Traditional flute choir arrangements are scored for six parts: typically piccolo, 3 C-flutes, 1 alto flute, and 1 bass flute. When the contrabass flute became more accessible and affordable in the early 2000s, musicians discovered that incorporating a contrabass into the traditional ensemble enormously expanded the textural possibilities. Contemporary arrangers/composers began to highlight the contrabass sound in their pieces by writing solos and including exposed passages for the instrument.
We created CAFE in 2014 because we love performing on our “specialty flutes.” There are only a handful of contrabass flutes in Arizona, so the opportunity to showcase it in a small ensemble was too good to pass up!
Please contact us for our current fees for concerts in the metro Phoenix area. There would be an additional fee to cover travel costs for concerts outside of Phoenix. Our concerts typically run 60 minutes long and include a Q&A exchange. We have been a part of all kinds of community occasions: award picnics, pre-dinner entertainment, house concerts, weekend activity, marketing events, and holiday celebrations. The Fascinating Flutes Lecture/Demonstration is $125, and we offer a package of Fascinating Flutes plus a CAFE concert. We are fully insured.
The humorous answer is that you can be called a flautist if your flute is worth more than $8,000. (The exact number has increased over the years!) The British use the term frequently, but the word sounds pretentious to the American ear. The origin is Italian, but since there is no instrument called the “flaut,” we CAFE members call ourselves flutists. Virtuoso flutist Sir James Galway said it this way, “I am a flute player, not a flutist. I don’t have a flaut, and I’ve never flauted.”