A REAL LIFE DRAMA February 12 — March 9 The Magic Flutist Musica Viva and the Michigan Flute Festival host a very special guest: Jean Pierre Rampal. ANNABEL COHEN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS L michigan council fin- arts and cuhural Presented with the generous support of 0 For tickets call Meadow Brook Box Office (810) 377-3300 Ticketmaster (810)645-6666 CORPORATION Focus On America's Future Help Prevent Birth Defects Support the Hudson's, Harmony House and Blockbuster Music egendary flutist Jean Pierre Rampal — once called the "grand boulevardier of the golden flute" — will grace the stage of Temple Beth El as part of Musica Viva's 10th anniver- sary season 8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 24. The concert, titled "Jean Pierre Rampal With the Fifth Annual Michigan Flute Festival — A Celebration!" marks Ram- pal's first appearance with Mu- sica Viva, a local nonprofit arts organization. Rampal, a pioneer and innovator in the flute world, brings not just im- peccable technique but an artist's soul to his work. He almost singlehanded- ly led the flute from a purely orchestral instru- ment to a solo concert in- strument, paving the way for other flute soloists like James Galway and Euge- nia Zukerman. Today, he is one of the world's most recorded musical artists. The Marseilles-born Rampal first studied flute with his father, a princi- pal flutist with the local symphony and a flute pro- fessor. Rampal was in his third year of medical school — mostly to please his parents — and playing his flute mostly as a hob- by, when Nazi occupation forces consigned him to a labor camp. He went underground in Paris, where he was given sanc- tuary by a member of the French Resistance. Rampal's rescuer happened to be the director of the Paris National Conservatory. The rest is musical history. Hiding out in the musical con- servatory, the flute became Rampal's salvation during those desperate days of the Nazi occu- pation. "In the end, the flute be- came my destiny. It became the reason for my life," said Rampal. "Rampal is detouring from his American tour to give us the priv- ilege of being an exclusive guest artist of the Musica Viva festi- val," said Ginka Gerova-Ortega, Bulgarian-born founder and years. They will perform selec- tions for two flutes and piano by J.C.F. Bach, Mozart, Kuhlau, Doppler and Verdi-Hughes. The Verdi-Hughes piece, based on Verdi's opera Un Balo , "is haunt- ingly beautiful," said Gerova-Or- tega. "What is unique and out- standing about Rampal," said Gerova-Ortega, "what is the se- cret of the eternal youthfulness of Jean Pierre Rampal, is his ability to somehow manage to suspend time and blur all boundaries of defining himself, his audi- ence and his music. What's nice about Rampal is that he is so visibly happy when he plays, and he elevates the audience each and every time." ❑ Jean Pierre Rampal: "In the end, the flute became my destiny." artistic director of Musica Viva, and herself a world-renowned flutist. "In addition, we are going to give him the great surprise of celebrating his 75th birthday on stage." Rampal will perform with Claudi Arimany, Spain's leading virtuoso flutist and John Ritter, Rampal's pianist for over 20 It's really an experience. Imagine 500 amateur and professional flutists in the audience, standing up and performing in concert. This is the scenario each year as Musica Viva holds its annual Michigan Flute Festival. Now in its fifth year, this year's con- cert will take place 8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 24, at Temple Beth El as part of the "Celebration" concert with Jean Pierre Rampal as guest artist. '41 The festival participants will perform with the Michigan Flute Orchestra, which is headquartered in West Bloomfield under the direction of Israeli born Shaul Ben Mayer, flutist and member of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. The flock of local flutists will play a piece chosen by Musica Viva artistic director Ginka Gerova-Ortega and her colleagues. Sheet music will be available at the festival, said Gerova-Ortega. "AIL flutists are invited to participate for the grand finale," she added., "Just bring your flute." U Musica Viva is a nonprofit arts organization with a dual purpose — to provide the community with performances by world-class performers and to create a stage for outstanding Michigan talent. "We want to entertain, educate and develop new audiences by presenting a variety of concerts from around the world," says Ginka Gerova-Ortega, founder and artistic director of Musica Viva. "We are bringing the community unique art forms from around the world, including flamenco, tango, jazz, Afro-Cuban jazz and World Music." Since 1987, Musica Viva has presented over 7,000 Michigan artists and over 250 international guest artists in several series of concerts, festivals and world premieres. Guest artists have included guitar virtuosi Juan Serrano and Manuel Barruesco, flamenco star La Conja, Metropolitan Opera soloists Ara Berberian and Yalin Zhang, the Guitar Trio of Paris and the Leipsig String Quartet. Tickets for the Musica Viva concert "Jean Pierre Rarnpal With the Fifth Annual Michi- gan Flute Festival — A Cele- bration!" are $20 prepaid ($25 at the door) and $50 for patron tickets, which include a re- ception with Jean Pierre Ram- pal. Tickets are available at Flute World, (810) 855-0410, and Ticketmaster, (810) 645- 6666.