The Flute Haven Native Flute School is an intensive workshop for people who play (or wish to play)
the Native American Flute.
It is a chance to deepen our experience with our music in general, and Native Flutes in particular.
Flute players with all levels of experience are welcome!
We encourage the sounds of all players in a supportive and non-critical environment.
Workshop sessions throughout the Native Flute School
focus on building confidence playing the flute in many settings and styles and expressing your inner voice.
Topics include:
The elements of music - melody, harmony, rhythm, texture, and silence;
Basic Native Flute modes, techniques, and ornaments;
Basic improvisation techniques such as call-and-response, solo over drone, and repeated patterns;
Song forms such as A/B/A contrast, blues, and rounds.
We believe that expressing yourself through music is as natural a means of communication as speaking, and often more joyful and healthy. We also believe that all people are musical and that each person's level of musicality depends only on their level of experience in music-making.
We also believe that participants learn the most when they are actually playing the most. Participants will be playing most of the time! You will get an opportunity to play solo and in ensembles in many settings and many types of instruments, and work with facilitators from many different corners of music.
Regardless of your current level of experience, if you want to bring your flute playing to a new level, this is the
workshop to attend!
For more details on the specifics of the program, visit:
… and to see a short segment of the public television production of Wider Horizons done on the approach and facilitation style of Flute Haven facilitator Ron Kravitz, click on this picture:
The location is
just Northwest of Philadelphia and on the edge of Valley Forge National Park. We use the facilities of the NCCC for most workshops. Many of the evening concerts and activities are located at nearby venues in Phoenixville. Primary lodging is on-site at the NCCC, which also provides many of our meals.
Here is a view showing the NCCC and surrounding area:
… and here is a detail view of the NCCC property:
The Local Area
Here is a map of the local area in downtown Phoenixville, site of several events during the week (click on the map for a larger version):
Directions
Directions from Philadelphia:
Take route I-76 West toward Valley Forge … go about 17 miles from Philadelphia …
Take the US-202/US-422 W exit, EXIT 328B-A, toward King of Prussia/West Chester/Pottstown … go 0.7 miles …
Take the Mall Blvd exit, EXIT 327 … go 0.3 miles …
Keep right at the fork to go on Mall Blvd … go 0.2 miles …
Turn slight right onto N. Gulph Rd/PA-363 … go 2.1 miles …
Stay straight to go onto PA-23/Port Kennedy Rd. Continue to follow PA-23 … go 2.7 miles …
The National Christian Conference Center (1485 Valley Forge Road, Valley Forge, PA 19481) is on your right.
Directions from Northern New Jersey :
From the New Jersey Turnpike South, take EXIT 6 toward I-276/Pa Turnpike/US-130/Florence … go 1.2 miles …
Merge onto New Jersey Turnpike Ext (Portions toll) … go 5.3 miles, crossing into Pennsylvania …
New Jersey Turnpike Ext becomes I-276 W/Pennsylvania Turnpike (Portions toll) … go 32.3 miles …
Merge onto I-76 E via EXIT 326 toward I-476/Philadelphia/US-202/Valley Forge (Portions toll) … go 0.9 miles …
Merge onto N Gulph Rd/PA-363 via EXIT 327 toward Valley Forge … go 1.8 miles …
Stay straight to go onto PA-23/Port Kennedy Rd. Continue to follow PA-23 … go 2.7 miles …
The National Christian Conference Center (1485 Valley Forge Road, Valley Forge, PA 19481) is on your right.
Directions from Downingtown:
Take route US-30 East … go about 6 miles from Downington …
Merge onto US-202 N toward King of Prussia … go 9.0 miles …
Take the South Valley Forge Road exit … go 0.3 miles …
Turn right onto Valley Forge Rd/PA-252, then make a U-turn onto Valley Forge Rd / PA-252 N … go 1.3 miles …
Turn left onto Valley Creek Rd/PA-252 … go 1.5 miles …
Turn left onto Valley Forge Rd/PA-23 … go 0.5 miles …
The National Christian Conference Center (1485 Valley Forge Road, Valley Forge, PA 19481) is on your right.
Transportation
Phoenixville is easily accessible from the major airport in
Philadelphia, PA (approx one hour by car). You can rent a car or call PHL Taxi (215-789-4111) for a ride to NCCC.
If you are arriving by train, the Amtrak station in Paoli (PAO) is 6 miles away.
