A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.
The surround-sound of strings, brass, piano, and percussion you feel is one of the pleasures of playing at the centre of an orchestra, says Gisborne flautist Matthew Lee. From the end of August, Lee will be surrounded by other like-minded musicians in a more academic environment when he goes to
Boston to further his post-graduate study.
“In Boston it’s that feeling of being in the centre of everything. It’s a massive cultural hub. The standard of music making for people my own age is incredibly high. It’s about being surrounded by fantastic colleagues and teachers. It pushes you to be better.”
Lee has previously visited the Massachusetts capital twice and has taken the opportunity to look at schools that would best suit him as a flute player. On completion of his diploma in performance he might take on further post-graduate study or audition for jobs but he will keep his options open, he says.
Lee loves to perform a solo repertoire but his biggest passion is to play large scale symphonic works such as Stravinsky’s The Firebird.
“It’s just fun to play in the wind section. We talk about orchestral colour — the way they put instruments together to make a new sound. You do get that in music written in the classical era but early Romantic writing is where it becomes special.
