Flute 360 | Episode 51: “Published Flutists with Mark Sparks” (1:08:46)

In today’s episode, Heidi talks with flutist and teacher, Mark Sparks, who is the principal flutist of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Heidi and Mark talk about his flute books and discuss the creative process. Check out today’s episode to hear all the details!

Episode 51 – Main Points:

• 0:25 – J&K Productions’ Website
• 0:46 – Welcome!
• 1:13 – St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
• 2:00 – DePaul University, School of Music
• 3:48 – Dr. Scott Pool, bassoonist
• 4:33 – Élégie for cello and piano, Op. 24 by Gabriel Fauré
• 5:39 – Theodore Presser
• 6:42 – Question: How did the idea of your books come about?
• 6:56 – Mark’s Answer
• 14:31 – “My goal is for [my students] to be able to get rid of me.” – Mark
• 14:52 – “The books have been a process of self-discovery for me.” – Mark
• 18:02 – Heidi asks Mark a question.
• 18:12 – Mark’s Answer
• 18:27 – Mark’s practice book featuring Beethoven’s Eroica
• 20:40 – Mark talks about his tone books.
• 20:54 – Trevor Wye, flutist
• 25:19 – Silver Sponsor: Straubinger Flutes
• 26:14 – Mark references page 11 from his Exploring Sound Book, Vol. 1.
• 30:55 – “I just love the orchestral repertoire so much!” – Mark
• 39:36 – Blind hope
• 40:04 – “Flute playing didn’t come incredibly easy to me, and I had to go through a lot of phases to get to where I am.” – Mark
• 40:58 – “Flute players are special because we have to have more trust in ourselves and faith in the act of flute playing. Perhaps more than other instrumentalists do, because we cannot see the air column.” – Mark
• 47:20 – “To be able to write down what I think – I realize how incredible that is. There are so many people that do not have these kinds of opportunities, and I feel for them.” – Mark
• 48:48 – Persistence is the key for aspiring musicians who want to author their ideas.
• 49:58 – Flute 360 Episode with Dr. Kyle Dzapo
• 53:31 – “Persistence is so important.” – Mark
• 54:05 – Goals for Flute 360’s Series #9.
• 55:23 – “I tell my students: How do you know until you try?” – Heidi
• 56:38 – “We all have our strengths and weaknesses. We all need to be open and learn from each other.” – Mark
• 1:03:28 – Picks!

Picks:

Mark

• Southwest Airlines
• Specialized Bicycles
• Hatch Chiles from Hatch, New Mexico
• Naf Naf Grill in Chicago
• Movie: Cinema Paradiso (1988)
• Park City, Utah
• Turks and Caicos Islands
• Music for Serious Valentine’s Day: Strauss, Four Last Songs
• Music for Light Valentine’s Day: Elvis, “Can’t Help Falling In Love”

Heidi

• Hootsuite
• PicMonkey

Episode 51 – Resources Mentioned:

• Mark’s Books
• Mark’s Website
• Mark’s Instagram Account
• Mark talks about his books – here!
• Mark Plays Debussy
• Heidi’s Website

Episode 51 – Sponsors:

• Gold: J&K Productions’ Website
• Silver: Straubinger Flute Company
• Bronze: J&K Productions’ Website