News from Adriana Ferreira
Former Associate Principal Flute of the Orchestre National de France and former Principal Flute of the Rotterdam, Philharmonic Orchestra, Adriana Ferreira is currently Principal Flute of the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome. Born in Portugal, Adriana graduated at the Paris Conservatoire and is a prize winner of major international flute competitions, such as Carl Nielsen, Geneva and Kobe.
Adriana Ferreira will be teaching and judging the Flutes by the Sea Masterclass and Competition 2021. Her virtual masterclass will be held on August 1 from 10am to noon SF, 7pm - 9pm Rome. Sign up today!
How has the Pandemic affected your career?
For more than one year, my whole calendar (the projects I had, solo concerts, masterclasses, teaching,…) was just emptied. My orchestra had no activity for four months and then we played for months only for the cameras. Like millions of people, I stayed home for months, and sometimes it was very hard to stay motivated. I took that time for myself, stayed with my family who finally gave me the motivation I needed to practice in order to be in shape and make improvements in my playing.
What creative ways have you focused on to combat the challenges brought forward by the pandemic?
I tried my best to do everything I couldn’t have done without so much free time. Maybe it was not extremely creative, but I tried to improve very specific aspects about my playing and, in a more general manner, I tried to connect as much as possible with people (even if it was only online at the beginning of the pandemic), I took time to walk in the mountains when it was possible, I tried new recipes (!), read books I wanted to read for sometime, took time for my family and, in the end, I didn’t feel tired as I would been after a ‘normal’ season!
What does your schedule look like for the next 6 months?
My orchestra is now doing regular concerts with audience, so I will be playing regularly with them. Besides that, I am going to give some masterclasses; I will also continue teaching at Musical Arts Madrid - a newly created University in Spain where I have been teaching for one year now, and I will start teaching in a music academy in Rome. I will also be in the jury of the Gazzelloni Competition in Italy and attend a workshop for former prize winners of the Geneva Competition in Switzerland.
What are your goals personally? Professionally?
In general, I want to be better in what I do every day. Personally, I am grateful for achieving my goals, I have a great family; and, professionally, I wake up every day trying to be a better musician, so I try to learn from everything. It’s a work for a lifetime and I am really enjoying the journey!
What inspires you the most in life?
What inspires me is 1) nature, 2) a kind of reaction happens within me when I observe nature 3) my family and my close friends. I would say that love is the most inspirational thing for me.
What has been your greatest challenge?
My greatest challenge might have been the fact that I have been a foreigner for almost half of my life. I left Portugal when I was seventeen and have been living abroad since then. I lived for many years in Paris, and also in Berlin, Rotterdam and now in Rome. It’s a spectacular adventure, and I really love it, but I am constantly far from my family. I miss them a lot.
What is the most exciting thing in your life right now?
Everything! I totally love my life, my family, my close ones, the place I live, my job, teaching, doing other projects… I really could not imagine a better or different life. I consider myself extremely lucky and happy. I honestly feel grateful for that every single day.
What are you completely bored with right now?
To be honest, I am really bored with all the Coronavirus tests I have to do regularly. This pandemic is unfortunately not finished yet, and everything related to it is really lasting too long. Of course, we all have to be conscious and try to do our best as part of the society.
What is keeping you busy these days?
I always find myself very busy. I often say that my big dream is to be better each day. In my personal life as well as in my professional life, I always try to be better, and that totally fulfills my mind and my days. Speaking about my professional life, even when I have one free week, I always think that is the best moment to improve and to learn something new.
One habit you wish you could break?
I think I already broke some habits I thought were not so good. For example, at one point, I was drinking five super strong coffees (Italian espressos) per day and it had no more effect on me. Now I am not addicted to coffee any longer, the only addiction left is the one for chocolate!
If you had a super power, what would it be?
I would like to always be awake! Could you imagine what we could do and achieve if we could stay awake 24 hours per day?! Definitively, that would be my dream super power!
What is one thing you wish you knew at 19?
I wish I had known how ephemeral my life in the world would be. Professionally, I will probably play for 30 more years, and that will be it. So I really have to enjoy every little moment of my passage in this world.
What is your Spirit Animal?
I really don’t know, I have never thought about it… but I would love to live in the Ocean!