Paula Sousa |
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Flute |
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Like so many instrumentalists, I began my music education in fourth grade. I started on clarinet but switched to flute in seventh grade. I was talked into trying oboe in ninth grade but went back to my flute in eleventh grade. While attending high school, in Utica, NY, I was a member of the band, so did quite a bit of playing at football games and marching in parades. I had the privilege of taking private lessons for about three years. I thought I was going to be a music major in college. I was for a couple of months but didn't stick with it. During the summers of my senior year and the following two years, I played in the Red Band which performed for many Catholic Church summer festivals. Then along came marriage and children, and most of my flute playing took part in church and at home.
I love to tell the story of my journey to New Horizons. I was a preschool teacher in a child-care center for several years. One day one of my students' mom ( a music teacher) and I played some tunes for the children. She encouraged me to join the Kodak Concert Band. A year or so later one of the flute players in the band invited me to join the Rochester Flute Association Flute Choir. Again, a couple years go by and we get a new conductor for the RFA Flute Choir. I liked her so well, that I started taking lessons with her. A few months later she informs me that she is the flute mentor for New Horizons. Sometime during all of this, but before I joined the RFA, I had read about New Horizons and knew that I wanted to join when I retired. It worked out perfectly, because three months after learning that my teacher, Laura Lentz, was the flute mentor, I was able to go to part time (afternoon) hours at work. So, in January of 2014, I became a member! It was simply meant to be. In case you're wondering, I retired in May 2016. I've been married to my husband Jim for almost 47 years. We have two grown daughters, three grandchildren, a dog and a cat. |
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