Flute making and art competitions are commonly sponsored by organizations hosting Native American Flute focused events. In Florida, Musical Echoes Native American Flute Festival and Native Rhythms Festival, are two of the premier flute specific events held in Florida.
2023 Musical Echoes; 1st Place
Black Locust with a Tasmanian Blackwood / Eastern Red Cedar (felled by Hurricane Irma in Windsor, FL – 09/2017) mouthpiece. The block features a Pileated Woodpecker (Gabon Ebony / Pink Ivory) working a Thuya burl tree on a base of Tasmanian Blackwood / Eastern Red Cedar. A silhouette woodpecker in flight is wood burned at the bore end. Flute #313 is tuned as a G4 with a 7/8″ bore and has an overall length of about 20 5/8.”
What an honor!
2022 Musical Echoes; 2nd Place
Camphor flute (#282) with a figured Myrtle mouthpiece. Key: D4, bore 1 1/8″. Decorative elements feature butterfly stone inlay designs using Sleeping Beauty Turquoise, Kingman Turquoise, Malachite and Azurite. PrismaColor accents.
Display block: Butterfly (Camphor wings with wood burned accents and PearlEx pigment). Pistachio body on a Black Walnut mount. Jasper cabochon in figured Myrtle on Pistachio / Eastern Red Cedar. Travel block on the right side: Beech butterfly silhouette on figured Myrtle with a “flower” inlay (Lone Mountain Turquoise, Azurite, Pipestone with wood-burned accents) on Camphor / Eastern Red Cedar.
2019 Native Rhythms; 3rd Place
Kansas Birch (1″ bore; key of E4; #211) with a Pecan, Rosewood and Butternut tenon mouthpiece. Block features a Pecan / Honduran Mahogany figure on Red Maple, Madrone burl and Eastern Red Cedar. The decorative element is a stone inlay and wood burned representation of a corn plant using Malachite and Pennsylvania Jet with yellow “tassels”.
2013 Musical Echoes; 2nd Place
This flute is composed of Black Walnut with Pecan mouthpiece and end cap (key of E4; #55). Decorative elements include red coral inlay wolf tracks and a wood-burned image of a wolf head on the south end of the bore. The wolf perched on the block is carved from Pecan. Super responsive, this flute produces a strong vibration easily felt in the finger tips while playing. I was very proud to stand on the stage next to my good friend and an accomplished flute maker, Darrell Allen, who won that year’s competition. Loren Kohler (LoKo Flutes) won third place with his entry.
2010 Native Rhythms; Most Artistic
This Cherry (Key: F#4; #40) flute features a stone inlay dragonfly inlay and wood burned images on the block and bore of the flute. The trophies made by Mike Knight (Old Turtle Flutes) were especially remarkable because these miniature flutes can actually can be lifted off the stand and played!
2007 Musical Echoes; 2nd Place
This is an Osceola Eastern Red Cedar flute. 1″ bore, key of E4. The turtle carved into the south end of the bore is heading towards shore. The block features a turtle coming out of the surf (stone inlay using opal, azurite, malachite and turquoise).
Musical Echoes’ flute making competition judges (Dock Green, Jeff Ball and Raymond Redfeather) and that evening’s featured performer, Robert Mirabal, played and autographed this flute. The autographs were collected at the suggestion of Mr. Mirabal who graciously spoke with my daughter and I following that evening’s performance.