photo by Nino Cocchiarella

(Please visit the press kit page for a downloadable bio)

Ground-breaking flutist Zara Lawler, “an engaging, fluent, mellifluous soloist,” (Houston Chronicle) made her concerto debut with the Houston Symphony and her recital debut at New York’s Merkin Concert Hall. A recognized leader in the emerging field of interdisciplinary performance, Lawler has collaborated with choreographers, composers and stage directors to create new and adventurous concert experiences.  Highlights of the 2011-2012 season include the world premiere of E Pluribus Flutum, Lawler’s new work for sixty dancing flutists at the National Flute Association’s Annual Convention, a debut recording with marimbist Paul J. Fadoul, and an appearance at the Wisconsin Flute Festival.

with choreographer C. Neil Parsons. photo by Nino Cocchiarella

Lawler’s interdisciplinary performances, in which she plays, dances and acts, have been created in collaboration with choreographer C. Neil Parsons, stage director Gary Race, and composers Randall Woolf, Jerome Kitzke, and Alla Borzova among others.  For many years, Lawler was the flutist and Co-Artistic Director of Tales & Scales, the innovative ensemble for children and family audiences.  With T&S, she performed and co-created seven full-length works that integrated contemporary classical music with dance and theater, an experience described by New Music Connoisseur as “an enthrallingly visual and acoustic joy.”  Lawler performed with T&S in some of the most prestigious venues in the country, including the Kennedy Center, the Kravis Center, TriBeca Performing Arts Center, and the Orange County Performing Arts Center and with the Atlanta, Utah, Indianapolis, and Oregon Symphonies, and the Buffalo Philharmonic.

Lawler & Fadoul. Photo by Jerome Skiscim.

Lawler has given solo recitals in New York, Santa Barbara, Hong Kong, and throughout the mid-west, and has appeared as a soloist with orchestras such as the Houston Symphony and the Hong Kong Philharmonic. Lawler spent two summers at the Marlboro School of Music, and has been a guest artist with eighth blackbird. Her critically acclaimed duo with marimbist Paul J. Fadoul (Lawler & Fadoul) is frequently heard in Washington, DC and New York City, and last year was in residence at Yellow Barn in Vermont.

An experienced and creative educator, Lawler has taught workshops on interdisciplinary performance at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, the Eastman School of Music, and Rutgers University, as well as at the National Flute Association’s Annual Convention.  She and duo partner Paul J. Fadoul are an In-School Ensemble for the National Symphony Orchestra, and her blog, The Practice Notebook, addresses principles and techniques of good music practice.

Lawler has won many competitions including the Ima Hogg Young Artist Competition, Artists’ International, and the New York Flute Club.  She earned her Masters degree from the Juilliard School where she studied with Carol Wincenc and Sam Baron. Lawler has performed at many summer festivals including Tanglewood, Banff Festival of the Arts (Canada), Bach Aria Festival and Institute, and Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival (Germany).

photo by Nino Cocchiarella

Zara Lawler offers a variety of programming, all with companion workshops and outreach activities.  These include:

SOLO: The Flute on its Feet

photo by Nino Cocchiarella

The Flute on its Feet offers audiences a new and truly unique experience within the world of classical music:  instrumental performance of the highest quality fully integrated with dance, theater and storytelling.  Zara Lawler has created a new genre of performance that defies definition, and never fails to engage and delight her audiences.  Dance and story create new entry points into the music for the uninitiated; for the experienced concert-goer, they illuminate the music in a profound and moving way.  At once ground-breaking and inviting to new audiences, Lawler offers a new performance standard for the 21^st century.

The Flute on its Feet is a virtuoso tour de force that includes classics of the flute repertoire (including Debussy’s evocative Syrinx, the well-kwown Carmen Fantasy, Edgard Varese’s epoch-making Density 21.5), new works by Americans Lowell Liebermann and Edie Hill, and two pieces choreographed for Lawler by innovative choreographer C. Neil Parsons.

- Program components can be tailored to your audience and venue.
- Available with or without piano.
-The Flute on its Feet sample program.
-Choreographer C. Neil Parsons bio and website.
-The Flute on its Feet tech sheet.
-The video page features several works from this program.

