THE JAMES PAPPOUTSAKIS FLUTE COMPETITION
The following article first appeared in the Winter 2000 edition of the GBFA Gazette
The Pappoutsakis Flute Competition: Past, Present and Future
John Ranck, D.M.A.
Beauty of tone was of paramount importance to James Pappoutsakis, the well-loved flutist who played with the Boston Symphony Orchestra for forty years. A student of Georges Laurent at the New England Conservatory, he taught numerous students at the New England Conservatory, Boston University, Boston Conservatory, and the Longy School of Music. Eighteen of his students won Fulbright scholarships or other awards for international study. Former students have played in the Cleveland, Montreal, Oakland and Seattle symphonies and two of his students made the finals in the audition for his position in the BSO. His former students include a flute maker, a former member of the Dorian Woodwind Quintet; many are freelancers and teachers and one is a music critic. In his memory, the Powell flute company donated a flute to the New England Conservatory for use by NEC students.
Upon his death in 1979, less than a year after he retired from the Symphony, friends, colleagues and students gathered to decide how best to honor their friend and teacher. Mr. P. was unfailingly supportive of his students. The group decided, therefore, to form an organization that would stimulate activity among young players who exemplify the excellence in performance that James Pappoutsakis demonstrated in his playing and nurtured in his teaching. In addition, the board decided to commission a new piece for the final round of the competition each year, thus contributing to the flute repertory.
Soon after the James Pappoutsakis Memorial Fund was established in 1979, local flutists played a series of monthly concerts in 1980 to aid in fund raising. The first concert in the Marsh Chapel of Boston University featured Doriot Anthony Dwyer with Yuko Hayashi on organ and Susan Almasi Mandel on piano. The program consisted of music by Daniel Pinkham and Aram Khachaturian.
William Grass, joined by Joseph Pietropaolo, viola, Mary Ann Pietropaolo, cello, Carol Baum, harpist and Betsy Moyer, harpsichordist, presented a chamber concert at Boston Conservatory that included music by Keiser, Leclair, Roussel, Badings, Mondello and Debussy.
Carol Hunt Epple, Ethel Farney, Trix Kout and Sharon Zuckerman, joined by Wilma Smith, violin, Elise Jackendorff and Robert Hill, harpsichord, and Henry Weinberger and David Arsenault, piano, presented a program at the Longy School that included works by Ibert, Boismortier, Reinecke, Haber and Bartók.
The final concert of the series took place at the New England Conservatory with twenty-six flutists participating. Beginning with Debussy’s Syrinx, the program progressed to a W.F. Bach flute duet, a Kuhlau trio, Bozza’s flute quartet, Jour d’été à la montagne, and a Boismortier concerto for five flutes. John Heiss conducted his own works, Songs of Nature, performed by Kathleen Wallace, mezzo-soprano, Peggy Friedland, flute, Penny Ward, clarinet, Ken Sugita, violin, Michael Czitrom, cello and Christopher O’Riley, piano. The program ended with Brant’s Angels and Devils for eleven flutists. Flutists participating in this final program were Phyllis Aronson, Ellen Beal, Marjorie Benjamin, Alycia Borella, Randolph Bowman, Kathleen Boyd, Constance Boykan, Joyce Baum, Carol Capodanno, Seta Der Hohannesian, Kathi Edelson, Peggy Friedland, Robin Hendrich, Jane Henkel, Tom Kay, Renée Krimsier, Elizabeth Mann, Jill Maurer, Iva Milch, Claude Monteux, Daniel Riley, Lois Schaefer, Edward Schultz, Robert Stallman, Dianne Winsor and Sharon Zuckerman.
1981 saw the first of the annual Pappoutsakis competitions, open to flutists at the schools at which Mr. Pappoutsakis taught. Subsequently, the board decided to open the competition to flutists at the Berklee Music School as well.
The preliminary round of the competition is held "in camera" with the players performing the required repertory behind a curtain. The final round, open to the public, awards first and second cash prizes. The first prize winner plays a public recital at GBFA’s annual Flute Fair. In 1982, the Fund decided to begin to commission a new work each year for use in the final round. Special mention must be made of the following Board members who have been involved since the Memorial Fund's inception and without whom it would not exist today: Harry Gatos, a long-time student of Mr. Pappoutsakis, Bruce Glassman, our excellent and hardworking treasurer, William Grass, who served as President for most of the organization's history, and Robin Hendrich, who served as Secretary of the organization from 1979 until 1997.
In celebration of its 20th anniversary, the Pappoutsakis Memorial Fund has undertaken several new projects in addition to its annual Flute Competition.
- First, the Fund is exploring the possibility of producing a CD of Mr. Pappoutskakis’ playing. We can think of no better way to make available the playing of this consummate musician.
- The Fund is also planning an anthology of the pieces commissioned during its first 20 years. This anthology will make available worldwide the wonderful music the Pappoutsakis commissioning program makes possible. We plan to include information about Mr. Pappoutsakis and the Fund, as well as information on former winners and commission composers, and information on the current competition. We are collecting "memories of Jimmy" from former friends and students to include as part of the anthology. Anyone who has a favorite memory to share should send his or her reminiscence to the address given below.
- We have developed this web page where we will present information about Mr. P., notes on former winners and commission composers and information on the current competition.
Readers with memories of Mr. Pappoutsakis that they would like considered for inclusion in our anthology should send them to The Pappoutsakis Flute Competition, Attn: I remember Jimmy, 25 Whitby Terrace #2, Boston, MA 02125
Donations in support of our programs can also be sent to The Pappoutsakis Flute Competition, 25 Whitby Terrace #2, Boston, MA 02125. The Pappoutsakis Memorial Fund is a non-profit organization, so any contribution is tax-deductible.
Dr. Ranck is President of the James Pappoutsakis Memorial Fund, which sponsors the annual Pappoutsakis Flute Competition.
The Competition is being funded in part by contributions from local flutemakers:
Brannen
Brothers, Verne
Q. Powell Flutes,
NNI,
Inc./Nagahara Flutes,
Burkart-Phelan Flutes,
Mancke Flutes,
Emmanuel Flutes, Falls House Press, Keefe Piccolos,
Music Espresso, Spectrum
Music, and Yesterday Service.
© The James Pappoutsakis Memorial Fund