Today we’d like to introduce you to Marianne Gedigian.
Hi Marianne, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My family was given an upright piano as a hand-me-down and my older sibling absolutely refused to approach it within 3 feet so it feels to me to make use of it for the family, though my Dad played around on it a little by ear and had a great time. I decided to give it a try (as if I had a choice). It ended up not being a good fit and I dreaded the Monday afternoon lessons when the piano teacher would visit our house, sit on the same bench (ick), and try to pretend I had any future on the instrument. I wished I could watch the 4 pm Godzilla movies instead of suffering through the 3 hour (try 30 minute) lessons. That all changed when I was in 4th grade and the high school band students came to our class to demonstrate the wind instruments. I was immediately drawn to the ringing sound of the flute and it didn’t hurt that it was shiny, too. Once I started flute lessons, I convinced my parents to let me drop the piano. I never had to be told to practice the flute. It was fun and still is. In the end, the piano lessons were valuable since I can play (well, hack to be honest) the piano part when I am learning a new work and play(hack) in student’s lesson to provide some aural framework. Playing is actually fun now, a great break from the flute, and I get to enjoy all the Godzilla I want!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It’s not my nature to describe a journey as smooth or not since I am just in it. Any classical musician will tell you that it is a highly competitive field with way too many qualified individuals for the positions available, but in a creative field it is on the artist to create possibilities, pathways and gratifying experiences. It was scary when I free-lanced to see an empty month in the calendar but trusting that the next month might be different enabled me to use my time and energy to focus on what I did have and what I enjoyed doing. Living in fear wasn’t a good feeling so I have done my best to appreciate what I have and to be grateful for what I get to do. We live in a society that isn’t exactly in love with classical music so finding portals into people’s listening space has always been a rewarding challenge. I played for ten years with the Boston Pops Orchestra and they did that so well combing classics, move and pop music. Some people think classical music is dying but I absolutely do not. It is evolving with some growing pains like everything else that expands! We don’t exactly call them growing joys though I would love that.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Many classical artists are taught and encouraged to be performers. While this is a huge part of what we do, teaching at the university level has become a focal point of my work. Anyone who teaches knows that learning goes both ways in a lesson and it has been an invaluable component of my own learning and evolution to work with young, highly skilled musicians. While I imagine I am known as a flutist and educator, I also hope I am viewed as a sounding board, facilitator, and partner in learning and development. The flute students at UT have passed through an extremely competitive audition process with applicants from around the world and have already developed expertise on the instrument but want to explore and nurture their full range as citizen-artist. We focus on the development of solutions and process-based learning and skill sets that are applicable in any area of work. Often the graduates can be found within the creative arts field but some also go on to other fields and find the small step learning they have crafted is invaluable in whatever they choose to do. I hope students would say that there was a spirited, curiosity-driven, challenging environment in the studio that invited them to delve within and safely become their authentic selves, After all, the flute may make the sound but the person makes the music.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success is awarded from the outside. Satisfaction comes from within. Satisfaction is success.
Image Credits
Chelsea Tanner
