Teresa Costa

Fluit

There’s something very strong and mystical about the relationship between musicians and their instruments.

Being a musician is to work with the instrument daily, one day we find the sound we want to hear and the next day we have to look for it again. It is to turn instability into stability, there are achievements but nothing is definitive. It is to doubt, to question constantly. Nevertheless, there’s no greatest feeling than putting out into the world the sound and the ideas we conceived in our mind in the first place.

While a singer is born with a voice, instrumentalists must look for the instrument that fits their needs. This is an extremely difficult quest, no two instruments are alike and to make this kind of decision it takes a lot of self-knowledge and a concrete idea of what we are actually looking for.

In my case, since I started my bachelor that I’ve been feeling that the instrument I was playing with was not helping me to achieve the level I intended but holding me back instead.

I started looking for other instruments and trying out different brands and materials until I found my new flute last November, kept by a luthier in Basel, as if it was waiting for me to find it.

It is a second-hand Brannen silver flute (in the condition of a new one) combined with a headjoint specially made for this flute with the new model by J. R. Lafin. He worked on this headjoint considering my personal requests and in the end it is the perfect match.

I’ve never felt so connected to an instrument. I now feel I can work with an instrument that reacts fast, has a rich and full sound and allows me to create many different colors. This flute inspires me when I play it. I’ve found my voice.

I never believed I would own such a fantastic instrument as the one I do now. I definitely wouldn’t be able to afford it alone and for that reason I’m extremely grateful to the SEM foundation for their support!

I think it is unbelievably beautiful that this community is not only supporting young musicians in following their dreams, but also, supporting classical music, the arts and culture!

Thank you Aleid, Idske and the whole Stichting Eigen MuziekInstrument Community for the wonderful work you did helping me and so many other musicians to pursue their careers.