Flutist Puts Together Pieces of a Musical Puzzle

Milwaukee-born flutist Deborah Boldin still wasn’t sure of a career direction after finishing up her graduate work at New England Conservatory. But the longtime Jamaica Plain resident recalls her teacher, Paula Robison, suggesting that she should play chamber music. It was something that Boldin remembered a couple of years later when she and her husband, trombonist Gabriel Langfur, created the 13-member chamber music . They perform at the Goethe Institute in Boston on Saturday and Sunday.

When did you know you wanted to have a career in music?

I knew from the time I was in the middle of high school. I started playing flute in the fourth grade, but I was always kind of scarily engaged with it. My teacher instituted a 30 minutes per day policy of practicing, but mine would routinely be 45 minutes or an hour. And I still love to practice.

How did the Chameleon Arts Ensemble come to be?

My husband and I launched the series in October of 1998. But the year before, we sort of test drove some concerts under no ensemble name. We did a couple just to see what it was like to produce a concert. The musicians were friends and colleagues. We chose to launch Chameleon in a way that it seemed like we always existed, so there was never a mention of an inaugural season. We did five concerts that first year.

What makes up a typical Chameleon concert?

We’re trying to create unique programs that combine old and new music, neglected composers, things that you may not have heard before, into singular concert experiences. We do thematic programming where I choose one idea or one work which serves as the nucleus for the concert, then we build out from there.

Is there a method for putting the programs together?

I’m the artistic director. I keep extensive detailed notes on everything that I listen to, and every spring I go through every piece of paper that I’ve collected, which now totals two full archive boxes of notebooks, scraps of paper and things written on envelopes. I do a lot of research on the computer, but when I actually program the concerts, I’ll lock myself in my bedroom and spread paper out all over the bed. Then I’ll start seeing where there are themes, where there are connections between composers or works, then put it together like a big jigsaw puzzle.

What ties together the upcoming concerts?

There are pieces by Ravel, Mozart, Milhaud, Steven Stucky, and Kaija Saariaho. The program is roughly about a celebration of Ravel’s instrumental color. He’s sort of the central idea, and all of the other composers are spokes that come off of him. It’s about Ravel’s influences and influence.

How is business?

Business is good. We’re happy. We’re plugging along, and we’re surviving. We work hard and I never take any successes for granted. We’ve now reached the point where we can really look forward to the future, so that we’re not just working one year at a time anymore.

How far ahead do you plan programs?

We’re in the middle of season 13, and I already have a program in mind for season 20, hoping that we’re still around and kicking.

For information on the Saturday and Sunday concerts, call 617-427-8200 or visit www.chameleonarts.org.