History

The Davis Youth Flute Choir, founded in 1983 under the direction of Maquette Kuper, is celebrating its 27th anniversary and specializes in both classical and jazz music. It began as an ensemble of flute players and, about 17 years ago, grew into two full choirs. There is a junior high choir and a senior high choir. The younger choir is for students approximately 12-14 years old, and the senior high group is for students about 15-21. (College kids who are alumni of the choir come back to perform every summer as "Alumni Guests.") The choirs meet every summer for an intense ten days of "Flute Camp," where the kids learn the music and perform it in a public concert at the end of the session.

For the last 14 years, Fredrick Lange, Director of Bands at Davis High School, has added the jazz element to the program. He has coached the students in the jazz style and conducted as well as arranged jazz pieces for the group. Big-band style flute choirs were introduced in 2007 at the National Flute Convention by jazz flutist Ali Ryerson. The Davis Flute Choir has been performing big-band numbers for years.

The flute choir also has performed several classical premieres. About ten years ago, director Maquette Kuper persuaded the Gemeinhardt Flute Company of Indiana to commission a piece for flute choir and band. It was premiered in November 1997. In 2003 Fredrick Lange arranged the J.S. Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 4, which was premiered on the July 2003 concert, and ALRY Press subsequently published the piece.  In 2008 the choir premiered a second arrangement by Fredrick Lange, the Cimarosa Concerto for Two Flutes.

The choir toured Japan in June of 2008 representing the city of Davis in its first cultural exchange between Davis and sister-city, Inuyama.  The choir performed several concerts in venues as the Inuyama High School, the Meija Mura Museum and at the Cultural Hall where they were joined by local performing groups including the Nagoya University Flute Orchestra, the Southern Inuyama Jr. High Band, and native performers on Japanese instruments as the shakuhachi, koto and shamisen.
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