(flute music playing) - Good evening and welcome to the Expressions: Digital Director's Cut featuring Jeanne Sperber.

I'm Andy Pioch broadcasting live from WSKG Television Production Control.

And over the next hour, we are going to take you behind the scenes of Jeanne's recent Expressions program.

Now, if you missed her performance, you could check it out by visiting wskg.org/expressions.

And a link to the program will be posted in the chat box at the conclusion of this event.

Now, you can also use the chat box to introduce yourself and let us know where you are watching from.

Feel free to ask a question about the Expressions program or to Jeanne at any point in the next hour.

And we will do our best to answer it.

Now, we're also going to show you a couple of performances that were not seen on the broadcast episode.

So don't touch that dial or mouse button or whatever it is that you could use to change the stream.

Just stick with us.

It's gonna be a great hour.

So anyway, time to bring in our featured performer for this month, an accomplished musician who has performed all across the globe.

Currently, she is the principal flutist for the orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes and a faculty member at Binghamton University.

Let's welcome Jeanne Sperber to the Expressions: Digital Director's Cut.

Welcome, Jeanne.

- Thank you.

- Well, I have to ask, thank you so much for joining us tonight.

Thank you for an amazing and inspirational Expressions performance.

Now, can you tell me what the reaction has been since your episode premiered last Friday?

- I got quite a reaction.

It was a lot of positive feedback and people loved the programming.

They loved the music that we played, and they just loved the way it came across, the way it looked in the studio and everything about it.

I heard a lot of positive comments.

- Well, that's very good.

I'm sure if there was any negative comments, I'm sure we probably would talk about those after this hour.

So I appreciate that.

But I have to say, Jeanne, and much to the chagrin of my sister, Molly, who has played the flute her entire life, Expressions has been on for 15 seasons now.

And I think this was the first time that we featured like a solo flute performer for an entire episode.

So it was a long time coming, but I have to ask, and I know you told part of this story or you mentioned this story in the broadcast episode about how you started playing the clarinet as a young child, but I believe it was a trip to the dentist when you were a teenager that kind of took you on a different track.

Is that right?

- That is right.

It was the orthodontist actually, who said that having the clarinet in my mouth was pulling my teeth out.

I don't know if that was true or not, but you know, I was a kid.

And so when I heard that I had to quit the clarinet, it was like, oh, great.

I'm tired of carrying this thing around anyway.

Fine, I'm done.

And so I marched to the school with my clarinet and said, "I'm done."

And they said, "Oh, well then you'll play flute."

And I said, "Oh, no, only sissies play flute.

I'm not a sissy.

I'm not playing flute."

And they said, "Oh no, no, no.

You have to try it.

You must."

So I did.

And here we are.

(laughs) - How long did it take for you to realize that flute wasn't just for sissies?

- Not very long at all.

I played it all that summer.

And then I had my first experience with a folk rock group, and I started playing tunes with them and I loved that.

So I had my classical training going on at school, and then I had some of this folky stuff going on the side.

- So in high school, you were performing with the folk rock?

- I was, I was.

(laughs) Actually, my first experience, well, no, one of my second experiences was with a group and we were playing "Stairway to Heaven."

And they told me that I needed to get very, very close to the microphone, as close as possible, but don't touch it or you'll get electrocuted.

And I didn't know what to think.

But I lived.

I didn't get electrocuted.

- I don't know if we gave you that.

Did we give you any sort of advice like that before we recorded the Expressions performance?

- No, you did not.

No.

- Well, yeah, "Stairway to Heaven."

Geez, that's probably one of the most famous songs of all time that has flute in it.

I'm sure like over the years, I'm sure you've heard lots of Jethro Tull.

- Absolutely.

I love Jethro Tull.

We play the same kind of flute.

He is a master and a genius.

Absolutely.

- That's great.

Well, let's talk a little bit.

I know you mentioned in the broadcast episode that you were thinking not of music after you graduated high school and went to college, but more math.

