- Stephen Preston
"For the U.S. government official, see
Steve Preston "Stephen Preston is an English
flautist specialising in period performance of baroque and classical music on original instruments. Additionally he plays modern flute andchoreograph s historical forms ofdance .Biography and Career
His professional career began while studying the
flute at theGuildhall School of Music and Drama ; he was a founder of the Galliard Trio (withTrevor Pinnock ,harpsichord andAnthony Pleeth ,cello ), whose London debut was in 1966. He developed an interest in historical music performance practice and taught himself to play the baroque and classical flute (then generally known as the "flauto traverso"), later going on to be a founder of many of London's leading period-instrument ensembles in the 1970s. He has had a prolific recording career, recording most of the major baroque works for flute, includingBach 's complete flute sonatas withTrevor Pinnock , orchestral suite in B minor withThe English Concert andVivaldi 's op.10 flute concertos withThe Academy of Ancient Music . More recently, He worked as an advisor on historical performance practices with one of America's most eminent chamber ensembles, the New Century Saxophone Quartet on their highly praised recording ofBach 's "Art of Fugue ".From 1981–2001, he worked as a
choreographer , principally of historical dance in opera. He was director of twodance companies, one of which explored the relationship between contemporary and historical performance practices.He lectures, teaches and coaches at Britain's four leading music academies, the
Royal College of Music , theRoyal Academy of Music ,Trinity College of Music and theGuildhall School of Music and Drama , as well as giving regular master classes in theUnited States .He now divides his time between research, teaching and performing. He is engaged in research into developing new techniques and improvisational forms based on
birdsong , for which he received aPh.D . From this work he has created a new musical language – ecosonics. An example of ecosonics can be heard in theBBC Singers commission "The Soft Complaining Flute", by composer Edward Cowie, written for flute and 6soprano s. He now regularly performs in a baroque-flute duo (with Amara Guitry), Nodneeya. They perform "haunting Native American melodies; virtuosic pieces from the 19th century; authentic period arrangements of well-loved works byMozart ; and uniqueimprovisations based on the 'duetting' songs of birds".References to Stephen Preston as a flute player can be found in the "New Grove", J. Solum: "The Early Flute" and A. Powell: "The Flute".
External links
* [http://www.musiciansgallery.com/start/woodwind/flutes/preston(stephen).htm Stephen Preston] - A personal webpage.
* [http://www.gsmd.ac.uk/music/people/undergraduate_music_staff/department_of_early_music_studies/source_classes_coaching/stephen_preston.html Guildhall School of Music and Drama] - A biography.
* [http://www.newcenturysax.com/theartoffugue.htm New Century Saxophone Quartet's Art of Fugue] - Remark by him at the bottom of the page.
* [http://www.barefootboy.org/Wildacres/Preston.html Stephen Preston and Amara Guitry] - Biographies of them.
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