I was last in New York 17 years ago, for private music study purposes. It had been a long time between lessons. At the time my favourite teacher with whom to study was Keith Underwood – a flute specialist. He was extremely articulate in answering questions, always had sensational recordings to demonstrate his theories, was always complimentary in his approach, a master in the art of breathing for wind instruments, knowledgable in all players and genres of music, and treated me like all his professional playing students (despite the fact that I was a beginning “doubler” at the time).
He was constantly travelling to Brazil, Japan, in fact all over the world. I felt very fortunate to study with him.
Lessons with Keith were always inspiring.
Perhaps the most inspiring lesson I learnt from Keith is that he was always the ‘student’ too. Continually hunting down new resources to aid in instrumental playing, and always open to the source of the information.
In my 17 year absence I had managed to track down a few videos of interviews with Keith teaching. He was into new quality theories. I wanted to know more. I just had to got back to New York City.
So, today I got to experience the joys of studying with Keith again. Quality instruction of this level is rare. I felt like I was at University again. I was inspired. My eyes lit up. I wanted to be a sponge, and absorb all information.
An hour and a half lesson just flew by. I wanted to stay longer.
