By Laura Lane
Slowly, the 12-year-old moved her mouth a fraction of an inch to the right, the left, then up and down, working to find just the right placement of her lips in order to produce a rich tone.
Thirty-seven years later, Sharman, a professional flutist from North Merrick, is now certain that her efforts paid off. "I've always heard that I have a beautiful tone," the 49-year-old said with a smile. "I spent hours in front of the mirror to get the exact placement of the air. If you listen, hear and watch, you can get so much from the visual."
As a child, Sharman was passionate about music, but she never imagined that it would become an integral part of her life until she attended an opera. "I knew I loved music when I was 13, watching an opera," she recalled. "I couldn't stop crying. The singer moved me so much. I knew I had to be in music."
Sharman has had much success as a musician. On Sept. 23, she will perform for the fifth time at Carnegie Hall, this time with her group, the Soh Young Ensemble.
"I enjoy Nadine's beautiful rich tone, attention to detail and fine musicianship," said Ann Zalkind, the ensemble's pianist. "Oftentimes, the flute is considered a lighter-sounding instrument. But the lower tones are deep and rich, and Nadine has a range that a lot of flutists don't want to pay attention to."
Additionally, Sharman connects her playing to what she experiences emotionally. Gary Schocker, a flutist and a well-known composer for the instrument, admires her. "Nadine is a very warm, gutsy player," said Schocker, who first played with Sharman 30 years ago. "Her playing is very real, not coming out of her head, and is connected to who she is. Nadine does her own thing and is a strong personality, which shows in her playing."
Sharman, who began taking flute lessons at 10, has studied with several masters of the instrument. Raised in Carmel, N.Y., she initially worked with a local teacher. By the time she turned 15, however, her teacher told her that she needed to study with a professional musician.
Recommended to Julius Baker, the principal flutist of the New York Philharmonic, Sharman became Baker's star pupil, studying with him until she was 16. "He was an amazing person and a great performer, but not a great teacher," Sharman said. "He loved my playing and made me feel good about being a flute player. But he could only offer me a lesson once every three weeks."
Sharman had the opportunity to study with the New York Philharmonic when she attended the Saratoga Music Festival summer program. Impressed by her talent, instructors recommended that she study with Arthur Lora, a legendary teacher at the Juilliard School of Music in Manhattan. After a year under Lora's tutelage, Sharman arranged an audition for admission to Juilliard's undergraduate program, but she had made an unwitting mistake that would haunt her for years.
"I didn't tell Julius when I began to study with Arthur Lora," Sharman said sadly. The two men were reportedly sworn enemies, and, to make matters worse, they were the two judges at Sharman's audition. "I was 17 years old, with my heart set on applying to Juilliard," she recounted. "I received an 'excellent' from [Lora], but Julius gave me a score of 'good,' ensuring that I didn't get in."
Disappointed but undeterred, Sharman enrolled at the State University of New York at Purchase. There she studied with Thomas Nyfenger, improving her technique as well as her interpretive ability. "Performers, like Julius, show you what to do when you play, but Thomas explained verbally how to do it," Sharman said. "He analyzed everyone's playing and could imitate anyone. He was an absolute genius."
After graduation, Sharman set her sights once again on Juilliard, this time for a master's degree. Once again, she auditioned for two judges, but this time Baker was not one of them. "I was told that I got in and was so excited," Sharman said, her eyes filling with tears. "But then I received a rejection letter. Julius went above the judge's head. From that experience, I learned that it's not only how you play, it's also who you know. You can't do the wrong thing politically, and you can't burn bridges."
Sharman refused to give up. Receiving a recommendation to study at the Paris Conservatory, she moved to France, where she studied with another master flutist, Jean Pierre Rampal, for three years. It was an experience she will never forget. "I improved as a musician and learned how to interpret, stylistically, French music," she said, adding that Rampal became her mentor, and "improved my playing technically." Then she laughed, and said, "That is, when he wasn't chasing me around the room."
Rampal taught Sharman to tongue differently, which, she said, changed the texture of her sound. Her tone improved dramatically.
Sharman fell in love with a Frenchman, and they married and moved to the south of France. For three years she drove all over Europe, performing in orchestras as well as chamber ensembles. She also played in a number of restaurants, accompanied by a guitarist, which was an unexpectedly valuable experience. "You know, a performer has to perform a great deal to become comfortable performing on a stage, and performing in those restaurants helped me," Sharman said. "Playing so often, I was able to overcome my stage fright for good."
When Sharman's marriage ended, she moved back to New York, where she performed all over the city. At times she supplemented her income as a temporary worker in law offices. In 1991 she met and married an attorney, John Decalator. The couple moved to North Merrick in 1996, and their son, Alex, was born that year.
For a while, Sharman's life was idyllic. She loved motherhood and still found time to play the flute. But when Alex was 8 months old, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Her health deteriorated rapidly, making it difficult for her to care for her baby.
"I was 38 years old and had no energy," Sharman said. "Playing music and the flute requires so much energy. It was hard for me, but I had to stop playing [to] take care of myself and my son."
From 1996 to 2004, Sharman's life was without music -- she couldn't even bring herself to listen to it. "My husband asked me why I didn't listen to any music," she recalled. "It was just too hard to listen. Music left me, and I didn't want to have it in my life."
Eventually she began training to be an occupational therapist, which Sharman believes helped her overcome the effects of M.S. The disease was so painful that she couldn't even sit comfortably on a couch. Before long, however, she realized that she had to follow her path as a musician.
By chance, through a friend, she met a violinist, who asked Sharman to play duets for fun. Slowly, her passion returned. She accepted jobs playing at weddings and parties. She began feeling better physically, too.
Then, about a year ago, at her chiropractor's office, she heard someone singing in one of the exam rooms. "Soh Young was singing, and I went back and started harmonizing with her," said Sharman, who was impressed by the beauty of the multicultural singer's voice. "I told her I was a flute player, and mentioned the Artists International competition coming up in Manhattan, and asked her if she'd do it with me. We won."
Sharman formed the Soh Young Ensemble with Young and other noted musicians, in the interest of sharing her love of music. These days she is healthy, with her multiple sclerosis in remission. She is immersed once again in her music, and able to take care of her son as well. She says she couldn't be happier.
"I believe that you should never give up your dream just because something doesn't work out the way you planned," Sharman said. "For me, music is healing, love and life. I've discovered that without it, there is no life for me."
Comments about this story? LLane@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 236.