FLUTE AND PERCUSSION: Lawler & Fadoul

Zara Lawler’s acclaimed duo with marimbist Paul J. Fadoul offers audiences an unexpected mélange of classical virtuosity, lively commentary, theatrical flair and a small dose of indie rock sensibility. Their repertoire ranges from delightful arrangements of classics to newly written pieces for their unusual instrumentation, and even includes a few one-act plays. This season’s highlights include a residency at the Yellow Barn Music School in Putney, VT, the premiere of their new arrangements of Preludes and Fugues by Bach and Shostakovich, an appearance at St. Mark’s  in the Bowery in New York City, a children’s concert in Lawler’s home town of Nyack, NY, and a tour of their dance-inspired program, Tango Sandwich.

photo by Jerome Skiscim

Lawler & Fadoul have several programs, including Tango Sandwich, based on dance influenced works and Preludes & Fugues, which centers on their transcriptions of works by Bach and Shostakovich.

-Tango Sandwich sample program.
-Preludes & Fugues sample program.
-Lawler & Fadoul’s website.

You can see more videos on Lawler’s YouTube Channel.

E PLURIBUS FLUTUM in YOUR COMMUNITY:

EPF in NYC. Photo by Dave Ackerman.

E Pluribus Flutum is an exciting performance piece for flute choirs, student groups, and professionals alike.  It can be performed in its entirety, or in part, and is adaptable for groups of 8 to 100 flutists.  The music is simple yet interesting, and is enjoyed by players of all levels.  Preparing E Pluribus Flutum is a fun project that builds team spirit in any group, and gently encourages players to new heights of performance.

Please contact Lawler directly about how to put on a performance of E Pluribus Flutum.

You can also visit the Music & Moves page to see the preparation materials, and read about the New York performance in Flute, the magazine of the British Flute Society.

E Pluribus Flutum was created for performances in the summer of 2011:

EPF in NYC: Photo by Dave Ackerman

• 21 June 2011: Central Park, New York, NY
  in collaboration with Make Music New York Mass Appeal Flutes
• 14 August 2011:  Charlotte, NC
  for the Closing Ceremony of the National Flute Association’s Annual Convention

E Pluribus Flutum has 4 movements, but each movement can be performed by itself, to suit the needs of your ensemble.  There have been two performances of excerpts of E Pluribus Flutum:

• 15 May 2011: New York Flute Club Ensembles Program, Bloomingdale School of Music,  NY, NY
• July 2011:  Great Lakes Suzuki Flute Institute, Hamilton, Ontario

Click on the links below to download music, schematics and tips.  Scroll down for music, documentation, mp3′s and instructional videos for each of the four movements of the piece.

• Tips on Learning Your Part

Overview:

E Pluribus Flutum has 4 movements, and is about 10 minutes long.  The performers are divided into 4 groups (Red, Green, Blue and Yellow).

1. Come, Follow is performed from memory, with extensive movement.
2. Hole in the Wall is performed from memory, with extensive movement.
3. Peace is the Way is performed with music, two people to a stand.  The staging is very simple, and is detailed in the parts, as well as in the video below.
4. Clowning Around is performed with music by the Blue and Yellow groups.  The Green and Red groups will be doing simple movement without playing.

Come, Follow documents

• Come, Follow c flute
• Come, Follow alto flute
• Come, Follow schematic (Make sure you read this:  it’s a guide to repetitions, and how all 4 groups work together)
• NOTE:  Come, Follow must be memorized, and the moves must be learned using the videos below.

Come, Follow instructional videos (Click on links below for demonstrations of all the moves.  The first videos detail each small section.  The “practice reels” will help you put it all together.  The “NYC Performance” will give you an idea of what it looks like when 26 people perform it.)

• A part
• B&C parts
• D1 & D2
• D3:  the Clock
• Coda & Notes
• Red Group practice reel
• Yellow Group practice reel
• Green Group practice reel
• Blue Group practice reel
• NYC Performance

Hole in the Wall documents

• Hole in the Wall : mp3
• Hole in the Wall c flutes 1&2
• Hole in the Wall c flute 3
• Hole in the Wall flute 4 (c flute and alto flute)
• NOTE:  Hole in the Wall will be repeated at least 3 times, actual number of repeats TBD on site.  During the second and following repeats, please feel free to ad lib 8va and ornaments.  It must be memorized.
• MOVEMENT:  will just be walking half-note beats.  You may start on either foot.

