Artist Bio
Cathy Collinge Herrera
CATHY COLLINGE HERRERA enjoys an international career as a concert artist, orchestral performer and flute professor. She has performed extensively throughout Central and South America, Australia, England and North America, and is currently on the faculty of the Central Pennsylvania Arts Conservatory and Juanita College in Huntington, PA. Cathy is also a Rostered Artist for the PA Arts Council and previously served on the faculty of Valparaiso University. Dr. Herrera previously served on the faculties of the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts Conservatorium, the Conservatorio Nacional de Peru, University of Northern Iowa and Luther College.
As a founder in 1986 of Festivales Internacionales de Flautistas, she has been responsible for the development of flute festivals in South America. While a Fulbright scholar to Peru, Dr. Herrera held the position of principal flute in the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional and researched indigenous music during her two-year tenure.
Dr. Herrera has premiered works for solo flute, chamber ensembles and concertos in addition to publishing her own compositions and arrangements. She has also had articles published by Flute Forum magazine and is a contributor to the new Garland Encyclopedia of World Music. Holding degrees from the University of Northern Iowa, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a D.M. and World Music Certificate from Florida State University, Dr. Herrera’s principal teachers include Jerrold Pritchard, Robert Cole and Charles DeLaney.
Artist Interview
Cathy Collinge Herrera
We had the opportunity to ask Cathy a few questions. Check out her thoughts on improvising and writing your own music, publishing original works and her experience as a fulbright scholar to Peru.
1. While a Fulbright scholar to Peru in 1985, you held the position of principal flute in the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional and researched indigenous music during your two-year tenure. Can you tell us a bit about this experience?
It was really an incredible opportunity for both my performing career and scholarly growth. As this was my first experience in a full time orchestra, naturally I was in heaven playing great music for hours every day, learning new and interesting works by Peruvian composers, and best of all were the many concerto opportunities that came my way. The Sinfónica had quite a palate of conductors who called the OSN home, which provided an opportunity to appreciate different conducting styles, techniques and attitudes. Another aspect of the OSN I loved was the opera season that was part of the programming. There were/are many inspiring musicians involved in the Peruvian cultural scene, ready to participate in all styles of music imaginable, creating a very vital environment for music lovers.
Initially the Fulbright grant was for one year to perform with the Sinfónica and teach at the Conservatorio Nacional de Música. However, upon arriving in Lima I was immediately taken with the marvelous indigenous flutes that were everywhere: on the radio, in the folkloric night clubs, restaurants, and even on some of the public transportation! There happened to be another Fulbright scholar there in ethnomusicology, who served as a bit of a mentor providing names of musicians to contact, which was marvelous. I dove right in and eventually shared my new-found interest with the Fulbright Director who recommended a year extension on my grant to continue on with the Sinfónica while learning more of the indigenous music.
Since the grant program began in response to the end of WWII by Senator Fulbright to promote greater world understanding and peace, grantees are expected to share their experiences upon returning to the U.S. Besides being able to share works for flute by Peruvian composers, performing on the indigenous flutes provides a beautiful avenue by which I may give people of all ages a glimpse of Peru; not only through musical sound, but also craftsmanship and tradition.
Throughout Latin America there are bi-national cultural centers which work in conjunction with the U.S. Embassy Cultural Affairs division and the Fulbright Commissions of each given country. For a performing or visual artist these cultural centers can serve as wonderful performance or exhibit venues. During my grant tenure, the Cultural Affairs Attaché was very supportive of my work, and worked with the Fulbright Commission to line up performances at all of Peru's bi-national centers, and later in Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia, Venezuela and El Salvador. These terrific travel opportunities introduced me to many lovely musicians, some of whom I performed with in either my recitals or concerto performances, and taught in master classes. It was living proof of music being the international language.
An unexpected part of my grant activities was the initiation of the Festivales Internacionales de Flautistas I began with the second flutist of the OSN during my stay. As with most festivals, we started out small, but after meeting other flutists during my Embassy performances in other countries, we began to develop quite a list of participants, including musicians from the U.S., Europe, and Australia. Under the auspices of the U.S. Embassy I returned for ten summers to participate in the organization, teaching and performing. One exciting result of the entire festival process is the number of spin-off festivals that came to fruition in Ecuador, Brazil and Costa Rica!
2. Recently, you were also honored by being invited to perform in a special Embassy/Fulbright Commission sponsored recital celebrating 25 years since you received your Fulbright to Peru. What was this experience like returning to Peru after all this time? What did you perform for the recital?
Although I have returned to Peru a variety of times since the grant, each year I see more development and modernization. The fabulous centuries-old historical sites remain well-cared for, and there are new innovative structures which I found to be lovely but threw off my ability to readily identify some of "my old landmarks". While it was wonderful to perform with a gifted pianist friend from my grant days, it was tough to learn of the passing of some beloved composer friends. The traffic is as challenging as ever, and one of my favorite performing venues, (an acoustical shell by the ocean) is gone, but the overall excitement of being in Lima remains.
The Anniversary Concert was co-sponsored by the U.S. Embassy, the Fulbright Commision, and the Friends of Fulbright. It was a lovely opportunity for me to express my gratitude to the organizations who provided such wonderful experiences which have impacted my life in a multitude of ways.
In the spirit of international cultural exchange, the first half of the recital was performed with Peruvian pianist Carmen Escobedo. We played Henry Cowell's Two Bits, Caesar Giovannini's Morocco for Alto Flute, and Jean-Michel Damase's Sonate et Concert.
