I was born in Michigan and earned music degrees at both Michigan State University and The University of Michigan in flute performance and a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of North Texas. 
I recently retired after teaching  for  32 years at Northwestern State University of Louisiana. 
In 2015 I began learning baroque flute  in summers at the Tafelmusik Baroque Institute, Twin Cities Baroque Course, American Bach Soloists Academy and the Seattle Baroque Workshop. I have played with the Austin Baroque Orchestra, performed chamber music collaborations, solo recitals and recently released a recording “Jiri Czart Flute Sonatas.”

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The first thing you do when you pick up your traverso to start the practice day, and why?
I first play a note to establish an awareness of my body, posture is important. The head must be over the spine and I must feel my feet firmly on the floor (I often do not wear shoes).
​This simple yet important step can keep unnecessary tension out of the body and establish freedom of blowing and yielding my best sound. I find one may be able to play modern flute with tension, but the baroque flute will not allow it and thus can lead to frustration.
Any recurring piece to play every day, and why?​
I do like to play Caprice n. 43 by Quantz. I spend time connecting notes to allow the embouchure to work together with the air column, while the fingers coordinate by changing places covering the tone holes.
Do you have a daily routine?​
I first spend time blowing some notes finding the connection with my body to the flute. I may play some harmonics on low D before beginning the “long bow” exercise I learned from Janet See. 
I choose a note and blow for one count and inhale for one, then blow for two, still inhale for one, increasing the blowing up to as many counts possible all at the tempo of 60 = quarter note. After blowing for long durations one can take two counts to breath. This exercise does many things. It of course develops the breath control and the rhythmical coordination of the process, focus and consistent formation of the embouchure, all while monitoring posture and the relationship of the flute to the body. 
The baroque flute is quite light compared to the metal modern flute. A lighter object takes less effort to balance but also can cause more tension if one is not aware. The reason to monitor tension is to maintain flexibility with the embouchure, so that high notes are not strained but clear and not louder. 
Also, since the air speed and embouchure shape is quite different for the strong notes versus the cross fingered notes, one may make several discoveries while doing this simple warm up on a daily basis.
What kind of goals do you set for your practice?​
If I have specific repertoire I am working on, I will have specific goals. It may be solving a technical problem with articulation or an ornament or checking intonation in relation to the chord or harmony. Otherwise, I find for me certain exercises help to keep me in shape, as on the modern flute.   
Do you do any systematic warm-up?
Yes after the “long bow” exercise, harmonics, I spend time on scale and arpeggio patterns combined with articulation syllables.  I do like playing in different keys to explore the possible colors. This is what I find interesting about the baroque flute. I like to play those from Reichert's Daily Exercises. It did take time to rethink the purpose after playing these on modern flute for over 40 years!
Do you have a specific structure for warm-up and practice sessions?​
I find that knowing what works as a warm-up, and actually doing it, will then make practicing more productive and less frustrating. Of course, there are days where time is limited and the warm-up must be brief. Remaining calm is important to me always while playing, this prepares one for actually performing and in a possible stressful situation. Knowing your instrument and how it behaves will prepare one for a rehearsal. There are so many things that can need attention, articulation, intonation, ornaments, etc., once playing with others. I do not mind practicing alone and I often record the bass line myself and play along to really study the piece best I can before getting with others. This is where learning from the score is important.
Any distinctive characteristics of baroque flute daily practice vs. modern flute or other instruments?​
I find the baroque flute can speak in a rhetorical manner, or in other words, playing as if speaking or telling a story, thus trying out different articulation syllables can be valuable.  It may not be necessary to limit to French music (tu, ru)  or employ Quantz (ti, di,ri ) only to late baroque  style of music, but to be aware of what language we are emulating, while playing any piece.
I even think applying some of this to playing modern flute can yield some positive results.  I do not miss practicing modern flute with a limited approach of using only a few syllables and putting such an emphasis on speed.