So I have to ask, like what made you decide to go from numbers to notes in the long run?

- I'm not exactly sure.

I don't know if it was just that I didn't like my first college experience and wanted to get out and needed a good excuse.

I really don't know, but I did decide to leave.

And I went back home to live with my parents in Westchester, New York.

And right away, I got myself into the New York City Youth Symphony.

So while I was waiting, I needed to take lessons in order to be good enough to get into conservatory.

But while I was waiting for that, I played in the New York City Youth Symphony.

And we gave our concerts at Carnegie Hall, and they were the most incredible experiences I've ever had.

I think ever, actually.

And I found out what it means to have a good acoustic with them in Carnegie Hall.

'Cause you always hear it, but you wonder, well, what does that really mean?

That it has good acoustics?

And for me, what it meant was I was playing second flute in Dvorak New World Symphony, which is a very low solo.

And in our practice hall, I could never be heard.

I couldn't even hear myself playing.

But then once we got to Carnegie Hall for the dress rehearsal in the concert, I felt like I was a trombone playing this low second flute solo, which went right out immediately.

And it was just amazing.

And so then I understood what a good acoustic experience is.

- Definitely sounds as far away from sissy as you possibly can performing at Carnegie Hall.

That must have been quite a change.

I imagine that like where you were playing "Stairway to Heaven" was a far cry from Carnegie Hall.

That must have been quite a change in just a couple of years.

- Yes.

Well, I kept on playing with those kind of groups and we played in bars.

That was when smoking was still legal in bars and stuff.

You'd have smoke.

- Even I remember that.

- Yeah.

I mean, it was fun, I have to tell you.

It was a lot of fun to play.

I love all music.

But yeah, Carnegie Hall was better.

- Now, what happened after the symphony school?

Can you go into where you ended up in school after that?

- Yeah, so it took me a few years of private lessons.

And then I got into Manhattan School of Music, which I loved so much when I started.

I remember saying, I said out loud, "I am happy for the first time in my life.

I found where I belonged and I was so happy."

All four years were incredible, playing with wonderful players and groups and nonstop music.

It was just fabulous.

- I could only imagine just going to a music school.

I mean, you must just be playing constantly and practicing constantly.

Like how many hours of practice on your flute do you think you would've practiced when you were back in college?

- I think I only had time for probably three hours and maybe not even always three hours at that time because I had so many rehearsals all day.

So I would be at the school all day in this rehearsal, that rehearsal and concerts and all sorts of things.

And then practicing a bit on my own.

Later on, when I went to the Royal Northern College of Music in England, I actually practiced, when I didn't have classes, I practiced eight hours a day, which is not really something I recommend, I think.

I think you can be more efficient and do it in a shorter amount of time.

- How did you end up in England attending that school?

- I had taken master classes with Trevor Wye and William Bennett.

Both of whom were in England.

William Bennett has unfortunately just died, which is extremely sad to the flute world.

But I had to decide between the two of them, and I wanted to go overseas partly because I wanted to not be able to work, because I worked as a waitress all the way through my Manhattan school days.

And I think that that was not a great thing to do because that was another reason I didn't have enough time to practice.

So I thought going overseas would be cool.

And I did ultimately choose Trevor Wye, who is maybe one of the best teachers who ever taught flute.

He has just such an incredible way about him.

He's so organized about teaching.

And so I just decided to do that.

So that's how I went.

- And then what happened from there?

I know eventually, like now you're on faculty at Binghamton University teaching flute, and you're a member of the Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes.

So like how did you end up here in the Southern tier?

- Well, when I came back from England, I played around.

I took some auditions.

I was only trying for big orchestra jobs, which was probably a mistake and I didn't get one.

So I got a day job and I met my husband.

We actually met on a blind date.

He was the first non-musician I ever dated.

And so we ended up getting married, and he was a doctor in training and got a job.

First, in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, I played in that orchestra.

And then here.

And I actually took some years off of playing the flute while we raised our kids in the beginning.

