Greg Pattillo is recognized throughout the world for his redefinition of flute sound. His style of flute playing wasn't something taught to him by Joshua Smith in Cleveland, Ohio. After graduating with his Masters in Orchestral Flute Playing from the Cleveland Institute of Music, Greg Pattillo worked as a classical flute instructor and spent a summer as the Acting Principal Flute in the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra. However, he did not stay there very long, and upon his return to the US, he began to experiment with a unique style of playing the flute that he found attractive to audiences – flute beatboxing.

"I found myself trying to think of tunes people would know, like Inspector Gadget, Super Mario Brothers, Sesame Street, or Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf," Pattillo remembers. "I added some beats, and sSuddenly, Pattillo had audiences transfixed by his playing. Listeners of all ages barraged him with questions whenever the flute music stopped. How did he do that? Where was his microphone? And where did the backing track come from? Pattillo assured his admirers that his melodies and simultaneous beatboxing accompaniment truly were created by simply him and his flute. Then, on a whim, Pattillo uploaded the songs he played to YouTube. Millions logged on and marveled at his new take on one of the world's oldest instruments.

As his reputation grew, Pattillo persuaded his best friends from Conservatory – namely Peter Seymour and Eric Stephenson of Project – to move to New York and suddenly, Pattillo's flute beatboxing solo act was a flute, cello, and double bass trio.

Currently, Pattillo and Project Trio are busier than ever. They have made numerous recordings, and have developed a program geared to combine classical repertoire with elements of hip-hop and popular music, to engage today's younger audience. In addition they recorded a live DVD and concertize extensively in the US and Europe. Pattillo has also published a book, an Introduction to Beatboxing for Flautist's.

Pattillo developed a pneumonic system for teaching people how to beatbox. "It's words, just words everyone knows," he explains, "But what you do instead of saying words is go nuts on the consonants or sometimes the vowels your mouth is already saying." All of a sudden, his mouth is simulating the bass kick, snare, and cymbals of a drum set. Another of Pattillo's pneumonic devices helps beatboxers get into a rhythm. This time, beatboxers ask the question "Is it a…?" When sped up, musicians come out with a quick "isida" or triplet drum roll.

During our workshop, Pattillo will demonstrate how he uses approximately twelve specific sounds from about three different parts of the face to create each sound and apply those sounds to flute playing. There might be just a bit more challenge to these sounds, but to learn about them, you'll have to come to the workshop and concert. Don't forget to bring your flutes!