{"id":45829,"date":"2017-06-06T11:22:35","date_gmt":"2017-06-06T15:22:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/?p=45829"},"modified":"2017-06-06T11:28:45","modified_gmt":"2017-06-06T15:28:45","slug":"feature-a-fond-farewell-to-nora-shulman-a-total-pro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2017\/06\/06\/feature-a-fond-farewell-to-nora-shulman-a-total-pro\/","title":{"rendered":"FEATURE | A Fond Farewell To Nora Shulman, A Total Pro"},"content":{"rendered":"

MT catches up with TSO Principal Flute Nora Shulman to chat about her upcoming retirement and the road ahead<\/h3>\n
\"Nora
Nora Shulman: Principal Flute, TSO (Photo: Christopher Wahl courtesy of the TSO)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

W<\/span>hen you\u2019re the associate, you\u2019re the associate, especially when you\u2019ve been there 12 years,\u201d Nora Shulman recalled. \u201cYou\u2019re not the shining new thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Nevertheless, the holder of the No. 2 flute job in the Toronto Symphony since 1974 was clearly a suitable candidate to replace Jeanne Baxtresser as No. 1 when the latter left for the New York Philharmonic in 1984.<\/p>\n

So after a couple of years of unnecessary auditions, music director Andrew Davis (who was not then yet a Sir) quietly promoted this soft-spoken virtuoso to principal, a job from which she steps down this month in what can (if her recent alluring work in Charles Tomlinson Griffes\u2019s 1918 Poem for Flute and Orchestra is any measure) be safely called peak form.<\/p>\n

An alumna of the California State University at Northridge, Shulman studied with Luella Howard and Louise Di Tullio. \u201cI definitely have the DNA of Louise di Tullio,\u201d she says of this respected veteran of the Los Angeles (and Hollywood) orchestral scene. \u201cWhen I hear her play I realize I am her offspring.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another influence was the English flutist William Bennett, who studied with the French master Marcel Moyse. Resonant, rich, full and open are some of the words Shulman summons when asked to describe the sonic ideal she inherited from her forebears.<\/p>\n

Sound, of course, is not a singular thing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI strive very hard to control nuance in my playing,\u201d Shulman says. \u201cLearning to play the essence of a phrase, that might mean more urgency of sound or a faster vibrato. You want to navigate musically in a way that is rich and significant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shulman has worked under five TSO podium taskmasters, starting with Victor Feldbrill, appointed resident conductor in 1973 after the death of Karl Ancerl.<\/p>\n

There are no hard words for any of them. What about that disciplinarian, Gunther Herbig?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew what to do, we had guidance, we had a sound that was very European in his hands,\u201d Shulman said. \u201cAnd he was very supportive of me personally.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember his saying something so kind when it was still not clear how much he enjoyed my work. Unnecessarily kind!\u201d<\/p>\n

An interesting observation about a conductor who was not always the perfect diplomat in rehearsal.<\/p>\n

Jukka-Pekka Saraste, who made his hatred of Roy Thomson Hall so public?<\/p>\n

\u201cInteresting guy, and we played interesting music with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Peter Oundjian, leaving after next season and recently named conductor emeritus?<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s done a great job. It was very important for him to be hired when he was. He did a great deal for audience development.<\/p>\n

\u201cAudiences have a positive perception of him. He is affable. He will speak to them, and audiences like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

And Davis, the TSO conductor laureate who will fill in through 2019-20 while the music director search is extended?<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a newbie when he came the orchestra, a young conductor. But what an astonishing talent he was and is. He just got better and better.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen he comes back, it\u2019s really very magical. He has a strong relationship with us. As close to family as you\u2019re going to get.\u201d<\/p>\n

And on a more technical note: \u201cHe has very expressive hands.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked to name guest conductors of note, Shulman starts with the Teutonic titans Klaus Tennstedt (1926-88) and Kurt Sanderling (1912-2011). Living visitors she holds in high esteem are Thomas Dausgaard and Gianandrea Noseda.<\/p>\n

While Shulman found Valery Gergiev\u2019s notorious toothpick initially an \u201cunsettling\u201d substitute for a baton, she would not deny the depth of his insight. And if Erich Leinsdorf (1912-1993) could be unpredictable in rehearsal, the results in concert spoke for themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to accept and respect a conductor,\u201d Shulman says. \u201cOtherwise, you\u2019re going to be at odds.\u201d<\/p>\n

Getting along with her peers has never been a chore. “I’m a team player,” she says. Shulman counts herself lucky in having sat for many years next to principal oboe Richard Dorsey \u2013 \u201cthat musical singer\u201d \u2013 and then his stellar student, Sarah Jeffrey.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel that we\u2019re so tight,\u201d Shulman says of her fellow woodwinds.<\/p>\n

She has a close association also with former harp principal Judy Loman. The pair have made two CDs for Naxos.<\/p>\n

Having served as second flute in the Denver Symphony before joining the TSO, Shulman knows the orchestral flute repertoire from three perspectives, of four, counting the occasional doubling job on piccolo.<\/p>\n

A lot of playing means a lot of sonic pressure on the flutist\u2019s right ear. Shulman has used a custom earplug for about 15 years to limit the wear and tear.<\/p>\n

She still feels upbeat the classics. Beethoven\u2019s Eroica is a favourite. Too bad, she says, there is so little Schubert on orchestral programs these days.<\/p>\n

Remarkably, Shulman will be entering terra incognita next week<\/a> when Oundjian conducts Kurt Weill\u2019s The Seven Deadly Sins with mezzo-soprano Wallis Giunta as soloist. The TSO subscription season ends with Carl Orff\u2019s Carmina Burana. That one she has done before.<\/p>\n

Retirement does not mean the end of teaching, mostly in her home studio, but also at the Edward Johnson Building (Shulman is an adjunct associate professor of flute at the University of Toronto). More free time means more collaboration with Loman. Plus the opportunity to study the baroque flute.<\/p>\n

However she continues her career, this player will surely be remembered as the quintessential TSO pro.<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, I don\u2019t think I have the highest profile,\u201d she says. \u201cBut my Naxos CDs, especially the Dance of the Blessed Spirits with Judy Loman, were well received. I still get emails, and that CD has been around!<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I\u2019m known. But I\u2019m married. I had two sons and juggled that life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know there are players who want to achieve and achieve and achieve. My personal ambitions never went beyond maintaining my work at the highest level. That was always my goal. And to have a family life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brava.<\/p>\n

#LUDWIGVAN<\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n

Want more updates on Toronto-centric classical music news and reviews before anyone else finds out? Follow us on\u00a0<\/i>Facebook<\/i><\/u><\/a>\u00a0or <\/i>Twitter<\/i><\/u><\/a> for all the latest.<\/i><\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“My personal ambitions never went beyond maintaining my work at the highest level. That was always my goal.” MT catches up with TSO Principal Flute Nora Shulman to chat about her upcoming retirement and the road ahead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":45831,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[6439,4967,36,3693,63],"tags":[9594,3360],"yst_prominent_words":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/06\/Nora_Shulman_TSO_Flute.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-bVb","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45829"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45829"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45829\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45843,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45829\/revisions\/45843"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45831"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45829"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=45829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}