Hole in the Wall instructional videos

• Hole in the Wall A part
• Hole in the Wall B part
• Hole in the Wall complete run
• Hole in the Wall for 4 performers
• Hole in the Wall for 8 performers

Peace is the Way

• Peace is the Way Instructional Video
• Katherine Hoover’s “Peace is the Way” is available from Theodore Presser.  (Theodore Presser Company is the distributor for Papagena Press.)

Clowning Around documents

• Clowning Around schematic:  a bar-by-bar description of the action, and of who will do what.  Very important for the Red and Green groups!
• NOTE:  Clowning Around will be performed with music by the Blue and Yellow groups.  Red and Green need to memorize bars 107-110 with pickup.  Other than bars 107-110, Red and Green will be clowning around, not playing the flute.
• Katherine Hoover’s new “Clowning Around” will be available from Theodore Presser in January, 2012.

Clowning Around videos

• Clowning Around Instructional Video
• Clowning Around Instructional Video (finale)

Third Street Music School Settlement

THANK YOU to:

Katherine Hoover
Mary-Ann Tu
Susan Friedlander
Lisa Garner-Santa, Program Chair of the NFA’s Annual Convention
Madeline Neumann, Convention Director of the NFA’s Annual Convention
Third Street Music School Settlement
Rockland Conservatory of Music
Valerie Holmes and the flutists of the Special Music School
Wendy Stern
Beverly Francis
Traugott Lawler
Aaron Friedman and Sarah Bartley of MakeMusic New York
The New York Flute Club Ensemble Program
Gary Race
Lisa Lindvall
Justin Hines
Melanie Mooney
Rick Dior
Aine Zimmerman

The following brave souls came to several play-dates and early rehearsals and allowed me to do choreographic experiments on them, helped me refine my ideas, and offered some of their own:

Svjetlana Kabalin, Kelly Bran and Suzanne Hall at a play-date in April

Marian Heller
Katherine Hoover
Mary-Ann Tu
Michael Williams
Sarah Chamberlain
Kelly Bran
Suzanne Hall
Mao Chia-Ching
Julie Feldstein
Svjetlana Kabalin
Susan Friedlander
Diana Wayburn
Eduardo Castillo
Eddie Crawford

photo by Nino Cocchiarella

Contact Lawler directly about bookings, lessons, or any other questions:

Email: zara@zaralawler.com
Phone: 812.604.5363

For more information about Lawler & Fadoul, visit:
www.lawlerandfadoul.com

NEXT APPEARANCE:

12 November 2011, 10:30am
Renaissance Village Montessori Book Fair
220 Cabrini Boulevard, NY, NY
Once Upon A Flute:  interactive family concert

13 November 2011, 7:30 pm
Carnegie Room Concerts:  Works by Bach and Newman
Nyack Library, Nyack, NY
with Anthony Newman, piano and composer

UPCOMING (2011-2012):

16 November 2011
Let’s Dance! In-school performances on behalf of the National Symphony Orchestra, Washington, DC
with Paul Fadoul, marimba

22 November 2011, 7-10pm
Country Dance * New York, English Country Dance
The Philip Coltoff Center, 219 Sullivan Street, New York, NY

• This is a different way to hear Lawler: you get to dance along!
• Instruction for beginners starts at 7pm.
• See a video of the action here.

6 December 2011, 10:30am
Morning Music Club Holiday Concert
Nyack, NY

11 December 2011, 4pm
Westfair Singers:  Music for a Winter’s Eve
Second Congregational Church of Greenwich
139 East Putnam Ave, Greenwich, CT

14 December 2011
Let’s Dance! In-school performances on behalf of the National Symphony Orchestra, Washington, DC
with Paul Fadoul, marimba

12& 13 January 2012
Let’s Dance! In-school performances on behalf of the National Symphony Orchestra, Washington, DC
with Paul Fadoul, marimba

22 April 2012
Wisconsin Flute Festival
The Flute on its Feet

23 April 2012
Eastern Illinois University
The Flute on its Feet, guest artist recital
with C. Neil Parsons, dancer/choreographer

