Founded by Dr. Martin Melicharek, the ensemble began with seven performers, five playing C flutes with one alto and bass flute. A second alto and bass flute were added over the next several years. In 2003 the first contrabass flute was purchased for the choir. Last year a 2nd contrabass flute was added completing the instrumentation for our ensemble. There are now 16 members performing on 5 different types of flutes, the smallest being the piccolo which plays one octave higher than the concert C flute, the alto playing four notes lower than the C flute. The bass flute, whose headjoint does a u-turn, plays one full octave lower than the C flute. The contrabass flute is so big and heavy that it stands vertically on the floor. The top of the contra bends down at a 45 degree angle, and then bends again becoming horizontal, allowing the player to blow across the mouthpiece and sounds two octaves lower than the C flute. All these flutes together give the choir a 6 octave range.
The Camellia City Flute Choir performs a variety of music from Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Contemporary periods. Concerts include serious pieces and lighter fare. Performances include transcriptions from orchestral, keyboard and choral works, as well as selections from the growing body of original works composed especially for large flute ensembles. Many of the transcriptions have been arranged by our conductor and founder, Dr. Martin Melicharek. Unique to our group is the" Heavy Metal Choir". Our group has been leading the advent of ensembles for the alto, bass and contrabass flute choir . Most performances include at least one piece for this instrumentation. We are fortunate to have 8 alto flutes, 4 bass flutes and two contrabass performing in this unique ensemble.
In addition to the popular annual performance at the Capitol, the Camellia City Flute Choir has performed at the Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento as well as venues in Rocklin, Roseville , Folsom, El Dorado Hills, Carmichael, Sutter Creek, Natomas and Fair Oaks . The choir has performed joint concerts with flute ensembles at both University of the Pacific and Sacramento State University and at the 2003, National Flute Convention in Las Vegas.
Members of the flute choir come from all walks of life. Half of the group members are professional flute or music teachers. The rest are in fields such as science, business and education. Many continue to study the flute with private teachers and in masterclasses, and are performing members of community and professional orchestras, bands and chamber groups.
Welcome to our web site,
Dr. Martin Melicharek