And then I got back in it when we got here and gradually getting more and more involved here.

- How long have you been a member of the Southern Finger Lakes group?

- I think it's probably about eight years.

Yeah.

So not all that long, actually.

- And I do wanna mention that we can post a link to the chat of the website for the Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes if you wanna know what's going on with that group.

But Jeanne, all that schooling and experience definitely paid off a couple of years ago when you actually made your very first appearance on WSKG thanks to the Artist Neighborhood Project.

So let's go ahead and take a look at that video.

("Won't You Be My Neighbor" flute piece playing) That was Jeanne performing "Won't You Be My Neighbor" as part of the Artist Neighborhood Project that WSKG partnered with the Hoyt Foundation on back in 2020.

And of course, that was when the COVID pandemic was affecting every aspect of our lives.

And we still even had to make accommodations for it when we recorded your Expressions episode last May, Jeanne.

So let's kind of go behind the scenes of that performance.

So I have to first a ask, I think we recorded this in the middle of May, almost exactly a year ago.

And so vaccinations had rolled out, but we still weren't quite comfortable enough bringing in a studio audience.

So I have to ask, was it strange to perform in our TV studio with no audience and just five cameras and a few camera operators?

Like how was that?

- It wasn't as bad as you think, because of the camera operators and you and Alyssa.

And you very warm and accommodating.

So that felt good.

I had another experience where I did a recital earlier on in the pandemic for the OSFL, my orchestra, and I did it in my living room with poor recording.

And that was a very lonely and horrible experience, because you do the whole thing and then there's nobody there.

You are just alone.

At least you guys were there in the studio.

- That is true.

We didn't record you from your home, like you performed on the Mr. Rogers video.

And of course that was just recorded at home.

So that's why the audio on that was not maybe up to complete snuff as you pointed out before the program.

But we can't thank you.

That was a lot of, that Mr. Rogers project, the Artist Neighborhood was a lot of fun to work on.

Obviously, that was when we were all kind of hold up in our houses, so it was still nice to see so many of the local musicians come out and support a great project.

Let's talk about your partner in a piano crime for this project, Jeanne.

Pej Reitz was your pianist for this program.

And we've worked with Pej in the past.

She played piano for Steve Nanni when he sang some songs for us in years past.

She played with Timothy Perry when he played his clarinet on a show a few years ago.

So it's always such a joy to work with Pej.

And I know she's got a great reputation in the area.

Can you talk a little bit about what it's like working with her?

- Yeah, we'd played together many times before.

And actually, we had a lot of repertoire.

But this was different repertoire, which I guess we'll talk about a little later.

And our rehearsal protocol was so different because of the pandemic.

So we started out pre-vaccination, trying to do it online with a low latency app.

And it was not always that good, because we would be, at different times, we couldn't master the low latency.

But we tried.

We tried very hard.

- I would think that would be very, I mean, after editing these pieces together and like the way you guys play off of each other where you play a note and then like a quarter second or a half second later, Pej comes in with the piano, that had to have been very challenging to have to practice in two completely separate locations.

- Yeah, it was pretty unpleasant.

And then, we managed to have a few rehearsals at the Phelps Museum.

And think we were about 30 feet apart and trying to keep each other safe.

And Pej wore the mask, but I can't playing the flute.

So it felt a bit risky.

- That would've added a degree of difficulty.

- Yeah.

- If we made you wear a mask.

- I mean, they do try.

There are flute masks, but I don't think they're terribly effective at really protecting anybody.

But yeah, yeah.

So we were so desperate to actually play that we did that at the Phelps.

And then we got more comfortable and we took a risk.

We practiced in her house with the windows open and the fan going.

(laughs) - Well, I mean, the rehearsals might have been trying, but you certainly could not see that in the final performance.

I mean, you guys have got just an amazing chemistry together.

So I can only imagine like the quality if you guys, if there was no pandemic and you were able just to practice regularly.

