Musicians’ Corner Q&A

Meet Beth Bullard!

Instrument: Flute

Carlisle Town Band member since: 2010

Occupation: Retired from George Mason University, where I was Director of World Music Studies, in 2008. I also initiated the applied flute program at Dickinson College, where I taught from 1968 to 2000.

Education: Bachelor of Music, Oberlin College, 1960. Master of Arts in Music History, Harvard University, 1963. Doctor of Philosophy in Music, University of Pennsylvania, 1987. Doctor of Philosophy in Ethnomusicology, University of Maryland Baltimore County, 1998.

How old were you when you started learning to play an instrument? How did you decide which one was best for you?

I was nine when I was given a violin, but my doctor said I needed to play a wind instrument because of a heart murmur, which would improve by strengthening my respiratory system. Because I was small, they gave me a flute. That was when I was almost 10.

What was the most difficult part of learning your instrument?

Holding up the instrument, because I was so small, and breath support! 

Which ensembles did you join in school? Do you have a favorite performance memory from those years?

From fifth grade on—through high school—I was in  band, orchestra, and two choruses (the big choir and a select one). In college I continued being in as many music groups as I could handle: a band all four years (the select wind ensemble in my last two years) as well as an an orchestra for at least three years (including an opera orchestra), a wind quintet for two years, and a chorus for one year. In grad school at Harvard, I played in two orchestras for two years plus an ad hoc orchestra here and there.

Highlights: my select choir in sixth grade performing on national TV; playing a solo with band accompaniment in high school (Kent Kennan’s “Night Soliloquy); making my opera stage debut in college playing piccolo in in the onstage marching band in Puccini’s “La Bohème;” playing in an ad hoc orchestra at Harvard under the direction of famed music scholar and educator, Nadia Boulanger. My best performer years were as half of The Bullard and Kranz Duo—a flutes and guitar ensemble.

Do you play any other instruments? 

“Functional piano “ but my “thing” is flutes—with an “s.” I’ve had my recorder phases, and from 1973 to 2000, I devoted myself to learning and performing on Baroque flutes, a variety of which I own, including an actual antique made in Germany at the time of Bach. In 1992 I took a step away from Western flutes in order to learn something about how to play the South Indian bamboo flute. I spent two wonderful spans of my life in India doing just that, as recipient of two study grants—an initial one of three months and a subsequent  one for six months. 

What were your most rewarding experiences as a music educator?

For 40 years I have loved working with people of so many ages—in my case from 8 to about 58–-toward the goal of musical expression by means of the flute. I have also greatly enjoyed classroom teaching in which I could share my love of music history—musical sounds and thoughts and actions throughout the ages and in multiple world cultures.

Why did you join the Carlisle Town Band?

I had recently retired and Craig Jurgensen worked on both my husband Truman and me to join. Craig was in the band, and he highly praised the ensemble, especially the director, Bernie Pitkin. Truman joined first and he soon mirrored the same enthusiasm as Craig’s. Since the band hall is just down the street from our house, I thought I’d give it a whirl. I believe the first concert I participated in was on May 2, 2010. We wore uniforms in those days. When I saw the picture of myself in that uniform m, which Craig took of me that afternoon, I was transported back to my earliest days in a band uniform: 5th grade. I have pictures of me at that time. It hit me then: In the Carlisle Town Band, I’m HOME! 

What are your favorite memories of performing with the band?

I have loved the themes and the variety of our repertoires. I do especially like the result of the various contributions of so many to the program we did in November 2024 on the Carlisle Indian School and their band, especially our two talented Davids—Rohrer and Kammerer— and Lily (Sweeney) from the library. For my contributions to that event, it felt as if my personal history (my native-Americanized mother who was born and raised among Cheyenne people) and my expertise in music history, ethnomusicology, and performance practice came together for an important cause in Carlisle history. 

Why is it important for you to keep playing music?

Music has been central in my life from my earliest days. My minister’s wife mother (yes, I am a PK—a Preacher’s Kid) told me that, at church when I was about 18 months old, after the choir finished its anthem I shouted out “MORE!” I would like to be able to keep playing—and singing (in church only)— as long as I can.

Do you have other hobbies/activities outside the Carlisle Town Band?

• Carlisle Musical Arts Club—Active member since coming to Carlisle in the mid 1960s, especially with chamber music, including recently founded C-MAC Fluters (flute ensemble made up of members of Carlisle Musical Arts Club)

• Harrisburg Symphony under the leadership of Larry Newland (1970-80s)—third flute and sub when needed

• Harrisburg Civic Opera—first flute in the opera orchestra 

• Cumberland Flutes—large flute ensemble founded by Vicki Mack in the 2010s and led by Jocelyn Goranson—active member until 2024

• Lydian Winds—woodwind quartet (flute, oboe, clarinet, and bassoon)—active in our area from c.2000–c.2020

• Lots of chamber music and church music throughout my life

• Also, attending concerts! There are many opportunities in Carlisle and in the greater Harrisburg area. Farther afield, from time to time I get a hint of what Truman and I did for many years when we had season tickets to the Philadelphia Orchestra (right up until his death in March 2024) by attending a concert by this fabulous group of  musical geniuses, as Craig and I did on January 11 of this year. Live musical events are like heaven. The actual living vibrations produced by live human beings for the benefit of live human beings are among our greatest treasures  on earth. 

My flute guru in India, a woman named Mala, who is Hindu, in company with other dear  people with whom I worked in her country, tells me that live music IS GOD. When things go well— in rehearsal and in concert—with the Carlisle Town Band, I experience this as truth.