Interview with Mike Rafferty

bradhurley · Post by **bradhurley** » Sun Dec 29, 2002 4:52 pm

Paul Wells and Mike Casey have prepared an in-depth interview with the great East Galway flute player Mike Rafferty. It's up on my web site at:

http://www.firescribble.net/flute/rafferty.htm

-Brad

Harry · Post by **Harry** » Sun Dec 29, 2002 10:39 pm

Site's looking good, Brad. I particularly like the close-up picture of the flute behind the menu. The bit of wear around the finger holes counters it's elegance nicely! Good to see a quality, working instrument that's obviously earning it's keep.

Is it your own?

Regards, Harry.

bradhurley · Post by **bradhurley** » Mon Dec 30, 2002 6:14 am

Hi Harry,

Indeed those two flutes are my own. The blackwood one was made by Eamonn Cotter a few years ago (1998 or 99), and the boxwood one in Bb is by Chris Wilkes. The "wear" around the finger holes is probably more Eamonn's shaping, but it's true that the flute has seen many hours of playing!

Harry · Post by **Harry** » Mon Dec 30, 2002 9:24 am

So the one with the ornate silver ring is the Wilkes Bb, right?

Odd, I would never have thought from the photo that the wood was box. Is it just the photo or did he stain a dark finish to that flute?

Regards, Harry.

bradhurley · Post by **bradhurley** » Mon Dec 30, 2002 9:28 am

Right. Those big engine-turned rings are a specialty of Chris's. He did use a nitric acid stain to darken the wood, but I also darkened the photograph in order to make the navigation text stand out better. You can see those two flutes in color on this page:

http://www.firescribble.net/flute/credits.html

I'll make sure I bring the Wilkes with me to the Chris Langan weekend in Toronto so you can try it yourself!

Cheers,

Brad

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: bradhurley on 2002-12-30 10:30 ]</font>

Harry · Post by **Harry** » Mon Dec 30, 2002 9:38 am

Looking forward to it, see you there.

H.

JessieK · Post by **JessieK** » Mon Dec 30, 2002 10:22 am

I love the interview. My favorite part, the one where the paragraph leads to Mike Rafferty telling us who saved his life, made me laugh out loud.

Gordon · Post by **Gordon** » Mon Dec 30, 2002 3:31 pm

Brad --
Thanks for putting up that interview; it's a delight to read. I've met Mike once or twice, not that he'd remember me, but I studied with Jack Coen for about a year when I was starting out, and always felt I knew Mike a bit as well, through him. Heard some of the same Mt. Kisco story in reverse, too!
The new site looks great as well, BTW.
All the best,
Gordon