The address is Lancaster Pike & S. Valley Rd., Paoli, PA 19301.
Call Paoli Taxi (610-272-1000) for transporation to NCCC.
Video
Here's a video from the 2009 Flute Haven event, held in Phoenixville, PA:
Lodging
The primary lodging is at the National Christian Conference Center, although many other possibilities are available.
If you would like to stay at the National Christian Conference Center, which is in the same building as most of the workshops and convenient to all the evening events, you can give us your rooming preferences on the registration form.
Camping is also a possibility at
French Creek State Park.
It is 30-40 minutes away. They do have some cabins available, but those would need to be booked in advance.
Resources
Here are some suggested “background reading” material for the school:
The Listening Book and The Musical Life - a 2-CD set about rediscovering the power of listening as an instrument of self-discovery and personal transformation.
... and, for a tremendous amount of published information on the Native American Flute, you can browse around Flutopedia (but know that Flute Haven focuses much more on improvisation and playing and not on information).
What to Bring
We encourage you to bring any and all musical instruments!
Of course, please bring any and all Native Flutes you would like to play.
In particular, we will focus on the keys of F# minor, G minor, and A minor (low, midrange, or high)
for the purposes of playing in ensembles (duets, trios), but please bring any other keys you like as
there will be ample work in other keys.
Also, please bring:
any percussion instruments you may have (drums, rattles, rain sticks, bells)
any other instruments you think are appropriate
a favorite piece of poetry
Work-Study Program
We are offering registrations for two participants in the Work-Study program at this year's Flute Haven. These two slots are offered at substantially reduced rates in exchange for duties throughout the week involving room setup and transport of African drums and other musical instruments, transport of general workshop “gear” and tables, and some room setup duties. You will also be asked to assist the sound engineer (Frank Henninger) in the setup, teardown, and running the mixing board during the sessions at the Antigua Guatemala and Pickering Creek on Friday and Saturday evenings.
One Work-Study slot runs concurrently with the Leadership Program (WS-L) and one runs concurrently with the Weeklong Program (WS-W). In each case, you would need to arrive three hours before the start of the program (either 2PM Sunday or 2PM Tuesday), and would stay to help packing up until 3PM on Sunday. We expect that the amount of work would total about 15 hours throughout the week, but that includes some interesting things like live mixing at our evening events.
The registration fee for the respective program (either Leadership or Weeklong) is reduced by 50%. However, you will still be responsible for whatever lodging or commuter fee you choose for your accommodations and meals.
Flute Maker Program
At this year's Flute Haven, we are expanding the program for participants who wish to offer flutes and related items for sale to other participants. Specifically:
If you join us as a participant at any of the Flute Haven programs, you are free to offer your products for sale during the period of time for the program for which you register.
There is no fee for offering your products, but you must register in full for one of the Flute Haven programs.
We will provide you one table for your offerings, which will be located either in one of the workshop rooms that are used for sessions or in a separate, dedicated vendors room.
To comply with Federal law, you must display a sign that clearly states whether or not you are a Native American artist by the definitions in the IACA of 1990. If you are a Native American artist, you must indicate your tribal affiliation.
Note that you will need to re-locate your table on Saturday afternoon to the location of our Sunday AM closing session.
Please indicate on your registration form if you plan on offering items for sale.
A Review of Flute Haven 2011
A review by Randy Motz, Pat Smith, and Bob Gonder, LCPC,
with additional comments by Jeff Svengsouk and Jackie Rogers
Randy Motz – Weekend Program
Pat Smith – Six-Day Program
Bob Gonder, LCPC, Jeff Svengsouk, Jackie Rogers – Leader Program
[Bob] What I came to Flute Haven with was a desire to learn some new facilitation skills and an open mind to receive whatever showed up. What I left with was an overwhelming feeling of capriciousness and an understanding that this is what life could be like all of the time if I didn’t take it so seriously.
[Randy] Amidst the eclectic setting of the small hamlet of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, Flute Haven fit right in. In small groups, housed in intimate settings, we were not only taught the intricacies of the Native American flute, but were encouraged to experiment with a wide array of world percussion instruments. It was here that I discovered the Hang, a hauntingly resonant form of drum that, as I played, lulled me into prolonged moments of peace and relaxation with its dulcet tones.
