Multiphonics Hunting
Multiphonics Hunting
Listen: "Lampshades", from Contrapictions for flute, violin, cello
Melomanie performs Sandstone Peak (2016)
Bonnie McAlvin, Flutist and Composer
on the edge of possible
Upcoming Events:
Babel Flute Days Global Convention
Learn to make your multiphonics sing at Babel Flute Days Global Convention. Workshops, concerts and flute events will be hosted by flutists across the globe at this tremendous global event. To learn more and register, see https://thebabelflute.com/international-babel-flute-days/. Here's the description: for Bonnie's multiphonics workshop:
A world premiere at the Crane Woodwind Summit, SUNY Potsdam, NY
A new work, "Ledges Trail" will be premiered by Bonnie McAlvin at the Crane Woodwind Summit at State University of NY, Potsdam, October 21-22. You can also join a workshop if you are in the area, to learn about multiphonics. More info to come!
Bar Harbor, Maine
A new piece is in the works for oboe, violin, viola and cello. The piece is being written for oboist Terry Keevil of New York and the Berkshires, and is inspired by the adventures a young boy might have when visiting Acadia National Park in Maine. We will climb out of the dark pines onto the starkly white Otter Point, watch the sun rise over sparkly pink granite, barely decipher the tall pines on the beach through a boulderous fog, ponder the sadness, and inevitability of the tides on Bar Island as the island sinks to its twice-daily slumber under Mount Desert Narrows, witness the seemingly destructive sculpting as the thundering eddies of the Atlantic chisel the coastal cliffs, and cling to land over the Atlantic on the iron rungs of the cliffside precipice trail.
Bonnie had the opportunity to stay as a guest at the festival house of the Bar Harbor Music Festival this summer (thank you!) while she explored all of the lovely, courageous and brutal truths that Acadia had to offer.
Have you ever heard of multiphonics? You can learn how to make some of these strange but beautiful sounds at this interactive workshop. Often, multiphonics sound a bit puffy and imprecise on the flute, but you can learn how to make vivid harmonies! In this workshop, we will uncover some of the techniques behind multiphonics by studying “A song for the unfolding of dusk”, a solo flute piece that was composed by the teacher of the workshop. We will try the sounds together, and individuals will have the opportunity to get individual feedback on what they can do to make their multiphonic sing..
Three new solo flute works!!
a new work for
solo flute
Song for the Unfolding of dusk
May the sun rest its arms of last light round your shoulders, as you enter this darkening.
a new work for
solo flute
Healing Story
Streams of melting ice and snow were beginning to form—underneath the snow! The water could be heard burbling down the mountain, deep beneath the surface of the snow. The ice caverns that formed these conduits also acted as resonance chambers for the journeying groundwater.
a new work for
solo flute with reverb
Crossing Yam Suph
May the birds and the
wind be with you on
this strange and
difficult journey.
Welcome!
É um prazer conhecê-lo.
Nous allons explorer...
die Klänge der Harmonie
con solo un flauto
Bo3MOXHO!
det er mulig! C'est possible!
--and also, beautiful.
Welcome!
I am happy to meet you.
Let us explore the sounds of harmony,
with only a flute.
It's possible!
--and also, beautiful.
an early sketch