The National Flute Association has been hosting an annual convention for many decades. This year's was no different as thousands of flutists,  professional and amateur, alike, descended on New York City to partake in the principal gathering of the largest organization of its kind in the world.

Among the items offered were a host of events dedicated to the baroque flute, including a competition, an open masterclass, lectures, recitals, and something called the Historical Flutes Town Hall Meeting. There was also a healthy showing of early flute makers at the convention exhibition (Boaz Berney, Simon Polak, and Folkers & Powell, among others).

The bi-annual baroque flute competition winners were all American—1st, Sarah Paysnick, 2nd, Andrea LeBlanc, and, 3rd, Tammara Phillips. The judges for the final round were Jed Wentz, Kim Pineda, and Stephen Preston.

Performers who gave recitals, lectures, or a combination of both, were Jed Wentz, Sandra Miller, Kate Clark, Rachel Brown, and Stephen Preston—all world-class early flutists. The works heard, if you were lucky enough to go to every concert and lecture, covered five centuries of music.

A special open baroque flute masterclass (first-come, first-served) with Michael Lynn and Kim Pineda hosted four participants and an audience of nearly fifty people.

Two events rounded out the baroque flute offerings, including a petting zoo of early flutes (for anyone interested in trying one out) and the Historical Flutes Town Hall Meeting, a public forum for the NFA to receive feedback regarding all things baroque flute.

If you missed this year's NFA events, there's always the next one to look forward to.

(Many thanks to Kim Pineda for his thorough report of the convention on which this post is based.)