More Than 100 Magical Flutes

When Maria Kostelas was 11 and talking with friends about what they wanted to be when they grew up, she remembers saying, “I want to play my flute and help people.” Looking back at the pieces of her life that have led to renown for her CD’s and workshops, the puzzle of her life is starting to make sense. Growing up in the San Fernando Valley, Kostelas was given the choice of an instrument to play by her father Andy Kostelas, a L.A. Philharmonic and studio musician who played the flute, saxophone and clarinet. She chose flute. She attended high school in Chatsworth before attending Cal State Northridge on scholarship. Not only did she continue to work on her music, but also earned a degree in social work. While a student, she had an opportunity to work in a master class with Jean Pierre Rampal. When she was 19, the World Gift Store in Dana Point was going out of business and Kostelas saw a very small hand-carved South American flute. She thought it might be fun to buy, and at the price of 49 cents she couldn’t go wrong. The flute had a beautiful sound and it started her collection of more than 100 indigenous flutes. After graduation, she worked with families and children in trouble through a nonprofit organization and at night she pursued the flute. During that time, she played in a master class with James Galloway. Kostelas attended a workshop with R. Carlos Nakai, who is famous for his Native American flute recordings. “I had a fantasy that I’d be backstage and he’d let me play his flutes.” Her fantasy came true when it happened exactly as she imagined. It pointed her in the direction of playing flutes of the world. The silver flute is in the key of C. That is not true of the flutes in her collection. They are all tuned in a different key depending on the length and width of the flute and the finger hole placement. One of her favorite flutes was carved by Hawk Little John, a Cherokee medicine man. The flute has a very deep, healing sound. After collecting indigenous flutes and learning to play them, Kostelas began to offer lectures on them. She developed her talks into workshops, where the participants could play the flutes. “I felt it was important to give access to music and letting people know they could make music without having to put all the hours of practice in that I did.” Through the Los Angeles Philharmonic, she taught flute workshops for parents and children. Maria was selected as a California artist-in-residence from 2000-2003. She was invited to private events and was asked to be one of the four musicians who played at the L.A. Convention Center for the Holiday Gift Show. Her location at the show was perfectly situated because the sounds of the flute echoed down the hallways, and people would seek her out trying to find out what the sound was and where it was coming from. One woman was opening a spa and thought the sounds were meditative and asked her to play. It was there she met Olivia Newton-John and became involved with Newton-John’s Foundation, the Children’s Health Environmental Coalition. At private parties, she started composing songs for guests on the spot. This led to “Honored Guest Musical Solo,” where Kostelas will “paint” a musical portrait of the guest or a couple and then record it. She says it’s intuitive, that the guest recognizes him or herself in the composition. Most of the songs are three to five minutes long. “It’s a way to offer a blessing of honoring a person,” she said. “The custom actually goes back to the Native Americans who honored animals and persons by playing for them.” Her CD’s are also used as healing tools. Her cousin, Janet, was injured in a car accident sustaining such severe injuries that she was declared dead. Janet fought her way back to life, but remained in a coma. The nurses played Kostelas’ music to her. During that time her cousin appeared to Kostelas in her dreams and pointed her in a direction with her flute that included healing. Her cousin eventually regained consciousness. “It’s beyond performance,” Kostelas recalled. “It’s turning in and assessing what people need on an emotional, spiritual and physical level. It’s putting myself in that place to offer that service.” Five months before Hurricane Katrina struck Louisana, Kostelas was to perform in a concert at the Woman’s Hospital in Baton Rouge that Barbara Harris, the editorial managing director of “Shape” magazine, had organized. After the hurricane, the program was still going forward, but Kostelas wanted to make sure the nurses who spent all their time caring for others were taken care of as well. She asked Dina Aish, a fourth grade teacher at Palisades Elementary, if her students could make CD covers and write letters to the nurses in the hospital. The children were thrilled to oblige. Even more thrilling for Kostelas was the nurses’ response. Many started crying when they read the letters and chose a CD cover to go with the CD’s of healing that Kostelas had recorded and donated. “The nurses had been so busy after the storm,” she said, “they hadn’t had time emotionally to deal with the tragedy.” Starting December 19 for three weeks, Kostelas is doing a vision quest concert, “Say Goodbye to the Old, Say Hello to the New,” on the Internet with well-known doctor Susan Lark, who specializes in women’s health issues. It’s another area of healing that she would like to bring through her music and flutes. “Vision quest music are concerts of illumination where people can see answers,” she said. “It opens their hearts and empowers them to do it themselves.” Vision quest concerts last about an hour, and an individual participating doesn’t have to be a guru or even know how to meditate. Kostelas helps people prepare mentally by giving them a list of questions to think about before the concert. As she uses her different flutes for different songs, she helps guide individuals to utilize their own powers. “I believe every individual has soul gifts,” she said. “Through vision quest concerts people can access these gifts.” She will be holding a vision quest concert on January 5 at the Aldersgate Retreat Center on Haverford. Contact: 393-1211.