The thing that is most annoying at this present musical time is the simple fact that it has become so bloody HARD to pick a thesis topic for my Honours! Of course, me being me, I forget to think about little things such as this when I suddenly accept offers to study at this level. Almost like that fish out of water feeling. Then you add on top of that the fact you want to possibly continue further study at some stage and the fact you need to get a reasonably high mark to achieve entry into most courses…. GAAAAH…

I was getting rather stressed about it. After talking to a few different people I have decided the best thing to do is go with something that you love and something that you feel inspired to study about. Of course! Too bad it took me so long to see it that way…

The Goldsmith Trio is now a Collective. Initially I came up with the name as some really stupid tribute to Star Trek, because I like the whole theme behind a collective of individuals with a similar musical purpose and drive. Also I liked the fact that we were looking for individuals to enter into our fold so we could diversify our talents and create a different set of ensembles with different combinations of players as to be able to perform a greater variety of repertoire!

The first gig for the Collective was only a couple of days ago. The strangest thing wasn’t playing with a new ensemble member, but the fact that people were calling us by my initially jovial name! Over radios, on programmes, on the phone, “The Goldsmith Collective” was what we were known as and was what people heard us as. It was surreal. Some joke, right.

One good thing about being a musician is that you study with other musicians. Even in the little backwards town of Perth, you can sometimes find other musicians who like to put in effort and exertion.. in order to get a result. I had the lucky chance of finding two such people who wished to form a trio with me and we kind of hit it off after a little hard work and some good experiences. The one thing we all had in common was our desire to create something new and exciting and to get into creating real chamber music.

It wasn’t long before we created a small name for ourselves (Goldsmith Trio- yeah!), and people saw that we played well together and were obviously inspired enough to really get into it. I personally loved it, knowing I had this group who I could create something quite special with, and who began to speak the same language as me. There were even moments where we would all think the same thing, or say the same thing at the same time. Obviously this had favourable consequences when it came to our performing together.

We ended up putting on a concert, doing some busking and some gigs and started making a small name for ourselves. However it wasn’t long before the skies opened up a different journey for our Dave, our inspiring violinist. So now he’s gone, I’m not sure if he is coming back and the remaining Goldsmiths are somewhat lost!I think it is now up to me to decide the future of the Collective while Dave is away. What perturbs me the most is that as the trio, we were a balanced entity in which I felt like we could take on the world! But now… it seems as though without my constant vigilance we shall crumble apart and all our work will be undone. My initial idea was to create a Goldsmith Collective in which we would add and subtract people from our main ensemble to diversify our talents and output. Or do I find and try to engage a temporary replacement for Dave? Or both!?

It will take more than idle contemplation to get me the answers I want. However I think the Goldsmiths will come back shinier than ever with a bit of determination.

It looks like it has been nearly a year since I created this sad sack of a blog site and look at it! In disarray, nothing new and inspiring to tickle the fancy of any flute player or indeed musician on this globe! What a sad state of affairs…

Considering that I could remember what my password was for the site, it looks like my muse has inspired me to re-energise and invigorate musical thought and intrigue into this initially wonderful creation of mine. Despite the fact I created the World of Valerie Jayne as an assignment and henceforth upon its completion I neglected it and failed in its upkeep, I think now is the time to DIVE into those musical questions and find some sort of answerage and even learn a few things here and there. I don’t quite care if anyone on this planet reads it. Valerie Jayne and I will keep on going trying to find our purpose in this screwed up and potentially worthwhile world of ours where the people are rude, brash and ignorant and the music has the option of being more than sub-standard.

Welcome! This site is a creation based around the trials and tribulations of flute playing in the backwater city of Perth; an exploration of music in the 21st century and what it is to be a “flautist”- the good, the bad and the quirky and confusing.