The Long Island Flute Club (LIFC), founded in 1984, is celebrating its 30th anniversary. The club boasts more than 100 members, including Kathryn Prinz of Oyster Bay, comprised of both student and adult musicians; people from all walks of life united by one common interest—the love of music.
Lauren Osnato of Massapequa is a founding member of the LIFC and one of a growing number of people who have developed and cultivated the organization, helping shape it into the musical success story it is today.
“The club was formed by a number of Long Island flutists and music teachers who wanted to create an organization that would provide flute-related events, competitions and concerts for their students and the general public,” she said. “The idea was that we would start having a series of concerts ourselves, as we bring prominent flutists out to the Island to perform as well.”
Osnato is a retired music teacher who taught in Long Beach for more than 34 years. Throughout her life, she’s been a flutist, and said that having the ability to share her love of the versatile wind instrument with so many others is an indescribable experience.
“It’s a particular passion of mine,” Osnato said. “It’s been so satisfying to see the Flute Club grow from a little group of 10 people in a band room in a school and see it grow into a functioning flute club that has lasted for 30 years…not all groups can say that.”
According to Osnato, before finding their niche in local libraries, the LIFC initially got their start playing in churches and senior centers, which provided a performance base for the group at no charge, and a guarantee of large audience turnouts for every recital. Eventually, the group started holding various events and competitions for students across Long Island, and later developed a relationship with Old Westbury Gardens, playing an annual holiday show in the lavish Red Ballroom of the Gardens’ famed Westbury House.
In addition, Osnato said that the highlight for the LIFC is their annual Flute Festival each November, which encompasses an entire day of activities centered on all things flute.
“It’s an event that’s geared towards students, and we also bring in a major artist to perform as well,” she said. “The Flute Festival is geared towards all levels, from beginners all the way to advanced high school–level students. For the past two years, we’ve been at Copiague High School for the event, and in the past, we’ve held it at various other places throughout Long Island, based on who is willing to sponsor us and provide us with space. Anyone on Long Island is welcome to attend.”
The club’s performers are divided into several tiers, based on age and experience. There’s the Holiday Flute Choir, the Professional Flute Choir and the Honor Student Flute Choir. Given their harmonious sound and the uniform delivery of the complex pieces the club performs at concerts, one would think that LIFC holds regular, rigorous practice sessions, but Osnato noted that this isn’t the case at all.
“Most of our members are teachers and professionals, and getting everyone together at one time to practice can be very difficult,” she said. “However, they are all very accomplished musicians, so as long as I get them the music beforehand, they have no problem at all performing together in a professional manner and forming a cohesive unit during our recitals.”
Maria DiNatale of Port Washington, who has been a member of the LIFC for the past eight years, said, “There’s such great energy and camaraderie among everyone in the club,” she said. “It’s nice just to get together and play with no judgment, and the members who are music teachers are all very willing to help you improve your skills and get even better. I enjoy the club.”
Charlotte Loake of Levittown, an elementary school band teacher who has put in more than six years with LIFC, originally picked up a flute in fourth grade for aesthetic reasons. But once she actually learned how to play it, she was hooked.
“When I was a kid I really wanted to play the silver shiny thing that went sideways,” she laughed. “But once I actually started playing, it was all about the wonderful sound and being able to play in a group that captivated me.”
On her path to achieving a teaching career, she experienced a temporary lapse in her playing; however, she said she soon connected with the Long Island Flute Club, and her connection with her childhood instrument was instantly rekindled.
“It’s a great group to be with, that’s for sure,” she said. “They do a lot of different music, and the holiday choir is so much fun because we always have such a large audience…there’s nothing better as a musician than playing before a large audience and feeling all that emotional energy that they put out.”
Sandra Vigliotti of Westbury is a lifelong flutist who become enamored with the instrument in the fourth grade. Now a nine-year member of the LIFC, she teaches music in Glen Cove and says that she became interested in joining the Flute Club after checking out one of their incredible holiday concerts.
“I’ve met many people who have become very good friends because we have common interests,” she said. “Being in the club has enriched me in many ways. It’s helped me get better at playing the flute, but it’s also the kind of thing that makes you a better person because of all the different people that you meet and interact with. It’s a really special thing.”
But for all the recitals, friendship and good cheer, the real purpose of the Long Island Flute Club, Osnato said, is to help cultivate the love they share for the instrument and instill it in the young, up-and-coming musicians for countless years to come.
“We want to get the younger generation of flute players active so that the club can continue to sustain itself and go on and continue to do what it’s been doing,” she said. “We’re very proud about what we’ve been able to do over the years.”
To find out more about the Long Island Flute Club, including information on how to join, visit their website at www.longislandfluteclub.org.