24 April 2012
Eastern Illinois University
The Flute on its Feet, guest artist workshop
with C. Neil Parsons, dancer/choreographer

RECENT (2010-2011): 

E Pluribus Flutum debuts in Central Park. Photo by Dave Ackerman

 

 

20 September 2011, 7-10pm
Country Dance * New York, English Country Dance

11-14 August, 2011
National Flute Assoiciation’s Annual Convention
Charlotte Convention Center, Charlotte, NC

• 13 August:  Carol Wincenc Tribute Concert
• 14 August:  Closing Ceremonies, featuring E Pluribus Flutum
• see photos of the Convention here

1 July 2011
East Tennessee Suzuki Institute
The Flute on its Feet, guest artist workshop
Mathes Music Hall
East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN

30 June 2011
East Tennessee Suzuki Institute
The Flute on its Feet, guest artist recital
Mathes Music Hall
East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN
see Go TriCities article
with Wendy Stern, flute & Jeri Paolini, piano

21 June 2011
MakeMusic NY & Mass Appeal Flutes in E Pluribus Flutum
Bethesda Fountain, Central Park, NY, NY

• the premiere of Lawler’s new work for dancing flutists
• see pictures here
• read an article about this performance in the British Flute Society’s magazine, Flute

Site of treehouse concert.

22 May 2011
Carnegie Room Concerts:  Preludes & Fugues
Nyack Library, Nyack, NY
with Paul J. Fadoul, marimba

21 May 2011
Treehouse Concert (yes, a treehouse!)
Whately, MA
with Paul J. Fadoul, marimba

15 May 2011
New York Flute Club Ensemble Program
Bloomingdale School of Music, NY, NY
Sneak Preview of E Pluribus Flutum

12& 13 May 2011
Let’s Dance! In-school performances on behalf of the National Symphony Orchestra, Washington, DC
with Paul Fadoul, marimba

13 April 2011
Bedford Chamber Concerts,  Bedford, NY
with Eugenia Zukerman, flute and Anthony Newman, piano

10 April 2011
The Lounge at Hudson View Gardens
Let’s Dance: family concert
with Paul J. Fadoul, marimba

The Flute on its Feet at the NYFC Flute Fair. Photo by Ardith Bondi.

13 March 2011
New York Flute Club Flute Fair
The Lighthouse, NY, NY
The Flute on its Feet: workshop
American Inspirations: performance

16 February 2011
The Flute on its Feet workshop
Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ

13 February 2011
NSO Young Soloists’ Competition Finals
The Kennedy Center, Washington, DC
with Paul Fadoul, marimba
Watch video of this performance here.

19 January 2011
Let’s Dance! In-school performances on behalf of the National Symphony Orchestra, Washington, DC
with Paul Fadoul, marimba

13-16 January 2011
Chamber Music America Annual Conference, NY, NY
Showcase performance with Paul Fadoul, marimba

5 December 2010
International Street Cannibals
St. Marks in the Bowery, NYC
with Paul Fadoul, marimba
JS Bacalhau: JS Bach meets the music, dance and martial arts of Brazil

17-19 December, 2010
Let’s Dance! In-school performances on behalf of the National Symphony Orchestra, Washington, DC
with Paul Fadoul, marimba

7 November 2010
MOSA, NY, NY
concert featuring the works of Lawler & composer Jerome Kitzke, in a program that includes toy piano, dancing flutist, and pieces that combine spoken text with music
with Christopher Grymes, clarinet, Margaret Kampmeier, piano, and Anthony de Mare, piano

6-12 October 2010 with Paul J. Fadoul, marimba
Yellow Barn, Putney, VT
Lawler & Fadoul were in residence at Yellow Barn, rehearsing and performing their new transcriptions of Preludes & Fugues by JS Bach and Shostakovich, and giving workshops for the students of the Greenwood School

Lawler & Fadoul at the Hopper House

26 September 2010
Tango Sandwich: dance inspired works for flute & marimba
Jo Anne Rose Gallery at Lake Anne (Reston, VA)
with Paul J. Fadoul, marimba

See pictures of the Reston concert here.

