Verne Q. POWELL
The collaboration between maker and flutist is something fundamental to our identity as a brand. Since the beginnings of our company, our flute makers have relied on the advice and guidance of the world’s best flutists. Mr. Powell was himself a great player, playing in the Boston Philharmonic, but the support and knowledge of players like Kincaid, Pappoutsakis, Baker, and Wummer grew the brand into the success that it is today. As flute makers, it is essential for us to listen to what players think and feel. Only together can we achieve that which is not possible alone.
Quality is ingrained into everything we do. From the final shaping of a D# cork to making Plug-O’s, our own brand of Silver plugs for open-hole flutes. The integrity of our manufacturing quality is vital. It is also important to keep a connection to our past while creating the future of your dreams. New technologies can help develop our craft, but in the end we still need to trust our ears and our eyes.
As a musician, your flute is an essential part of your life. You touch it, you hold it. You breathe life into it. You use it to make art, to build your career, and to support your family. We understand the investment that you make in playing a Powell flute and it’s important to us that you feel supported by the brand that you chose to play.
SONARÉ
All Powell Sonaré flutes include Signature headjoints that are handcrafted, hand cut, and hand finished at the Powell workshop, as well as bodies that are crafted using the same technology used to produce our professional drawn tone hole flutes in gold and silver.
SIGNATURE
FLUTE
The true mark of a masterpiece is always the artist’s signature at the bottom of the canvas. the origin of the signature Flute is no different. Made as a special gift for a Boston doctor who saved Mr. Powell’s eyesight, the original “signature Flute” was a sterling silver flute made in 1952, #1142. this gift was the doctor’s first opportunity to play a handmade Powell flute. today, the signature model is also the first opportunity for many to own a handmade Powell flute.
the least expensive handmade flute that we offer, this flute has a sterling silver headjoint, body, and mechanism. signature Flutes have a traditional pinned mechanism which gives them a lighter weight. the tone holes are drawn using our patented method of extrusion, and each flute bears the signature of Verne Q. Powell. the final mark of quality on this instrument is the hand-cut signature II style headjoint, made and tested by the same headjoint makers who work on our Custom Headjoints.
PICCOLO
Our Signature Piccolo has many of the same features as our Custom Piccolo but at a more affordable price. Made by the same makers as our handmade Custom Piccolos, this Grenadilla Wood piccolo has a Sterling Silver mechanism and choice of two headjoint styles: Classic and Wave. the sound of this piccolo is sweet with a consistent timbre across all ranges.
CONSERVATORY
HANDMADE
Sterling Silver
Starting in 1927, Mr. Powell made two kinds of flutes, a Handmade model and a Commercial model. The Commercial model was a handmade Sterling Silver flute with drawn tone holes rather than soldered, which the Handmade model had. The Commercial model was Mr. Powell’s vision for the best quality instrument for the best possible price. Today we continue this tradition with the Handmade Sterling Silver Conservatory Flute. The body has drawn tone holes, the Powell Modern scale, and a pinless mechanism. The headjoint is a Handmade Custom Headjoint, the same as our Custom Flutes, and can be upgraded with a variety of lip plates and risers. Today we also offer the flute in standard tube thickness (.016”) and heavy tube thickness (.018”) just as the original Commercial Model flutes from years ago.
9K Aurumite
The Aurumite 9K Conservatory is one of the most celebrated and well-loved flutes in our catalog. The evolution of our former 3100 model, it has an exterior layer of 9K Rose Gold with an interior layer of Sterling Silver. The sound is sunny and animated. It features a pinless mechanism and our Modern Powell scale with drawn tone holes, made with our patented method for extruding tone holes. This method results in a beautiful tone hole with a perfectly flat edge for the best pad seal. The headjoint on this flute features an Aurumite 9K tube, silver riser, 9K Rose Gold lip plate, and Sterling Silver Crown.
CUSTOM HANDMADE
Sterling Silver
Clean, sophisticated, classic. Sterling Silver has the perfect balance of a true and ringing sound with projection and color. From the ethereal thin-wall flute to the earthy heavy-wall flute, Sterling Silver has an immediacy which allows players to freely express ideas and gestures. Available in three varieties of tubing thickness, .014”-.016”-.018”, each thickness has its own characteristic color. The brilliance of Sterling Silver gives lightness and freedom. Available with either soldered or drawn tone holes, all our Sterling Silver Custom Flutes have a pinless mechanism with the Modern Powell Scale. Standard features include a B footjoint, offset G keys, Split-E Mechanism and C# Trill Key. Instruments can also be made to special order.
AURAMITE
Aurumite is a material that was pioneered by Powell. The first Aurumite flute was made in 1987, a combination of gold and silver layers into one tube. It was the first flute of its kind to bridge the gap between the two traditional flute materials. Not to be confused with gold plating, Aurumite combines two solid layers of precious metals together to produce an unique tone colour that blends both gold and silver characteristics together.
