An Indigenous Approach to Flute with Rolfe Richter

When approaching an instrument from the Indigenous perspective, it is played spontaneously - "from the heart," according to Rolfe Richter of the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Sipayik. Learning to listen to and access those elements of yourself will enable you to reach the spirit of others with your playing.

This class teaches an Indigenous perspective on playing the flute, rather than formal instruction. Rolfe, who has been playing the flute for decades after primarily learning and teaching himself by ear, will share some of his background and introduction to music, along with how he developed an affinity for the flute. From there, he will guide participants in ways of seeing, hearing, and playing. Rolfe has taken to carving flutes to better understand the instrument, and he will share these insights as well.

Maximum 12 participants.

About the Instructor

Raised in Sipayik, Rolfe Richter has been involved in playing Indigenous music since the 1990s, starting with the drumming group Red Dawn. From drumming, Rolfe felt called toward the flute as his instrument of preference. He learned to play it gradually on his own, with occasional lessons gained along the way from masters such as Hawk Henries. He produced the CD "Dreamwalk", which includes flute pieces and poems he wrote himself. Humble and soft-spoken, he has a gentle teaching style rooted in storytelling.