I hope that the trying rehearsal conditions didn't take away anything from your performance in your mind anyway.

- No, I don't think so.

I mean, it's much nicer when we can have real rehearsal, so much nicer.

- For sure.

Well, let's go from the production aspect to the actual set list that you curated for this performance.

I know the protest for social justice in the wake of the George Floyd tragedy really inspired you.

Do you wanna talk about that a little bit?

- I do.

I really wasn't familiar with a lot of music by black and brown composers.

And so I really wanted to research and see what I could come up with.

The William Grant Still piece, I had never heard before.

It's actually a violin piece.

And we can thank flutist Alexa Still for transcribing it for us.

And I think that is one of my very favorite pieces now.

And I think it will be something that I will always come back to.

I absolutely adore that piece, and I had never heard it before.

So now, it's part of my world.

The Brouwer piece, I already knew.

So that was not new to me.

Valerie Coleman.

I had not tried anything of hers yet.

And she is becoming very, very important as a composer and a flutist.

And she has quite a few pieces.

So I'll be trying some of her other things.

All really, really great music.

Adolphus Hailstork who's from upstate New York, I didn't know any of his music.

I do really love that Pied Piper.

He has other things too though, which I will be looking into.

He has some solo flute stuff, flute and piano.

And he also has some chamber music, which I would like to explore.

Who else?

Who am I leaving out?

Oh, Julio Racine.

He has several pieces for flute and flute and piano.

The piece that I played, "Tangente au Yanvalou," was a little different from some of his others, which are a little more on the jazz side.

And again, I'll be looking into his other music also in the future.

- Well, I just think you did a great job.

And it's really interesting that obviously, this music is gonna, hopefully our audience learned more about the composers and these pieces.

You learned yourself about these composers and these pieces as you put your set together.

So I think that's really neat.

And I love the fact that on the broadcast episode, the first performance we see is the William Grand Still, which was, you know, he was popular back in the 1930s.

And then we end the program with a piece from Valerie Coleman, who's one of the most popular classical musicians in present day.

Like I just really like the contrast and the different styles and kind of genres.

I mean, I have to admit, like when we first started talking and I'm like, well, an entire episode focused on flute music, I'm like, that might, I don't know.

Like that might get a little samey, not sissy, but maybe a little samey after a while.

But you did such a great job curating these pieces.

And I really appreciate the the thought that went into it.

And I really think it showed in the broadcast.

And I think it's time.

The Digital Director's Cut is a time where we can show pieces that didn't make the broadcast version.

So I think it's time.

And you mentioned the Racine piece.

So here is Jeanne Sperber and Pej Reitz performing Julio Racine's, "Tangente au Yanvalou."

And this clip is being introduced by our Expressions host, Adara Alston.

And let's take a look at that now, and we'll come right back.

(flute music playing) - Julio Racine was a Haitian flutist, conductor, and composer.

Jeanne became drawn to a piece of his entitled, "Tangente au Yanvalou."

Yanvalou is a sacred Haitian ceremony celebrating the creator of life.

Originally, there would be dancers in this ceremony, and Jeanne has imagined her flute taking their place in this performance.

Here she is accompanied by Pej Reitz on piano performing this classic Racine piece.

("Tangente au Yanvalou" for flute and piano) - Jeanne, what a great, great, great performance.

- Thank you.

Thank you very much.

- Let's go into that a little bit more.

I remember during the actual interview that we conducted around this piece, we had an interesting conversation just about the meaning of the song.

And I don't know if you wanna talk a little bit more about that, but just a great performance by you and Pej.

- Thank you.

So the Yanvalou is a sacred dance honoring the spirit of Danbala in the Vodou tradition, which is something that I knew nothing about until I got the piece and wanted to see what this is about.

And so I loved that I learned a little bit about what a beautiful tradition this is and how loving and how human it is.

This particular, the Yanvalou, is about the creator of life.

And it actually is not supposed to have any melody.

So it's all rhythm and dance.