For the second half I was joined by Camerata Amistad, one of my chamber ensembles from the U.S., with flutist Diane Toulson, oboist/guitarist Brent Register, and bassoonist Trina Gallup. Most of the music we perform we have arranged somewhat to fit our instrumentation. We began with an arrangement of Loch Lomond we arranged for two flutes, oboe and bassoon, followed by Tango de España de Isaac Albenez/Bill Holcombe & Bill Holcombe Jr., Native Song (a spontaneously improvised piece for 3 Native American flutes), Be-bop duo #2 for two flutes by Bugs Bower, Los ejes de mi carreta,by Atahualpa Yupanqui/Lezcano, Dolor Indio, by Alejandro Vivanco/Velasquez Torres, and El Grillo, arr. Lezcano/Collinge Herrera. Happily the concert was well received, requiring an encore of Atipanakuy for solo flute by Alejandro Vivanco.
3. You have published your own compositions and arrangements. How did you go about this process?
One wonderful human characteristic found in the flute world, is the willingness and enthusiasm among the majority of flutists, for making flutist friends while sharing an adventure and discovering new music together. So many flute festivals throughout the world are a testimony to that! If you are not afraid to reach out a bit with your ideas, projects or goals, chances are you will soon enjoy making acquaintances that lead to friendships, that lead to meeting someone else with similar interests etc., etc., that all eventually lead to a broad network of mutually supportive folks! That is exactly how my publishing opportunities arose.
Good friend and colleague Angeleita Floyd introduced me to Irene Maddox at the Iowa Flute Fair upon my return to the States after the Fulbright, when I was full of fresh enthusiasm for the Latin American music that was new to me from that experience. At the time, Irene and her husband Robert were running Pan Publications. After many delightful conversations, I developed a lovely friendship with Robert and Irene, invited them to Peru for our festival there a couple of times, and our mutual enthusiasm for new works by Latin American composers and arrangements of traditional/folk music I had worked on, took root resulting in a handful of publications. While working on my Doctorate and World Music Certificate at Florida State, flutist/colleague Karl Barton was just beginning to dabble in the development of Barefoot Boy publications. We shared a lot of common musical interests and through conversations at school decided to give it a go. It's been a privilege to have these folks interested in my work, for which I continue to be grateful! As I mentioned earlier, a primary factor in creating your own opportunities is being willing to speak up and share, then one thing will most likely lead to another.
4. How did you start becoming comfortable improvising and writing your own music?
Although I haven't formally studied jazz improvisation, I certainly have studied theory, technical exercises/etudes and Baroque performance practice/improv like most other music majors! With that basic background, one has a solid point of departure for either composition or improvisation. So when a melody rings in my ears or tugs at my heart, I've got tools to either write it down, or just play it.
In my case, since I've been blessed with so many "traditional" performing opportunities, one technique I have used to continue to grow musically is to allow myself to think or play "outside of the box" a bit more. It is lovely to step away from an old school of thought which implies success and joy as a musician is limited to performing well what others have composed. While I continue to love the work of others, daring to allow yourself to find a corner of your heart which sings on its own, although perhaps daunting initially, is a gift. It certainly has been beneficial to be surrounded by, and work with like-minded musicians who are not only skilled and gifted, but have generous, kind, playful spirits. In such an environment its easy to let go of inhibitions!
5. How did you come to choose Miyazawa as your flute of choice?
When I was an undergraduate student in flute performance at the University of Northern Iowa (an hour or so from Coralville, the Miyazawa headquarters), Miyazawa was just joining the flute market. Pearl West, along with the Miyazawa representatives from Japan came to the university with flutes and spoke with Dr. Jerrold Pritchard, my teacher at the time. Knowing I was in the market for a professional flute, he had me try them. I found the one that was right for me, and have been playing it ever since!! It is number 428! The mechanism has been so wonderful all these years, I can count the number of times I've had it worked on on one hand.
I have learned over time that compared to some of my colleagues I have a light touch when I play. Under those circumstances it is imperative that your flute be reliable mechanically, as is my Miyazawa. If not, the slightest lack of alignment would show up very easily. If your key grip is quite firm or with a fair amount of pressure, certain mechanical elements can occasionally be disguised or go undetected for awhile, such as proper pad sealing, play in the keys and key levels. I have come across this when trying others' flutes while at festivals and the like. Those playing with a forceful grip would be fine, but when I played their flutes, there would be multiple leaks that showed up due to my light touch. With my Miyazawa, the mechanism has remained refined and precise, rarely requiring adjustment during all these years. Consequently (and happily), it appears I have saved hundreds and hundreds of dollars in flute repair!
These qualities have not gone unnoticed; while studying with Charley DeLaney during my doctoral program, every so often he'd offer to buy my flute... although he wasn't really in the market, he recognized it as a gem! There has just never been a reason for me to consider changing flutes, except for the allure of purchasing a gold flute. If I do decide to go that direction some day, I will most definitely keep my current flute, and remain loyal to Miyazawa with my choice for gold; the qualities I value, (particularly the key style and mechanism) and track record are too marvelous to ignore.
One other important aspect Miyazawa brings to the flute world, which must be acknowledged, is the very personable and sincere attention I receive from all who work for Miyazawa. Inquiries for myself or for students have always been met with genuine interest, care, and enthusiasm. Granted, we go back quite a few years and have an established friendship, but even with personnel changes over time, the atmosphere of a trustworthy family-run business has remained constant, professional and pleasant.
6. If you had one piece of advice to give for an upcoming flutist, what would you tell them?
Don't ever let anyone, no matter how famous, tell you "you won't make it in the business". If you are dedicated (that means willing to work HARD) and open-minded with a generous spirit, you will find your place. Look for musicians of excellence that are encouraging and can assist you in your development. There are a million ways to share musically.