[Pat] Think of it. Ear candy for eight hours a day!! Flutes (solos, duets, ensembles), drums, percussion for accents, guitars, didgeridoo, saxophone, voices – all accompanied with body motion! Truly a total mind, body and spirit experience for a week. Wow! The icing on the cake: the friendships and camaraderie of like-minded Native American flute players fostered through informal breakout sessions, informal jam sessions and fun-filled exploration in facilitated sessions. What is not to love??
[Bob] I arrived on Sunday evening for the facilitators track. Within hours of registration I was given permission to be child-like, encouraged to act silly, and told that no matter what I did this week; it would be okay. The goal was to get comfortable leading groups, increase our skill sets, and to work with whatever energy showed up. The staff at Flute Haven was amazingly gifted in their ability to not only teach us a variety of techniques and methods, but also at modeling the behaviors that they were preaching so vehemently. There was just an air of patience, tolerance, and total acceptance that I haven’t found in too many places. And of course everyone was always smiling!
The people that you meet at flute gatherings are almost always genuine and trusting souls, and the folks that came to Flute Haven were no exception. By the end of the first evening of the facilitators track there was already a strong sense of cohesion. This feeling carried into the week and permeated into the groups that joined us on Tuesday and Friday. People were taking risks, being supported, and laughing … lots of laughing! I particularly enjoyed being able to learn a new skill at 1pm and then turn around and use it on stage at 7pm. Talk about on-the-job training!
[Pat] The incredible talent of the staff enables each person, regardless of playing level, to learn, explore, discover, and grow in a positive, supportive, non-judgmental environment. Why wouldn’t I want to create in this place and time with all of these fellow musicians?
[Randy] Clint Goss, Vera Shanov, Ron Kravitz, Eric and Lynn Miller, and their accomplished staff of instructors and facilitators brought a special magic to Flute Haven. Through their combined efforts, we were taught to not only play the music, but to feel the music and become part of what we were playing. The end result was that our music became a reflection of who were are and what we were feeling at the time.
The crowning achievement of Flute Haven, along with the camaraderie that grew among the attendees, was the comfort we all felt in performing at the Open Mic events. After hours of developing our skills in the non-threatening and non-judgmental environment fostered by the staff, the music simply flowed from our souls, through our fingers, and off the stage. There were simply too many memorable performances to count.
[Pat] Each year I come away with new ideas, better developed techniques, more freedom to step out of the box and create my own musical voice, and greater confidence to share this remarkable instrument with others. My sharing includes playing background music for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network events, American Cancer Society Relay for Life Luminaria ceremonies (remembering and honoring cancer survivors), playing at church services and retirement communities, assembles for school children, teaching children who have a family member with cancer how to play the flute, most recently planning and securing funds to teach blind veterans at Hines Hospital to play flute and finally working with three friends to create and release a CD – Spirits on the Wind.
Native American flute is a big part of my life. Again, what is not to love about Flute Haven and the Native American flute? Flute Haven draws me in every year and releases me with music in my heart and new friends in my life.
[Randy] Though I was only able to attend a shortened, weekend version of Flute Haven, I came away with an abundance of knowledge and a wealth of new techniques to perfect. I can only imagine how much I would have learned had I been able to attend all week. I cannot wait until Flute Haven 2012.
[Bob] By the end of the week we were completely exhausted. There was a sense of sadness that Flute Haven was ending. We had made new friends, grown together in both spirit and musicality, and created peace through music. It doesn’t get much better than that … I would recommend Flute Haven to anyone!
[Jeff] A week after Flute Haven, we had our first Finger Lakes Flute Circle meeting using my newly acquired facilitator skills. My wife, Lisa, said it was a lot better compared to prior meetings, with more activities and involvement, and ending with people energized and wanting more after an hour session.
A Review of Flute Haven 2009
a review by Jeanne Lyle, Lou Boden, and Frank Ravenwolf Henninger
After six days at the Flute Haven Native Flute School, each of us came away with an itch to write a review for Voice of the Wind. And each of us did! When it turned out that VOW could only post a single review, our three reviews were combined into this one Trio Review, taking snippets from each … three voices written as one …
Attending Flute Haven was the most fun I have ever had since starting to play Native American Flute. It was an amazing experience, and expanded my skills and musicality more than any other flute event I have attended. We played and played and played, and experimented with vocalization, other instruments, and with all kinds of accompaniment.
