Die Deutsche Gesellschaft für Floete e.V.
The German Flute Association
The German Flute Association (Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Floete e.V.) was founded on July 3, 1985 in Frankfurt am Main. Its members represent all aspects and all levels of flute playing: among them, professionals and non-professionals, students, orchestra members, pupils, flute loving amateurs and teachers who are all able to find a forum for their flute enthusiasm within the DGfF.
The primary aim of the German Flute Association is the education in art and music, especially in the art and science of flute playing in all its fields. The association wants to give everyone interested in the flute a forum for mutual exchange and inform the interested public about all aspects of flute playing and the flute.
Today the DGfF has not only found its place among the flute societies around the world - it is also one of the largest membership organizations in Germany, representing a single instrument or an instrument group (approximately 2,000 members).
The DGfF is lead by a board which consists of four people: Ruth Wentorf, Chairwoman and editor of Floete aktuell, Cordula Hacke, treasurer, as well as Jürgen Franz and Marco Lehmann-Waffenschmidt.
President since foundation is András Adorján who, however has only an advisory function.
Honorary members of the DGfF are the flute makers Albert Cooper ✝ and Helmuth Hammig ✝, the flutists, Peter-Lukas Graf, Jean-Pierre Rampal ✝, Aurèle Nicolet ✝, Karlheinz Zoeller ✝, Paul Meisen, Sir James Galway, Trevor Wye and Rüdiger Jacobsen.
Floete aktuell, the official journal of the DGfF is published four times a year (between 1986 up until now 122 issues of the magazine were published) and contains portraits of flutists around the world, instrument related articles, such as flute construction, portraits of flute makers and the history of the instrument. It also features texts regarding questions of flute playing, techniques, stylistic studies, flute in jazz, new compositions as well as reviews of books, published music and CDs, discussions of educational practice, pedagogy, body work. An extra section in every magazine fluteenie is dedicated to the young players.
Since 1989 FluteFestivals were hosted by the DGfF in a regular cycle: 12 festivals in Frankfurt, Hamburg, Berlin, Munich and Freiburg. These events offer everything a flutist’s heart desires: instrument and music exhibitions, workshops on various topics, master classes with the participating artists, concerts almost around the clock. More than 300 flutists have participated up to now, including Aurèle Nicolet, Jean -Pierre Rampal, Paul Meisen, Konrad Hünteler, Karl Kaiser, William Bennett, Susan Milan, Andrea Lieberknecht, Emanuel Pahud, Henrik Wiese, Emily Beynon, Michael Kofler, Ransom Wilson, Denis Bouriakov... this list could be continued almost indefinitely or supplemented by orchestras such as the Budapest Strings, La Stagione Frankfurt, string quartets, trios and wind quintets or different ensembles like Mike Mower’s saxophone quartet “Itchy fingers”, “Quintessenz” and flute orchestras for example “14 Berlin flautists”.
In the intermediate years where no FluteFestival takes place the DGfF organizes a smaller festival event: the FluteDays. An amateur competition takes place almost yearly, a competition for flute orchestras in a three-year period.
Classes for interpretation, educational theory and body work are offered monthly.