In 1985 we (that is Sarah, Katy, Liz, Alison, Sandi and Mel) met at the Guildhall School of Music and discovered we enjoyed making music together.  The result was Festive Flutes.    Some of our first performances were at City of London Functions sipping champagne in the company of the Lord Mayor. We also began working for the national music charity started by Sir Yehudi Menuhin, ‘Live Music Now’ which specialises in bringing music into prisons, hospitals and schools. We really enjoyed sharing our music in these challenging environments and were often moved by the response of the people listening. Another highlight from our early days was the national exposure we got as Bumble Bees alongside Bob Monkhouse on BBC's Opportunity Knocks.   We went on to perform in a number of prestigious music festivals including Newbury, Warwick, Norwich and the City of London Festival. Our busy individual careers meant the group stopped giving concerts for a period until last year when we decided to perform  for the NSPCC. Following the many requests for a cd at that concert the idea of this recording came about.   So what can you expect when you listen to Festive Flutes? You can expect entertaining arrangements of your favourite melodies using the whole family of flutes from bass to piccolo - like a string quartet with wind. There is a lighthearted approach, bags of variety and we hope you pick up our sense of fun.   All the ensemble's members bring a flavour of their own unique backgrounds. Mel - many of the stunning arangements you will hear on the cd, Elizabeth - Early Music (before the 1900s and after the ice age), Sarah - World Music ( bamboo tubes from Asia, Pipes from eastern europe...)Katy - contemporary music (hard to listen to) and the bass flute (easy to listen to), Sandy has made her name as an orchestral piccolo player and Alison has recently completed her PHD study in music therapy (very useful for group meetings).