And so I was trying to think about what that meant for this piece, cause it's a tangent on the Yanvalou.

It's not exactly the Yanvalou.

So what I thought was that the flute represents the dancer, the dancers.

And they'd use a very swaying motion, and they are supposed to simulate water.

So I thought that that is what the flute is doing.

And then at times, I've also got some of the rhythm going on and the piano mostly has rhythm happening.

But I really thought it was a wonderful thing that Racine came up with.

It was really cool.

- Thought that it was interesting that Racine spent a lot of time in Kentucky.

Is that correct?

- He did, he did.

So he grew up in Haiti.

And then he went to Kentucky and had his training there.

And then I think he went back to Haiti and taught.

But then he came back here.

And unfortunately, he died in 2020.

It wasn't clear how he died.

I don't know if he was one of our horrible COVID deaths or not.

He was an older gentleman by then.

But yeah, yeah.

He spent time here and time there.

- Do you often do that with pieces?

Like how you were able to pick apart the music and you said that you imagined like your flute as being the dancers.

Like is that something you often pick up in pieces that you haven't played where you try to, instead of just seeing the notes and playing the notes, you carry beyond that and try to envision something maybe a little bit wider range, possibly?

- Yes, I do.

Often, we will play programmatic music where there is a story or an idea like this Yanvalou, in which case I try to really figure out exactly what it is.

There were other times when the music is a little more, you can't really pin it down.

And then I will often have just kind of an idea in my mind.

Maybe an image, maybe a view.

It's not so clear.

I don't think I could put it in words.

But it depends on what the piece is.

- I would often imagine, like you just played just the flute, the basic nature of it.

You played so many notes throughout an entire song.

There probably is, there's no way you could ever like pretty much play the same song exactly the same, I would think, right, Jeanne?

I mean.

- Yeah, probably not.

Probably.

It would be a bit different, and maybe a wrong note or two?

Just saying.

- I didn't hear a single wrong note in all my time editing that program together.

So I think you're safe on that one.

I know you mentioned Carnegie Hall earlier, and I'm just curious if there have been any other like famous venues that you've performed in.

I mean, obviously, not counting the WSKG Studios here in Vestal as well.

- Very important.

I played quite a bit in New York.

I played many times at Carnegie Hall, actually, which it was thrilling.

I played with the New York City Youth Symphony, and then with the National Orchestra of New York.

I also played in what was Alice Tully Hall and now is David Geffen Hall.

Let's see what else.

Or, no, that's Avery Fisher Hall.

I played in Avery Fisher and Alice Tully.

And the Trinity Church I played in, which I loved playing there.

That was down on Wall Street, really overlooking, it was right nestled in with the Twin Towers.

And I actually played a concert there, which was broadcast by the BBC because there was, someone was trying to buy the air rights over the Trinity Church.

And it was a whole thing about what that meant.

And they broadcast our recital from that time with this BBC program about air rights.

I loved that venue.

Where else?

Well, I played overseas.

I played in South America.

I toured twice South America and played in some of the most beautiful concert halls that were just like opulent and spectacular.

So New York City and there and of course here.

- What about in Britain or in England?

Did you get to play in any famous music halls across the pond?

- I don't remember playing in any famous concert halls, but I did get to play around the country.

We did tour a bit.

I remember playing in bath and experiencing the warm baths that were there.

I didn't even know that they had them.

So I did play a bit around there, but nothing.

It was just fun.

It was fun.

It was really fun.

So.

- Over the years, do you have a favorite concert memory that you've performed in or no?

Too many to go through?

And that can be with the orchestra, that could be with the the folk group.

I mean, is there any that you particularly remember?

- Let's see.

The folk group.

I remember playing once in Westport, Connecticut.

This was unexpected.

It was just to be an outdoor concert.

We weren't expecting much, but there was a huge audience at this outdoor concert, which I had not experienced before with that.

And that was electrifying.

That was really exciting.

- Well, wait.

