Name: Sagar Masani

Age:21

Where are you from? Birmingham

Why did you chose to play the flute and who got you started? I remember my friend starting at primary school at the age of around 9, and I really wanted to join her. My parents were not keen at all and after having quite a big tantrum they finally gave in! Whilst my first 3 years of playing the flute taught me the basics, I was taught in groups and progress was really slow. It was Julie Schroder who got me properly started in a more disciplined way at the age of 11.  That being said, it was only at the age of 15 when the fire was really lit. I went to see James Galway in concert and I guess I hadn’t realized the potential of the flute. I got very involved on the Galway flute chat, reading articles on tone, articulation and practicing methods and really started pushing myself. After winning my class at the BFS Performance Plus that year, the drive was even more and it’s really been great since.

Who have been your main teachers and who do you study with now? Julie Schroder, Sandy Hay and Claire Findlater.  Julie was a massive support in my time up till university, Sandy wouldn't take any less than perfect and Claire really pushed me to another level. At the moment I just take occasional lessons with various people, just to refocus my practice. It’s not ideal at all but being a student in London isn’t cheap!

Do you play any other instruments?  I regret not taking an interest in the piano at an earlier age, but I took grade 1 last year!

Are any other members of your family musicians? None at all!

What sort of music do you enjoy playing? I really enjoy the 20th century repertoire we have for the flute, particularly composers such as Ibert and Martin, it’s all standard repertoire everyone hopefully plays at some point, but it gets me really excited!

 

What sort of music do you enjoy listening to? Far too varied, really depends on my mood and what I am doing at the time but it can range from commercial pop and R&B, Classical and more recently Opera. I’ve had a great time exploring new music on Spotify!  

 

While being an incredible flute player, you chose to study Dentistry rather than pursuing a musical education.  Was this a difficult decision, or has music always been more of a hobby than an occupation for you?

It was incredibly difficult to choose between the two. Whilst I had an interest in Dentistry at the time, I had always aspired to be a soloist or orchestral flautist. I know I could have worked really hard through music, but there are so many talented young flautists out there, I guess I accepted defeat before even trying, knowing that I would have an incredibly difficult time trying to get to where I wanted with my playing. There were also the social pressures, whilst my parents were happy for me to play as much I wanted; it was always on the condition it did not affect my academic work.

I’m still happy with the decision I’ve made and I’ve been fortunate enough to continue playing as a serious amateur, with many opportunities coming my way.

 

You do a lot of playing at university, performing with the King’s College London Symphony Orchestra and directing their Flute Choir.  Do you ever find that this clashes with your academic work?  How do you get around it?

Since I have moved down to London, I have been lucky to hold the position of joint principal with KCLSO as well as playing piccolo with Whitehall Orchestra and the college concert band, ‘KFC’ (Kings Flute Choir!), pit orchestras and even space for a concerto with Guys, Kings and St Thomas’ Orchestra a few years ago. I don’t know how I have managed to fit it all in but it gets more difficult each year! I’m coming up to my 5th and final year at university and currently have a 9-5 day 4.5 days a week! I just make sure I find time for it in the evenings and weekends, it’s important that I grab any opportunities to keep my playing varied as possible.

Not being a music student it must be tricky to fit in all your practice.  How much do you practice and most importantly what do you practice?

4-5 years ago I would happily fit 3 hours of practice a day and I loved it. Now I’m lucky if I can get 3 hours a week so I try to be focused, T+G, Reichert and working specifically on any orchestral pieces that need work, and whatever repertoire I’m working at.

 

What are your long term plans?  Do you see yourself becoming a dentist while remaining a very fine amateur (perhaps even semi-professional) flute player or would you like to pursue the flute further at postgraduate level, or perhaps something completely different altogether? I haven’t really thought about this one for a long time, I used to tell myself I would retire early and spend the rest of my years playing as much I wanted! I think more realistically I will keep playing where I can as an amateur, and as soon as I can afford lessons with some of the inspiring music college teachers, I should hope that I can continue to improve and only aim to be as best as I can be.

 

What flute do you play on and why do you like it? I play on a Lafin headjoint with 18k riser and wings on a silver Powell. It’s a beautifully lyrical instrument and I still don’t think I have explored all the tonal possibilities with this amazing headjoint.

 

Do you have any exciting, upcoming performances? I recently just finished some pretty big concerts with Mahler 6 and Verdi Requiem, just a couple more orchestral concerts but otherwise it’s time to focus on the exams!