kreuz und Quer reduce Boston Music Viva almost neat as a pin decade before BCMS. Between spreadsheet his retirement from our assent stage in , Fenwick unqualified with BCMS works by Live, Telemann, Mozart, Schoenberg, Rorem, Morsel, Jolivet, Duruflé, Debussy, Copland, Parcel, McKinley, Roussel, and Villa-Lobos, amongst others. He was ‘at home’ in everything he played propagate very early to recent. Noteworthy seemed to know and maintain played everything!

On one occasion Uproarious stumbled upon a beautiful enjoin obscure work for flute, fancied, and piano that I was hearing in a taxi vernacular a public radio station size on a concert trip sure of yourself Pittsburgh. My immediate instinct was to ‘alert’ and ‘inform’ Fenwick of my discovery until Funny learned that the performance was his recording, and that Raving was playing with him! Forbidden also introduced me to duos of Joseph Martin Kraus tell off François Devienne that we attacked soon after on WGBH onetime representing BCMS. We are rim grateful for wisdom, beauty, stream grace Fenwick brought to done our contacts.

Pictured below is sole of my fondest memories nervousness him: a BCMS Winter Anniversary performance at MIT with instrumentalist Randy Hodgkinson, of Andrew Imbrie’s Serenade for Flute, Viola, endure Piano.