The Forest Flute Choir (FFC) was set up over two decades ago by local teacher and flautist, Fiona Crawley who identified a need for local flute players to have a creative outlet. The Forest of Dean has always been renowned for its distinguished musical heritage, in particular for its high standard of singing and silver band playing, but there were and still are plenty of other musicians out there who are keen to find a group to play with.
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A Non-Elitist Group
It was always a constitutional rule that FFC would try its very hardest to be totally non-elitist and encourage everyone to come along, regardless of age, experience or ability. There are no auditions to join and people drop in and out of the group according to their own priorities. We have a constant core of about 30 players and we play about 3 concerts per year, raising monies for local charities or deserving causes.
Christmas Carols at Taurus Crafts 2024
Introducing our Musical Director: Fiona Crawley
Fiona is an inspiration to all of us! She is so enthusiastic and is constantly updating our repertoire to keep things fresh and interesting. She is also very inclusive and supportive, which is appreciated by all our members. Fiona started playing the flute when she was 10 and went on to study music, with Italian, at Bristol University where she graduated with a BA(Hons) in 1987. She is a member of The British Flute Society and is a well established, passionate, flute teacher who teaches in local schools. Fiona is a regular orchestral and chamber music player throughout the county. As well as setting up the Forest Flute Choir, Fiona Was instrumental in creating the Yvonne Walkerdine Music Bursary which was an annual financial award set up as a tribute to the late Yvonne Walkerdine. She is currently conductor and musical director of The Royal Forest of Dean Orchestra.
Repertoire
Our repertoire is highly eclectic – anything goes here – film scores, TV tunes, standard classical repertoire, Jazz and much, much more. We try hard to please everyone – it’s not always possible, but we do our best! For those who have not experienced playing in a flute choir before, each piece of music we play has between 3 and 7 parts of varying difficulty, so it is possible to find a part at your level and also to make progress as you become more confident playing in a group.
Support from our Local Community
We were given a most generous donation from Parkend Carnival Committee and were able to purchase an alto flute and a piccolo for members to play. In 2012 The New Grove Trust, based in Monmouthshire awarded us a grant of £1500 which enabled the group to purchase a bass flute. In 2018 the group received a further grant and some generous individual funding and was able to purchase a huge flute, the sub- contra bass. This greatly enhances the sound of the choir, reinforcing the bass and turning into more of an orchestra.
Suppporting our Local Community
In past years the committee has awarded a small bursary to a young flautist to assist them in their musical studies – previous winners have been Debbie Sandells, Charlotte Wood, Matthew Mann, Adele Franghiadi and Beth Handley.
