Lions Gate Sinfonia presents The Magic Flute, Saturday, Nov. 7, 7:30 p.m. at Centennial Theatre, 2300 Lonsdale Ave., North Vancouver. Tickets: centennialtheatre.com
Piccolo virtuoso Sarah Jackson is the embodiment of the age-old proverb: "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again."
When Jackson was in Grade 3 she had her heart set on playing the saxophone, but after a few lessons it was clear she was too small for the instrument. Then she switched to clarinet, but was still too diminutive to cover the keys well enough. "I was told I wasn't talented," says Jackson, via email from Pasadena, Calif. "Who says that to a kid?" In seventh grade she explored musical instruments again, because it was either that or playing sports for her extracurricular options, and Jackson "hated" sports.
So, she signed up for band class before even choosing an instrument to play from the list she was handed. "Well, flute was at the top of the list, I checked it off, and that's why I play the flute and piccolo today," says Jackson.
But she didn't become first flute overnight. In fact, she hardly practised and was terrible at it, until the summer she moved away from her friends.
Jackson moved across the country many times while she was growing up. Her flute and band book became her companions until new friends came along.
Jackson soon developed an insatiable appetite for practising, which grew her as a musician and landed her first chair roles among other prestigious orchestra titles.
In 1993 the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra came calling for Jackson who describes the experience and her first professional job as a "huge learning curve."
"In school you're taught what to expect, but somehow it's never quite the same as doing it, kind of like having kids," she explains. "The VSO is where I really started loving the piccolo. I was second flute but there is a lot of piccolo playing in that job, even though there is also a piccolo player in the orchestra. I started playing more and more prominent piccolo parts in the orchestra and I loved it."
The premier piccolo position came available while Jackson was still with the orchestra and she got the job. Described as a half-size flute, the piccolo's high notes are bright and are distinctive over the entire orchestra. A decade after joining the VSO, Jackson auditioned for the world-famous Los Angeles Philharmonic. It was a gruelling process for Jackson, who had been on the audition circuit for many years and in the running for some major orchestras.
She landed a seat with the LA Phil in an unconventional way. After initially auditioning, Jackson lost the piccolo role to another musician who ended up not working out. So another round of auditions were held.
"I was on the fence about doing it again; after all, if they hadn't wanted me before why should I go?" says Jackson. "I realize that's foolish thinking but the rejections from auditions are very difficult. I had a student that said to me that if I didn't go to the audition she was going to strap me in the car and drive me down. OK, so I went."
And the rest as they say is history. Jackson has been floating on a cloud for ten years playing "all those great big piccolo parts" with the 106-member LA Phil. Part of the concert season includes playing at the famed Hollywood Bowl, which Jackson says is a fun experience. "It's outdoors so the audience is really casual," she adds. "This is not light classics, mind you. We play Shostakovich, Mahler, Beethoven, Adams, etc. Pops is Friday and Saturday, and Sunday is some form of opera." Under acclaimed LA Phil music and artistic director Gustavo Dudamel, Jackson has learned to play piccolo "a little freer." "Gustavo is so full of passion and energy for music," says Jackson. "I've always given a lot of myself when I play, but I think with his encouragement, now I also let go more. Musicians can sometimes get bogged down in the "correctness" of playing. We're so worried that something may go wrong. I play a little freer now; I just let it go."
A highlight from her tenure with the LA Phil was when, as part of woodwind quintet, she travelled to Caracas, Venezuela, where the group played concerts, gave masterclasses and taught lessons.
"It really opened my eyes to the plight of others around the world just to get music lessons," says Jackson. "They have no money to buy supplies, and they have to travel through very dangerous locations just to get to orchestra rehearsals and lessons, but they do it eagerly."
The LA Phil is a full-time 52-week season, but Jackson is coming to North Vancouver on Saturday to perform as soloist with the Lions Gate Sinfonia - her husband Clyde Mitchell is the musical director - and joined in concert with the 20-member Capilano Flute Choir at Centennial Theatre.
On the program is Bach's "Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor," a concerto for two flutes by Telemann, and of course, Mozart's overture to "The Magic Flute."
"The audience can expect a flighty foray into the flute and a perfectly perky piece of piccolo playing," says Jackson. "While we all expect the flute to be a beautiful sounding instrument, often people expect the piccolo will be shrill sounding. Not so! It is my life's quest to show that the piccolo is an absolutely gorgeous instrument."