The event, held October 13-18 in Phoenixville PA, was a complete success thanks to the dedicated, talented and highly trained leaders. Clint Goss on flute, Eric Miller on guitar, Ron Kravitz on percussion, Lynn Miller in fine voice and Vera Shanov keeping it all together make an excellent band of leaders on a wide variety of instruments. Their energy and knowledge delighted the 40 students of varying amounts of experience.
What I discovered at Flute Haven was a new world of facilitation, an increased passion for the NAF, an extended family of accepting and nurturing people of all ages and from all paths, and a faculty of fun-loving, music-loving, people-loving, innovators with huge hearts and a zest for life.
I experienced a two-hour session lead without a spoken word, using rhythm, sound, flute, movement, and dance. I was having too much fun to realize what I was learning until after the session ended. It was not only experiential, but total immersion in a very safe container.
I later experienced rhythm, explained and ingested without the traditional musical mathematical terror. We even learned the basics of playing in 10/4 time by using syllable repetitions that seemed nonsensical, until I realized that it was built on Eastern music and syllables that are part tonguing exercises. Our whole bodies were engaged in the wonderful process.
Flute Haven began on Tuesday evening with 14 participants (including the three of us) who signed up for the “Facilitation Training Track”. This was a program designed to teach basic music facilitation techniques that could be used in flute circles and other music gatherings. The techniques come from the 4-year Music for People training program that all the Flute Haven staff have taken, and at which several now teach. The methods are based on a Humanistic approach that uses time-proven activities to stimulate creativity in musicians. All participation is based on the needs and comfort zones of the students.
We were led through many sessions of playing and simultaneously learning how to lead a group in playing native flutes and other instruments. The interplay of the professional facilitators and the facilitators-in-training was exceptional.
Then, on Thursday evening, the Flute Haven Four-Day program began and our group grew to 40. So we had many more people to work and jam with over the next four days. The classes offered during the Four-Day program included whole group jam sessions and small group breakout sessions on topics such as: Playing with Rhythm, Breath Control Techniques, Playing With A Guitar, and Using Your Voice. Participants self-selected from three tracks - Novice, Intermediate, and Advanced - which ran simultaneously throughout the day. Classes were intensive, but fun and casual. Everyone had a chance to play, jam and explore different instruments including their own voices.
Our flute fever even extended outward into the Phoenixville community. Several of us performed at “open mic night” at the Steel City Coffee House, and then we also took over the stage in the Pickering Creek Inn on Saturday night together to rock the entire population dining there with native flutes, didgeridoos, hang drum, percussion, vocals, and dance.
Towards the end of a very powerfully charged week, those of us on the facilitators track got to try out some new skills. I love helping and facilitating and for me, sharing passion for Native American Flute is just the icing on the cake.
[Lou] Would I go back to Flute Haven? IN A HEARTBEAT! Will I go back next year? Yup. But the best thing I can say is that I have wanted to start a Flute and Drum Circle in my own area. My prayer is that is creates a joyous fun community that desires this kind of shared outlet for what is inside.
[Frank] If you truly love playing Native American flute, do yourself a favor and register to attend the Flute Haven Native Flute School in either of its two locations next year. It was worth every penny I spent to attend and every vacation day I used from my “day job.” I was so excited about what I learned there that I performed in public several times very soon afterwards using new scales and new skills that I had learned. And I am actively working on expanding a small local flute circle, with plans to use the facilitator skills I learned when that new flute circle starts to meet.
[Jeanne] There will be many of the same faces at the next Flute Haven and no doubt many new ones to be fed spiritually, mentally and physically by the talented staff and by each other. Thank you!
P.S. A blues song came to me as we were leaving. Here are the words - you can improvise the music. "I had rain down my neck! I had rain in my shoes! Now I got the End of FluteHa-venBlues! I had rain down my ne-he-heck. I had rain IN MY shoes. I got the End of Flute Haven the End of Flute Ha-haven Blues!"
“Exceptional opening ceremony at registration orientation.
Lots of subjects covered.
Great for a full immersion.
I got my money's worth the first day.”
“What fun to listen to such outstanding musicians in an informal setting!
The Jazz class was awesome-a blast!
I don't have any prior experience with jazz. I want to continue to explore.
”
— Advanced Student, 2008
“Thank you! What a blessing this has been for me!!!
The outstanding presenters, varied and diverse curriculum, good organization &
scenery made this a life changing experience!”
If you are arriving by train, the 
