Roderick Seed Flute Retreat
Flute retreat for adults with Altus Flutes Artist Roderick Seed in Finchingfield, described as one of the UK's most beautiful villages.
Come and improve your flute playing, enjoy music making and a supportive, non-competitive environment with like-minded musicians!
Next retreat:
Friday 3rd - Monday 6th November 2023
Spaces available!
"I greatly appreciated the safe and inclusive environment Rod created. I feel privileged to have attended. I enjoyed the inspirational teaching, congenial and welcoming participants, excellent venue and food."
(2023 Retreat Participant)
What to expect
Detailed schedule to be provided to participants upon registration
Flute technique classes
Tone, flexibility, intonation, fingers, breathing, scales to find courage and ease of expression.
Repertoire classes
Alexander Technique
Daily warm ups
on resonance, breathing, flexibility, and more. Using Taffanel & Gaubert and Reichert daily exercises and exercises from my book.
Chamber Music
Marcel Moyse classes
Using Sonority, 24 Little Melodic Studies & Tone Development Through Interpretation to work on fundamentals and musical expression
Small class sizes
Peaceful location
Good food and drink!
Breakfast, lunch, drinks, and snacks provided. Dinner to be bought separately or cooked as a group. There are a few nearby pubs and restaurants to choose from.
Supportive, friendly environment
Private lessons
(optional extra- at a special retreat rate)
Please note: this retreat is for adults aged 18 and above.
Registration
Residential participant
Participate in all activities and stay at the retreat house for 3 nights (Friday evening to Monday morning). Private bedroom in a lovely detached house. Price is inclusive of accommodation, breakfast and lunch. Dinner bought separately. Check in: from 4:30pm. Check out: before 10am. 5 Standard double rooms and 2 smaller rooms.
Deposit: Upon registration, you will be asked to pay a deposit of 50% of the total, to secure your space. If you prefer to pay later, please select "offline payment" to receive an invoice.
Observers
If you would like to attend as an observer on either Saturday or Sunday, there is limited availability.
Observers can participate in all group classes and observe repertoire classes. 50% payable upon registration.
Lunch, drinks and snacks provided. If you wish to stay in Finchingfield for a night, I can give you some recommendations for places to stay.
Payment options: Card, PayPal, Apple Pay, or bank transfer
Book now, pay later: Select "offline payment" and an invoice will be sent by email which you can pay in your own time. Please note that your space is only confirmed when you pay the deposit.
Starts Nov 3
450 British poundsLoading availability...
Starts Nov 3
425 British poundsLoading availability...
Starts Nov 4
80 British poundsLoading availability...
Starts Nov 5
80 British poundsLoading availability...
About the accommodation
The retreat will be held in a beautiful detached house in Finchingfield. The nearest train stations are Braintree and Newport. Coming by car is the easiest and I can help if you need picking up from the station.
Each resident participant will get a bedroom of their own. There are 5 larger rooms and 2 smaller rooms available at a reduced rate. Classes will take place downstairs, and there is a separate music room for private lessons and warm ups.
The house has a well-equipped kitchen/diner where all participants can gather round and chat over a nice meal and glass of wine. We will also enjoy regular tea/coffee breaks during the day.
There is a downstairs WC, an upstairs family bathroom and a couple of ensuite rooms. In warmer months, participants can enjoy relaxing in in the large garden and swimming pool (in the summer months).
In the village, there are some pubs and a fantastic Italian restaurant, which has been very popular with previous participants.
Feedback from Roderick's masterclasses
"This was an absolutely brilliant weekend - totally inspired!" (2023 Retreat participant)
"I greatly appreciated the safe and inclusive environment Rod created. I feel privileged to have attended. I enjoyed the inspirational teaching, congenial and welcoming participants, excellent venue and food." (2023 Retreat Participant)
"This was such a great experience for me. Thank you Rod for such inspring and insightful teaching!" (2023 Retreat Participant)
"Thank you for your inspirational teaching!" (2022 Retreat Participant)
"I enjoyed everything about the retreat. Rod led it in a gentle but very controlled way. The accommodation was great. The other participants were friendly and kind. The teaching was outstanding. I would love to come next year. It was one of the nicest things I've been to. A big thank you to Rod" (2021 Retreat participant)
"I appreciated the calm atmosphere and how Rod made all the exercises and classes applicable to everyone . It was amazing to see everyone improve as the weekend went by. Each person’s playing was stretched and Rod paced it carefully for each individual." (2021 Retreat participant)
"Well planned programme for the day. Relaxed, friendly unjudgmental atmosphere. Roomy airy light beautiful venue. Although I only observed for a day, I took away so much! I particularly enjoyed the warm up, the singing and playing, and watching Rod guide players through repertoire pieces." (2021 Retreat observer)
"Thank you for a wonderful weekend...The teaching was especially inspirational because, no matter what our issues were, you were able to pinpoint the problem and give both specific and more general approaches to further develop our playing. What you said to one person could nearly always be applied to all of us in some way so it was always interesting . It was amazing to hear the progress each person made in each session. The opportunity to play with others and to socialise with other like-minded people was also really great." (2021 Retreat participant)
"I learnt something in every session. The variety and the inclusion of the Alexander class and chamber music sessions kept things lively.. a big thank you for planning it so thoroughly." (2021 Retreat participant)
"Perfect! Rod made it feel personal and created a very relaxed environment" (2019 Retreat participant)
"I felt very welcomed and it was nice there was only a few people! Thank you!" (2019 Retreat participant)
"It was amazing. The course was very detailed and I've got a lifetime of techniques to put into practice" (2019 Retreat participant)
"Fab retreat. Well done" (2019 Retreat participant)
"Roderick got to the core of the most important parts of flute playing. He introduced us to many valuable techniques for building stronger, fuller sound and demonstrated ways in which we can enhance our playing by using these important elements in our daily practice."
"I thoroughly enjoyed his teaching and the gentle guidance and individual approach he provided. I learned a lot in a few days. I am encouraged to become a better player."
"I really appreciate his different flute-teaching techniques - how to change what you're doing in/with your body, in order to change the sound & technique. He didn't just ask us to try to achieve a certain sound or technique; he demonstrated WHAT TO CHANGE, in order to achieve the results."
"Many useful ideas for improving technique.
These were very interesting and some of them were new to me."
"Rod is very well informed, calm and supportive."
"Excellent technique and practice tips"
Any questions?
