Fernando Perez worked incredibly hard to make 2020 a special year. He had been selected to be part of the National Youth Orchestra, invited to perform at Carnegie Hall and go on a two-week tour of North America. But then the pandemic hit, putting those dreams on hold.
That said, two very talented women — one an early mentor to Perez and the other his current music professor at Boise State — say Perez has everything in the world to look forward to.
Dr. Nicole Molumby, professor at Boise State's Department of Music, and Karlin Coolidge, an accomplished flutiest who has performed with orchestras across the U.S., visited with Morning Edition host George Prentice to talk about their young student's gifts; and Perez talks about his difficult journey to where he is today.
“He was a standout at the state level; but it is his musicianship, his real athleticism as a flutist. He really can do so many things easily, but then he takes it beyond that with his hard work and dedication.”
Read the full transcript below:
GEORGE PRENTICE: It's Morning Edition on Boise State Public Radio News. Good morning, I'm George Prentice.
The pandemic has hobbled so many aspects of our lives… perhaps hardest hit has been education. And this morning we're going to consider music education, something that requires human interaction. Fernando Perez joins us this morning. He’s just begun his studies at Boise State. He is studying civil engineering and music. Dr. Nicole Molumby is a professor at Boise State’s Department of Music. And Karlin Coolidge is an accomplished flutist. She has performed with orchestras across the U.S. and maintains a private flute studio.
Good morning to you all..
Fernando, you are where you are, in particular studying at Boise State, ,in large part because of these two women.
FERNANDO PEREZ: Of course. It all started back in the sixth grade. It was when my band director hooked me up with the scholarship foundation and it was called the Boise Young Fund. Karlin was the one to be paired up with me for that scholarship, up until eighth grade. The Scholarship Foundation actually ran out of money. I was able to see how much I progressed, and how curious I was to be able to learn the flute because I've had many hardships. I think she was just a generous woman just because she was able to provide me so much help and support. I just enjoy Karlin’s company, being able to have a safe space to be able to learn the flute.
PRENTICE: OK, Karlin, let me pick it up from there. Fernando secured this scholarship in the sixth grade, but it's my understanding that the scholarship foundation lost its money. But you continued teaching.
KARLIN COOLIDGE: Yes, I did, because he was so talented; and he just could do everything. He had the talent. He had the drive to learn. He just had it all. I was just so privileged to be able to teach a student like this. It was my pleasure.
PRENTICE: Dr. Molumby, I'm trying to picture how you’re teaching, with so many safety protocols in place at Boise State.
DR. NICOLE MOLUMBY: Well, Flute is one of the most aerosol-spreading instruments in the band. And so, there are quite a few protocols that we have to do. And Fernando is a trooper, right now being his freshman year, at BSU. So, the students have polycarbonate shields that they're able to put on their head joints to block some of the outward flow. They also actually have full face masks with a slit that they slide their flutes in, and play with the mask on. It's quite constricting. I wear a mask. The students wear masks. I have an additional air purifier in my office and a four- by eight-foot polycarbonate blocker in between - kind of a barrier in between the student and myself in my studio, so that we can all be safe. Students are only allowed 30-minute lessons. Usually we have an hour lesson. Then our rooms are aired out for an additional 30 minutes in between. So, we can make sure our spaces are safe for them to play in.
PRENTICE: Wow. Well, Nicole and Karlin, tell me about this young man. Tell me about his talent.
COOLIDGE: OK. He’s not only an innate talent, but he listens and he practices very hard all the time. That's what his father told me. He says he just plays all the time. He would enter competitions for years, I think, starting in ninth grade. Yes. I asked Nicole. I don't know. I kept telling her in the eighth grade. I said, “You've got to hear this boy because he is so good.” And then I asked her if she would also work with him, which she agreed to do.
MOLUMBY: Yeah, Fernando really is a spectacular talent. I mean, he's really come into his own prominence here in the Pacific Northwest and nationally. In Idaho alone, as Carolyn mentioned, he was a standout at the state level; but it is his musicianship, his real athleticism as a flutist. I mean, he really can do so many things easily, but then he takes it beyond that with his hard work and dedication, through his lessons with Karlin and hopefully with me, he's going to just continue to develop into just a really, really exceptional flutist. He's going to have a career ahead of them.
PRENTICE: Well, full disclosure: Fernando was going to be a guest on this program … well, I think it was last winter. We had been communicating. He had just been selected to be part of the National Youth Orchestra. He was planning to perform at none other than Carnegie Hall and go on to a two-week tour of North America.
Then everything changed. But congratulations to you. It sounds as if you have amazing support and you have so much to look forward to.
PEREZ: It was definitely really hard to get to where I was at that point. So, my parents struggled financially with money. It was definitely hard for them just afford my music lessons and my flute. So, during this time I knew I had to make money on my own somehow. So, during this time I actually had to buy flutes from eBay, used, and they were actually not in a good shape at all, which I know my teachers were always scared of me fixing up my flutes and taking them apart. But at the time that was the only thing I had. And I think back then I didn't think much of it. So, that's why in the future, I just really hope to. Inspire others to have the privilege to play music, and I think it's just important for not having a blockage in students and teaching.
PRENTICE: He is Fernando Perez. Also joining us this morning, Dr. Nicole Molumby and Karlin Coolidge. Thank you to you all.
Find reporter George Prentice on Twitter @georgepren
Copyright 2020 Boise State Public Radio
