ORCA
The Orchestral Repertoire Course
Context • Craft • Artistry
with Aralee Dorough
The orchestral repertoire class for flutists.
Learn to listen, practice, and play orchestral flute repertoire with greater understanding and artistry.
18 units • complete Volume I repertoire • listening • practice • video • live Zoom Q&A
$350
Enrollment closes October 15, 2026
First unit opens October 18, 2026
What Is ORCA?
ORCA is an 18-unit guided exploration of orchestral flute repertoire.
Orchestral Excerpts for Flute, Volume 1, published by Theodore Presser, provides the spine of the course. Every excerpt has a designated place in the course.
But we're not simply checking excerpts off a list.
We'll explore the things that make orchestral playing work - rhythm, subdivision, articulation, harmony, intonation, legato, color, dynamics, rubato, interpretation, ensemble awareness, and practice strategies.
The goal isn't simply to get through the excerpt.
The goal is to understand what you're doing and why - and to develop the confidence to make your own musical decisions.
Understand → Decide → Play with confidence.
Context • Craft • Artistry
Context
Listen beyond the excerpt.
We'll listen to music beyond the assigned repertoire to develop a deeper sense of context.
Craft
Isolate the skills.
Simple exercises and practice experiments in rhythm, subdivision, articulation, intonation, listening, flexibility, and more.
Artistry
Find your way into the music.
Nurture your imagination and connect with your joy in making music.
ORCA Schedule
New material is presented every two weeks, giving you time to work at your own pace before the next unit arrives.
The rhythm of the course and the live Q&A sessions are designed to give you structure to keep moving forward without feeling overwhelmed.
Unit 1 — Sun Oct 18, 2026
Unit 2 — Sun Nov 1, 2026
Unit 3 — Sun Nov 15, 2026
Unit 4 — Sun Nov 29, 2026
Holiday Pause
Unit 5 — Sun Jan 17, 2027
Unit 6 — Sun Jan 31, 2027
Unit 7 — Sun Feb 14, 2027
Unit 8 — Sun Feb 28, 2027
Unit 9 — Sun Mar 14, 2027
Unit 10 — Sun Mar 28, 2027
Unit 11 — Sun Apr 4, 2027
Unit 12 — Sun Apr 11, 2027
Unit 13 — Sun Apr 18, 2027
Unit 14 — Sun Apr 25, 2027
Unit 15 — Sun May 2, 2027
Unit 16 — Sun May 9, 2027
Unit 17 — Sun May 16, 2027
Unit 18 — Sun May 23, 2027
The scheduled course concludes May 30, 2027. Course materials remain available through July 31, 2027.
What's Included
18 guided units
Curated listening assignments
Video tutorials
Practice exercises and worksheets
Live Zoom Q&A sessions
Access through July 31, 2027
Why I've Created This Course
After 35 years as principal flute in the Houston Symphony, I've spent a lot of my time performing orchestral repertoire.
The job has required me to constantly figure out and refine my own strategies for both playing and communicating, in all the many facets of the job.
I love teaching and coaching flutists on audition excerpts, but I've always wanted a way to offer something more comprehensive.
I'm so excited to finally have a way to take you on a guided tour through my “musical brain.”
This course is not private lessons with me or a mock audition experience. It's meant to be something different.
You'll be able to follow several threads that run through my approach to learning, practicing, and playing.
It's my own thorough, if somewhat idiosyncratic, way of thinking about music, offered to you as a deeper layer from which you can develop your own playing - according to your own goals, level, and aspirations.
Please join me on this new adventure and help me shape it into a useful, practical, and inspiring course.
