DURHAM, N.H. (AP) — When a raven landed next to Kerstin Nielsen and cawed to the warbling melodies played from her Native American flute, she realized she had a deep connection to her music.
The 17-year-old Oyster River High School senior’s journey with the Native American double flute began when she was 13 years old while on a family trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to visit her grandfather in 2014.
Her family spent several days in Yellowstone National Park, and while walking to a lake she happened upon a small general store where wooden hand-carved flutes caught her attention. “I went in and was looking around and I saw these Native American flutes,” she said.
Kerstin had been playing traditional flute in school bands for several years. “Being interested in Native American culture and wanting something to remember the trip that wasn’t a cheap trinket, I purchased two of them,” she said.
After walking to the lake and spending several hours learning how to use the fingerings and make tones, she sat down by the lake shore and played. “As we were getting up and leaving on the way out a Native American man said to me, ‘You have a gift. How long have you been playing?’ and I responded, ‘Two hours!'” The Native American man told her she was very talented and should go to a powwow sometime. “And that was one of the first big experiences I had with my flute.”
Kerstin’s next experience came just a few days later when she was at a scenic valley overlook at Yellowstone National Park watching bison graze under the big sky and playing her flute. “I was sitting on the curb and I was playing and this raven comes down and lands and perches a couple feet from where I am on the curb,” she said. “I was playing and noticed his ‘caws’ had a rhythm and pattern so I started to incorporate it into the music.”
Other tourists took notice and approached Kerstin to ask if she could play while they recorded video of the valley and bison. “That was one of the most interesting experiences that I remember having,” she said.
Two years later, Kerstin’s journey with her flute met another milestone when she attended a powwow at Mother Earth’s Creation in West Ossipee. There she met Native-American flutists Dail Dragonfly Martin who told her she had a natural gift.
“She not only showed us around the powwow, she let us into a sacred teepee that’s used for prayer,” Kerstin said. After meeting with other Native American flutists and the high chief, she continued, “I was granted the honor of playing at the powwow for 200 people. That was an amazing experience that I will never forget and I’ll forever be grateful for that opportunity.”
Kerstin said she has been surrounded by music while growing up and credits her mother with introducing her to many different genres. She has been singing in the school chorus since elementary school and currently sings in the choir at the Lee Congregational Church.
Playing the Native American flute has therapeutic value for Kerstin as well. “It’s very calming. It stills the noise inside of my head and lets me be in the moment.” she says. “Every time I’m playing it’s a new piece. Playing from my heart my soul and it comes out very organically and naturally and it’s just letting the music flow for me.”
Looking toward the future for her music, she hopes to continue to grow and learn ways to share her music with others. This has already included playing at local events and busking (street performing) for tips as well as learning how to record and share music by making CDs or web downloads.
Kerstin is currently looking into colleges with a possible interest in environmental studies, but wants to keep her flute music going. “It’s such an important part of my life,” she said. “It’s sort of a new thing for me and I’m carving my own path. It’s going to be figuring out how to take stuff that I love and things that I’m interested in and good at and channel that into a future.”
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