The Lopatin Flute Company is Still Flouting the Conventions -
The First SquareONE Alto Flute
 
October 18,2005 – J. L. Smith & Co. of Charlotte, NC, are pleased to host an open house on November 6, 2005, from 2-4 p.m. at their new location on Blairhill Road in celebration of the first alto flute with square tone holes, designed by respected flute maker, Leonard Lopatin of Asheville, NC.
 
Lopatin, a Juilliard-trained flutist and currently second flute of the Asheville Symphony, will be performing Elegie-Etude No. 1 by Johannes Donjon and presenting a documentary slide show on the making of this sterling silver flute before opening up the floor to questions and allowing visitors to try the flute for themselves.
 
Lopatin has been making flutes for over 25 years and founded his own company in 1994, five years after designing his first SquareONE flute. Created to test his theory that a straight air column would produce a truer, sweeter tone than the graduated air column produced by a round tone hole, the SquareONE flute proved to be everything that Lopatin hoped it would be when he first conceptualized it as a young Juilliard graduate in his first job as piccolo player with the Metropolitan Opera.
 
It's rare to meet someone with the dedication and abilities to reach the top levels of anyone particular field; it's rarer still to find someone who can then decide to leave that field and work to reach the top levels of yet another discipline. Add on top of that all the complexities involved in creating a viable company with a new and different product, and, well, Lopatin is a highly determined individual.
 
Having relocated his business to the mountains of Asheville, North Carolina in 2002, Lopatin balances his needs as a musician with the needs of his business, and still finds time to participate in several local non-profit groups, including the recently formed Mountains of Asheville Flute Association. He has found that by being true to himself- by passionately caring about making the music better--he has been able to better develop his company to meet the needs of the professional flutist. Innovation and meticulous attention to detail in flute and headjoint creation are the hallmarks of this growing company.
 
Future product development plans for Lopatin Flute Company include adding a piccolo and a bass flute to the SquareONE family of flutes. Lopatin is currently working on his "dream" flute--stainless steel with 14K gold keywork--and will have all stainless steel headjoints for visitors to try at this open house as well.
 
Contact Liz Pritchett at epritchett@jlsmithco.com or (704) 521-1088 for more information about this open house, or visit www.lopatinflutes.com for more details about Leonard Lopatin and his SquareONE flute.
.