Hopefully not electrifying, like what you said earlier.

- Right.

- About the microphone.

- Yeah, no, no.

It wasn't quite.

I think other than that though, I think my favorite concerts are with orchestra.

I love being a part of that huge sound.

That's my favorite.

- Well, I have to admit.

Like before I left today to host the program, I was talking to my wife and she reminded me that she actually played flute in junior high.

And she told me that she actually enjoyed the big concert, the big orchestra concerts too, because that way, she could just pretend to play and no one actually had to hear her.

So I'm sure you never went with that philosophy.

And I'm sure my wife loves it that I just told that story, - Oh yeah, you're gonna be in trouble now.

(both laughing) - But I found that interesting.

Well, it kinda leads into my next question.

How much more difficult is it?

Because for like we performed, like you performed five or six pieces for the show and the majority of 'em were with Pej, but two of them, the Hailstork and the Leo Brouwer, which we're about to show was just used solo.

So like what's the difference between being out there with Pej on piano and you just being out there on your own?

Do you prefer that?

Or like what's the mindset like?

- Mostly, it's much harder to be alone because you have to carry the whole thing.

If you're playing with somebody else, particularly with piano, you've got a harmonic, like foundation that's happening.

That you're just like playing around on, and it's just somebody else to help keep the pulse and keep it steady.

It's comforting.

To be alone, you have to produce everything.

Now, on the other side though, being alone, if anything happens, you have more flexibility.

If you take a little more time somewhere else, you don't have to worry.

You don't have to accommodate anybody.

So in a way, it's easier.

But mostly, it's harder.

- Well, let's give our audience a taste of you performing solo.

We're gonna roll the Leo Brouwer, his "Sonata for Solo Flute."

And once again, this clip is being introduced by Adara Alston.

So let's roll that.

And then we'll be back with more from Jeanne.

(flute music playing) - Composer Leo Brouwer specializes in Afro-Cuban music, and his career has spanned the globe.

From studying music at Juilliard in America to being a guest composer in Germany, Brouwer's reach has truly been international.

He was first brought to Jeanie's attention when she traveled to Cuba in the late 1980s.

She was gifted sheet music to a "Sonata for Solo Flute" during her travels and has been captivated with his Afro-Cuban rhythms ever since.

("Sonata for Solo Flute" playing) - Expressions: Digital Director's Cut with a performance of Leo Brouwer's "Sonata for Solo Flute."

Great job, Jeanne.

- Thank you.

- I know it's always hard for me to even like the shows I edit.

Like it's hard for me to go back and kind of rewatch those.

Is it difficult for yourself to- - Very.

Very difficult.

(laughs) - We promised a behind the scenes.

So I will let the audience know that you've probably recorded probably two or three different versions of each of these songs.

And then last summer, I sent them off.

I assigned Jeanne.

I'm like, "Okay, watch all your work and tell me what you like the best."

And I remember sending that to you thinking like, boy, that's a tough assignment.

So I can only imagine what that must have been like for you to go through all those takes.

- It is tough.

That's why playing live is easier because it's more forgiving.

What happens happened and it's over.

And you move on.

And people generally don't remember anything that might not have gone as well as you hoped.

But if it's recorded, then you have to hear it again.

- It's true, yeah.

Yeah, I guess we open up a can of worms potentially for musicians when we say like, "Yeah, you can do it over.

You can do it over."

- Yeah, you do.

Many times.

- Well, going back to Brouwer, I believe you told us that you first came across his work when you visited Cuba in the late 1980s, is that correct?

- It did.

I was so fortunate.

I got to play as a ringer with the Long Island Youth Symphony.

And it was right after I graduated from Manhattan School of Music.

And they asked me to play the Griffes' "Poem for Flute and Orchestra," and also to play principal flute with that orchestra going throughout South America and Cuba.

And it was very special because we were not allowed to, as Americans, to travel to Cuba at that time.

But we had a special arrangement as a cultural exchange.

