(Winston-Salem) Flute students at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) School of Music will no doubt gain a lot during their upcoming master class with the world renowned Sir James Galway, in April. But they’ve already learned a lesson or two through the fund-raising drive they conducted to pay for Galway’s visit to campus.

The 14 students, from high school through post-graduate, raised more than $2,600 to fund Galway’s visit to campus while he is in town to perform in a gala concert with the Winston-Salem Symphony.

A living legend, Galway is regarded as both the supreme interpreter of the classical flute repertoire and a consummate entertainer whose appeal crosses all musical boundaries. He will give a master class for UNCSA students from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on April 3 in Watson Hall on the UNCSA campus, 1533 S. Main Street in Winston-Salem. The class is free and open to the public, but tickets are required. Ticket reservations can be made by calling the UNCSA Box Office at 336-721-1945.

Galway and his wife, Lady Jane Galway (also a renowned flutist) will perform with the Winston-Salem Symphony on April 4. For more information about that concert, or to buy tickets, visit www.wssymphony.org.

Galway has toured extensively throughout the world, has sold more than 30 million albums, and has performed for American presidents, British royalty, the Pope, and international heads of state. 

“When we found out he was going to be in town for the symphony, we knew we wanted a master class with him,” said Lidiya Selikhov, a college junior from Coventry, Conn. “But the School of Music had already spent all its funds for guest artists.”

Selikhov and her classmates secured the support of Music Dean Wade Weast, who agreed to match whatever money they raised, up to $1,250.

“It is a rare opportunity to host a performer of this caliber,” Weast said. “I really wanted that experience for these students. Funding is tight these days and the timing was such that I had already made commitments for my entire guest artist budget.”

The students created a fund-raising website and planned a benefit concert.

“We didn’t want to just ask for money,” said Bo Lee, a college sophomore from Hephzibah, Ga. “We wanted to give something back.”

The students took advantage of a snow day to make posters and put them up around campus. They sent notices to local media, and solicited donations from classmates, family members and other contacts.

Within a week, they had raised more than $1,000. Soon, they had surpassed their goal of $2,500, and were able to decline Weast’s offer of matching funds.

“It’s fantastic,” Weast said of the student effort. “The flute students acted on their passion with initiative and determination. I could not be prouder.”

Flute professor Tadeo Coelho said the master class with Galway will remain with students throughout their careers, and what they learned through the fund-raising process will serve them well in pursuing their dreams.

“As a professional musician, you have to promote yourself to some extent,” Coelho said. “And symphonies will always need to raise money. Communication and fund-raising skills, combined with excellent musical ability, will enhance their career opportunities. This is what we are teaching our students.”

Cain-Oscar Bergeron, a post-graduate student from Cottonport, La., said he was able to apply things he heard in a career development class at UNCSA, and to build on his experience as a graduate student, when he created a “flute guild” to fund master classes.

“You need to know how to talk to people, to communicate that your cause is valid and that it benefits others,” he said.

Lee said the experience brought the flute students closer together. “We are 14 people with different personalities, and we did this together,” she said.

During the master class, UNCSA students will have an opportunity to play for Galway and learn from the master. “We are really excited about performing,” Selikhov said. “Morale is really high in the flute studio.”

The living legend of the flute, Galway is one of the busiest men in classical music. During the 2012/13 season, he has performed in Ireland and Italy with the Grammy Award-winning Emerson String Quartet, toured the UK with the Orchestra of St. John’s, and performed in China in  collaboration with guitarist Xuefei Yang, including concerto performances at the Beijing Festival and in Hong Kong. He performed for “Live from Lincoln Center,” a televised New Year’s Eve concert with the New York Philharmonic. His “Legacy Tour” will include concerts in major cities throughout the United States, including New York, Boston, Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles.

Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Galway studied in London and Paris before embarking on his orchestral career in such prestigious orchestras such as the Sadlers Wells and Royal Covent Garden Operas, The BBC, Royal Philharmonic and London Symphony Orchestra, before taking up the coveted position of solo flautist with the Berlin Philharmonic under Herbert von Karajan. He launched his successful career as a soloist in 1975.

Galway has originated definitive treatments of classical repertoire and masterworks by Bach, Vivaldi and Mozart. He also features contemporary music in his programs, including new flute works commissioned by him and for him by composers such as Adamo, Amram, Bolcom, Corigliano, Heath, Lieberman and Maazel.

Alongside his busy performing schedule, Galway and his wife hold master classes throughout the world, including their International Masterclass Series each year in Switzerland. In 2012 he launched the long-awaited James Galway Online Flute Tutor Series, an interactive series of lessons, master classes, tips and live concerts.

In addition, Galway continues commissioning new works for the flute, publishing articles, flute studies and books. His latest autobiography, “The Man with the Golden Flute, a Celtic Minstrel,” was published by John Wiley & Son. To celebrate his legacy and commitment to flute players all over the world, he has recently collaborated with Conn-Selmer Inc, in the development of a new, high-quality student flute, the Galway Spirit, and with Nagahara Flutes of Boston who have released a special Galway Gold Nagahara flute.

Galway has played for dignitaries including Queen Elizabeth II, Pope John Paul II, President Bill Clinton, President George W. Bush, President George H.W. Bush, President Mary McAleese of Ireland, Prince Charles, the Empress of Japan, the Queen of Norway, Princess Diana, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, the Duke and Duchess of Kent, and President Shimon Peres of Israel. He has shared the stage with entertainers including Stevie Wonder, Henry Mancini, John Denver, Elton John, the Chieftains, Ray Charles, Joni Mitchell, Jessye Norman, Cleo Laine and Andrea Bocelli. He performed with Pink Floyd in their memorable concert at the Berlin Wall, was part of the Nobel Peace Concert in Norway, and performed at the G Seven Summit hosted by Queen Elizabeth II in Buckingham Palace.

Among his many honors and awards are the Recording Academy’s President’s Merit Award, Classic Brits Lifetime Achievement Award, numerous gold and platinum CDs, and the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame. He has been honored twice by Queen Elizabeth II, with the Order of the British Empire in 1979 and with knighthood in 2001. He is the first Artist Laureate of the Ulster Orchestra.

Galway’s discography includes more than 65 CDs with BMG Sony Classics and Deutsche Grammophon, ranging from the great classics such as Mozart and Bach, to performing on the sound track of LORD OF THE RINGS (RETURN OF THE KING), and “O’Reilly Street” with the Cuban timba group, Tiempo Libre. Recent releases include a 70th birthday compilation of some of his favorite collaborations, a Vivaldi DVD with I Solisti Veneti, Claudio Scimone and Lady Galway recorded live at the Palazzo Ducale in Venice, Italy, and a 12-disc set titled “James Galway – The Great Flute Concerto Edition” released as part of Sony Classical Masters series.

As America’s first state-supported arts school, the University of North Carolina School of the Arts is a unique stand-alone public university of arts conservatories. With a high school component, UNCSA is a degree-granting institution that trains young people of talent in music, dance, drama, filmmaking, and design and production. Established by the N.C. General Assembly in 1963, the School of the Arts opened in Winston-Salem (“The City of Arts and Innovation”) in 1965 and became part of the University of North Carolina system in 1972. For more information, visit www.uncsa.edu.

                                                                  ###