Words Like Locusts Flew From Her Fingers

The Best Thing in the World

Canadian flutist, Jennifer Cluff, has begun a flute-related podcast series called “FluteLoops”. You can listen to the first one by clicking on her name.

At the very end of the recording, Jenn and flutist Nathan Zalman talk a little bit about the emotional aspect of playing in an ensemble — about being moved to tears while performing — and this is something I’ve thought a lot about over the years, too.

Playing music alone can be good. It can be very satisfying. But playing in an ensemble — be it a quintet or a full orchestra — can be an incredible emotional high. It’s not all the time. But sometimes… when the music is right, you can feel that all the musicians around you are in exactly the same emotional place that you are, and it makes what’s happening to you even more intense. Even more beautiful. And the bigger the ensemble, the more amazing the experience. You’re transported. You’re part of something much bigger than the sum of its parts. You’re not an outsider just listening to the music. You are a part of it.

When people ask me why I’m a musician, this is what I tell them: when you’re playing music with other people and everything’s right, it’s absolutely the best thing in the world.