Reflections for a New Year

French flutist Hélène Boulègue is the winner of the 2017 Kobe International Flute Competition. She recorded the complete flute works of André Jolivet for the label Naxos, and her playing was praised by the press such as Le Monde or BBC Magazine. As written in the American paper Flutist Quarterly, 'Boulègue brings prodigious technical and tonal command to her performances. Her dedication to substance and spirit creates a beautifully crafted interpretation of these works.' Hélène Boulègue obtained her position at the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg when she was nineteen years old, She is the second prize winner of the 2015 Prague Spring International Competition

Question #1 - What made you feel most happy this past year?

1- Without doubt becoming a mother.

Question #2 - What made you unhappy this year?
2- Realizing how tough parenting is hard and that I’m not Wonder Woman. With almost no sleep, I discovered I can’t practice and perform at my best.

Question #3 - What was the biggest lesson you learned this past year?
3- Human beings are incredibly brave and resilient : a baby never stops to wonder whether he can or cannot, he just tries and tries over again until he masters a skill. We all had that at some point so it’s somewhere here within us.

Question #4 - What do you wish you would have done more of this year?
4- I wish I had had more time to watch my baby grow, instead of practicing the flute. He’s only little once and the orchestra excerpts won’t ever change, I guess.

Question #5 - What's something you want to do less of next year?
5- I’d love to question everything less. My career, my life choices, my flute playing… Being a mom puts everything in perspective and nothing seems sure and secure anymore.

Question #6 - What was your biggest success this year?
6- I guess it would be to still be able to audition and come out with quite good results despite having a tiny baby at home and practicing much less than ever before.

Question #7 - When was a moment you failed this year?
7- I feel like I “failed” my first months of postpartum. I felt very down and helpless and like my life as a flutist would be over and I wish I had been stronger.

Question #8 - What is something you want to learn next year?
8- I want to learn how to let some things go. Not worry so much about every tiny detail.

Question #9 - What is your favorite way to refuel?
9- Nowadays it would be just watching my baby laugh and play and have a good cuddle!

Alice K. Dade is a guest star of the PBS series called Now Hear This. Scott Yoo, Ms. Dade’s husband and host of the show, travels the world chasing the secret histories of our greatest musical works and their composers while discovering connections to today’s music, art, and culture. Associate Professor Alice Dade joined the faculty at the University of Missouri School of Music in 2011 and and has presented masterclasses at many universities including Inje University (South Korea),

Question #1 - What made you feel most happy this past year?

Like everyone, I was Zooming lessons for a couple semesters. This semester has been completely in person (masked) and I’ve never felt so grateful. There is nothing like seeing live! Hearing all the intricacies of their sounds and playing duets and exercises together is just so much better. It has made me so so happy to be back. So happy that I’ll say it again: SO HAPPY TO BE BACK!

Question #2 - What made you unhappy this year?

Burnout is a real thing. Luckily, I caught early symptoms and did some self-care (watching Bonus Family on Netflix, reading lots of new fiction, cooking new recipes, and collecting mini brands). What really made me unhappy was understanding what my students were going through. Their college years had intense stress and some of them lost their anticipated senior year. The idea of “getting back to normal” isn’t really viable. Normal hasn’t been established yet. We all need to take care of each other and take care of ourselves. Times are different but are lucky to have one another.

Question #3 - What was the biggest lesson you learned this past year?

It was a lesson I’ve had to relearn every year: Everyone is facing their own battles. Sometimes those battles are invisible to the human eye. Be kind. Stand up and say something when you see cruelty. That includes how others may treat you. If someone is not kind to you, remember that they may be going through something.

Question #4 - What do you wish you would have done more of this year?

I wish I had done more research on my newest project. I have an idea that I’m excited about and find every excuse not do it. I am an obliger personality and hesitate to take initiative when something appears to be about me. This year I will set more outside accountability and focus on the audience of the project.

Question #5 - What's something you want to do less of next year?

I want to do less of what I don’t enjoy. Everyone has something in their life that they must do because it’s part of their job, but I tend to attract more of something I don’t like. I want to intentionally ask the universe to do more of what I like! Playing concerts, writing articles, teaching masterclasses, cooking, and stand-up comedy. Also, any opportunity and speak about music to non-musicians. I want to help find new audiences for classical music.

Question #6 - What was your biggest success this year?

I stayed in better physical shape by going to the gym and taking walks. I have kept to a vegetarian diet four days of the week—I was eating too much red meat before. I also cut down on caffeine and drink more water. This is the first semester where I felt OK near the end. In past semesters I’ve needed many weeks of rest after juries but this semester I felt OK! No psychogenic illness this time.

Question #7 - When was a moment you failed this year?

I fail constantly. In fact, I’ve considered writing a book titled Failure. As musicians, we are all familiar with it! But failures are huge life lessons. They sting initially, but afterwards we learn something. In the best-case scenario, those failures become life and career lessons.

To answer your question, there were many moments of failure this year. But I’m a better person because of them.

Question #8 - What is something you want to learn next year? 

• After a recent trip to Hawaii, I have fallen in love with Hawaiian songs, especially written by Queen Lili’uokalani. I’d like to read more about Lili’uokalani and her music. Maybe even try learning the ukulele? Make my own arrangements?
• I want to read at least two books a month for pleasure. I’ve found that scheduling fun is difficult for me and by setting this goal, I think I may surpass it and generally be happier!
• I want to continue to learn the discipline of writing—I am in the process of writing a book on flute playing and am very interested in transferring the discipline of practicing to other areas.
• And one flute specific goal: I want to finish memorizing the Khachaturian Concerto.

Question #9 - What is your favorite way to refuel?

Here is my list:

• Go to the bookstore and choose ten books or download free samples of books. Read ten pages of each book and choose my next book to read.
• Brainstorm and write jokes for comedy open-mic nights
• Read through my favorite repertoire. For example: Gaubert Sonatas, Rodrigo Concerto, Ran East Wind
• Workout or take a short hike.
• Try a new recipe in the New York Times or justonecookbook.com
• Meet a friend for coffee.
• Send a Marco Polo (video recording app) to my best friend.
• Treat myself to a bubble tea.