And I loved it there.

I loved the people.

The people were so warm and loving, and they generally, I mean, it was a hard life.

They didn't have everything that we have here.

They had old cars and old things, but they were beautiful, beautiful people.

And I remember the first day there, some of the musicians from the orchestra came to where I was staying and grabbed me and brought me to, we went to like, I don't know.

It was like a cafe.

And all they were serving was rum.

And so we got glasses of rum.

And they spoke basically in Spanish.

And luckily, it was the the last stop on the trip because my Spanish was getting pretty decent by then.

And so I was able to talk to them.

And then the flutist of the orchestra gave me this piece by Brouwer, which hadn't been published.

And I believe it still is not published.

But it is definitely his handwriting and it is definitely his work.

But it was so generous of that flutist to give me that, a copy of that.

And he also played it for me.

So that was very, very special.

- That is a really neat story.

That must have been just an extraordinary time to visit Cuba, like in the late 1980s.

- It really was.

I remember the mangoes.

I mean, there were mangoes everywhere and the best I have ever tasted.

- Well, we'll have to start a whole different digital series about cultures and politics to completely get your trip to Cuba.

- Absolutely.

- Well, you've obviously, you've been to Europe, you've been to South America, you've been to Cuba.

Is there anywhere else left in the world that you would like to visit that you haven't had a chance to yet?

- Oh.

I was hoping to go to China with a group from Binghamton University, and that was right as the pandemic was happening.

So that is, I don't know.

It's on hold probably.

I don't know if it's permanent, but I would love to see Asia.

I really would.

And Africa.

I mean, I'd like to see anywhere and everywhere.

It's just so fascinating to see how people live.

- Well, you've certainly led a very interesting career and we can't thank you enough for appearing on the program and for being willing to do this.

Do you have anything you wanna let the audience know about any performances coming up in the summertime or anything upcoming for you, Jeanne?

- I'm actually off in the summer.

I don't have much going on musically.

I need to regroup.

I'm going to be looking into other music.

The next project I wanna do will be, once again, it'll be underrepresented composers.

But I also wanna include women composers.

And there are some particular ones that I'm looking at.

So I'm gonna spend some time figuring that out.

And I hopefully will do that at Binghamton University.

And then I'll be back with OSFL next Fall.

But there is one thing I would love to leave the audience with that I keep forgetting to say.

I started the flute, remember, in public school.

And it was only public school for years, like all the way to high school.

I didn't get any private lessons until almost the end.

And I think it's so important and it's such a gift.

And so I feel so fortunate to have had that in my life.

- Oh, well, that's certainly a great message to end the program.

I look back on fondly of those like elementary school music classes.

And I mean, I played the trumpet for a little bit.

I mean, I didn't stick with it for too long, but I mean, yeah, you kinda take for granted that you have those opportunities, and hopefully that obviously will continue as the time goes on.

I have a young daughter now and I would love it if she was able to play the, you know what?

The flute would be a perfectly, that's a nice soft instrument.

If Josie wants to play the flute, God bless her.

Follow in her aunt Molly's footsteps.

But I think that's gonna wrap up tonight's Expressions: Digital Director's Cut.

I wanna thank Jeanne Sperber for joining us tonight.

And of course, a reminder that you can watch Jeanne's entire Expressions episode by visiting wskg.org/expressions, and a link has been provided in the chat if you just wanna click on that.

If you listen to podcasts, then check out the Expressions: Director's Cut Podcast.

This month features all of Jeanne's performances, both in the broadcast episode and what you saw this evening.

And you can find this on many of your favorite podcast platforms or at yourpublicradio.org.

And again, a link is being shared in the chat for that.

I'd like to thank Alyssa Micha and Nancy Coddington for their help tonight.

And this event will be archived and available to view on WSKG's YouTube channel.

And thank you so much for checking out the Expressions: Digital Director's Cut, and we will see you again soon.

Until then, this is Andy Pioch.

Good night.

(upbeat music)