What are the key elements and unmissable points of daily practice?​
The breath and blowing with ease is something to remind ourselves of daily. I have been practicing yoga for over 15 years. Playing baroque flute has also helped me understand my yoga practice.
How long and distributed should warm-up and practice be?
For me 15-30 min. is comfortable for a warm-up, but this can vary according to one’s level. Ideally, I like to practice one and a half to two hours per day. After that much time it would be a good idea to play a different flute so to not stress out one instrument.
Any  specific tip to address difficult technical passages during daily practice?
Slow and careful practice of technical challenges can be helpful. Often we are not aware of where the phrase is going or that an ornament is just an ornament, and not so important. Passage work often contains travel notes that join to another harmony. Identifying the function of notes and passages can solve many problems and lead to a more expressive performance.​
Are there any tools that are particularly useful for practicing?
A quiet practice space is important, a tuner can be used to check notes, I often play with a drone. I like to record the bass line and play the solo line with it. A mirror and a recording device always reveal the truth!     
Any other general advice, suggestion, tip?
It is important to have a clear idea of how the body is put together (the body map).  Poor posture can cause so many other struggles related to sound, embouchure, tongue, fingers, intonation, breathing etc…  Tension can often be a major culprit.​
How do you advise your students as far as structuring their daily practice?
A big part of teaching a student is to help them discover what kind of warm up can work best for them. This also needs to be flexible and adapt to new situations. Trying out a type of routine is at least a starting point for this discovery. Of course, tone development will not happen if one avoids playing long notes and time spent learning how to make breathing natural. Young players often like to skip this step!
Are there any specific pieces particularly beneficial to be played regularly in daily practice?​
I like to read what Quantz says in his treatise regularly, but of course there is so much information, it can be overwhelming. I find playing his caprices interesting along with those of Braun. 
Janet See has created a workbook containing her favorite exercises related to tone development, articulation, fingers, etc. This is a type of baroque flute method that I hope will become published someday.
She has taken the Caprice n. 43 by Quantz and transposed it with all the variations into other keys (up to 4 accidentals). I find this helpful for developing technique and control for playing in challenging keys. So if I am working on a sonata in 2- flats, I will spend much time practicing in those keys with this study. My discovery of the baroque flute was after playing modern flute for over 40 years. I spent hours a day, year after year, practicing the exercises that all modern players play (Moyse, Taffanel and Gaubert, Reichert, Maquarre, etc. So, discovering how to practice the baroque flute was truly a revelation that I had to seek.  
The real reason I wanted to learn to play baroque flute was to have an experience and to attempt to play works on the instrument the music was intended to be played on. Specifically my research with the flute sonatas of the Czech composer Jiri Čart (or Czart ,Zarth) was the driving force. I had absolutely no expectations except to have an experience playing some of his works in the privacy of my practice room. But as I fell in love with the traverso and had the opportunity to study, in the summers, under such great people, Claire Guimond, Wilbert Hazelzet, Jed Wentz, Janet See, to name a few, I learned what I needed to do, which was to practice on my own and be smart about how I approached  the instrument. 
I am grateful to now have had so many performing opportunities playing in orchestra, chamber music, teaching masterclasses at universities and encouraging young people to give the baroque flute a chance. I feel it can help to understand how the modern flute works and also how it developed.
I am grateful that I was able to obtain a university funded Professorship Grant to produce the album “Jiri Czart Flute Sonatas”, containing 6 solos sonatas and one trio sonata by this Czech flutist/ violinist /composer who was employed by Frederick the Great for 25 years. 
Flutist Leighann Daihl Ragusa , David Schrader, fortepiano, and Douglas Bakenhus, baroque bassoon collaborated with me on this project (Leighann and I  each played 3 sonatas). The album is free and available for download on several platforms. 
One might say that my research of collecting manuscripts in European libraries of Czart’s sonatas led to my figuring out how to teach myself how to play the baroque flute! My life is much richer now and full of color.