19 September 2010
Tango Sandwich: dance inspired works for flute & marimba
Edward Hopper House Art Center Nyack, NY
with Paul Fadoul, marimba

18 September 2010
Tango Sandwich Free-for-All: audience participation concert
Space on White NY, NY
See pictures of the Free-for-All here.

Paul Fadoul, marimba (at the Hopper House)

14 September 2010
Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, Bloomington, IN
The Flute on its Feet: workshop on combining dance, theater and music
with C. Neil Parsons, choreographer/dancer

11 September 2010
Windfall Studio, Bloomington, IN
The Flute on its Feet: performance combining dance, theater and music
with C. Neil Parsons, choreographer/dancer

August 2010:  National Flute Association Annual Convention, Anaheim, CA
13 August: Robert Aitken Composer Portrait
14 August: Illuminating Tradition through Interdisciplinary Performance (workshop on adding text and movement into performance)
15 August: Mini-recital  With Dianne Frazer, piano.

24 July 2010
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Newport, KY
with Julie Spangler, piano
The Flute on its Feet: a program combining flute performance with poetry and movement, including new works by Edie Hill, Linda Holland, and Randall Woolf.

30 June 2010
Caramoor Festival, Katonah, NY
Dancing at Dusk, English Country Dance for families

HIGHLIGHTS 2009-2010:

18 April 2010
The South Nyack Recital Series, Nyack, NY
with Anthony Newman, piano and composer

19-20 March 2010
College Music Society Northeast Regional Conference
University of Vermont, Burlington, VT
presenting:  The Flute on its Feet, lecture/recital on interdisciplinary performance
works by:  Loeb, Debussy, Varese, Hoover and Holland

20 February 2010 with Margaret Kampmeier, piano
The South Nyack Recital Series, Nyack, NY
See a piece from this concert here

3 December 2009
Concerts at One, Trinity Wall Street
with Paul J. Fadoul, marimba and Margaret Kampmeier, piano

8 November 2009
Thurnauer School, JCC Palisades, Tenafly, NJ
The Flute on its Feet (performance/workshop)

4 November 2009
Rockland County Music Teachers Guild , Pearl River, NY
Lawler presents Memorization:  Theory, Performance and Practice.

13-16 August 2009
National Flute Association Annual Convention, New York, NY
13 August:  Opening Night Gala Recital
15 August:  The Flute on its Feet (performance/workshop)

26-28 June 2009 performing with Asterisk
Old Songs Festival, Altamont, NY

The Flute on its Feet at the Thurnauer School of Music.

Thank you for the amazing class yesterday–I’ve never seen my students having that much fun!  And I was impressed to see how beautiful and creative your ideas were–and simple enough that they were approachable even for the ones who were feeling hesitant…Thanks again for a really memorable class!

-Kaoru Hinata, Flute Faculty, Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University

Zara Lawler is a dedicated, engaging and experienced educator. Through many years performing for children and family audiences, she has developed a uniquely communicative style of playing and presenting her work to the audience, and is currently a Teaching Artist for the National Symphony Orchestra.  Lawler offers the following educational programming and activities, as companions to her performances or as stand-alone events:

• Once upon a Flute: a fun, interactive in-class performance and demonstration, with age-appropriate versions for K-6.
• Let’s Dance!: interactive in-class exploration of dance rhythms, grades k-2 & 3-6.  With Paul Fadoul, marimba.  (See photos of Let’s Dance in action here. Download Let’s Dance Activities and Repertoire here.)
  

  Let's Dance!

• Kinetic Chamber Music: hands-on workshops/residencies in combining music with theater and movement, for instrumental students, grades 3 and up.  (offered as The Flute on its Feet for flute groups and classes)
• Memorization: Theory, Practice and Performance, a lecture-demonstration offered with Kinetic Chamber Music/The Flute on its Feet.
• The Practice Notebook: blog on music practice for advanced students and adult amateurs, written by Zara Lawler.
• Outreach Performances: in retirement homes and community centers.
• Private Flute Lessons: all ages and levels.  Now offering Suzuki method for beginners.  Contact Lawler directly for information.
• Performance Coaching: guidance for musicians on communicating with their audience, including such issues as speaking to the audience, body language, and how to practice.
  

  Lawler works with students at the New York Flute Club Flute Fair 2011. Photo by Ardith Bondi.