Flutist Yukie Ota spoke with NPR’s Scott Simon about her encounter with a too-friendly insect this week; hear their conversation at the audio link and read on to learn more.
International music competitions are full of nail-biting moments for young musicians seeking top prizes. But Japanese-born, Chicago-based flutist Yukie Ota encountered a peculiar distraction Monday in the first round of the hugely competitive Carl Nielsen International Flute Competition in Odense, Denmark, which draws flutists aged 13 to 29.
As Ota played Pierrre Sancan’s Sonatine for the judges, a butterfly first landed in her hair and then settled on her left eyebrow as she continued to perform. Only a brief glance upward belied her complete concentration as the insect opened and closed its wings.
I asked Dr. Bob Robbins, curator of lepidoptera at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, what the butterfly was doing there. Was it attracted by the lights? Something on her skin? Just the fluttery sound of her flute?
After taking a look at the video, Robbins told me that this was an Aglais io, or a Peacock butterfly, which is a very common species in Europe. He noted that it is “very weird” for a butterfly to come indoors like this, and that when butterflies land on people, it’s usually because they are looking for salty water to drink.
“If you look closely at the video,” he says, “you can see the butterfly’s proboscis — its ‘tongue’ — out as it crawls across her forehead. It’s looking for her perspiration. And she’s under lights at a highfalutin competition. I’d be sweating a bit under that pressure.”
Regardless of who wins this competition on Sept. 20, we say: Give Ota a prize for grace under pressure. Her floating, flittering little friend didn’t faze her at all.
(A hat tip to our friend Fred Child, host of Performance Today, who saw this video.)
Update: Ota passed this and has since advanced to the final round to be held on Saturday, Sept. 20. You can stream the flutists’ performances live on the Nielsen Competition website.
Transcript :
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Yukie Ota got the butterflies while playing her flute this week at an international competition in Denmark. Well, one butterfly, who landed on her forehead, crawled down her nose – and here is the exact moment when it probed her proboscis.
(SOUNDBITE OF CARL NIELSEN INTERNATIONAL FLUTE COMPETITION)
SIMON: Yukie Ota continued to play with sterling concentration, musicality and poise as the graceful critter flapped slowly over her face. You can see this video on our website. And she advanced easily to the semifinals of the Carl Nielsen International Flute Competition. Yukie Ota joins us now from Denmark. Thanks very much for being with us.
YUKIE OTA: Thank you for calling me.
SIMON: What went through your mind when a butterfly landed on your face?
OTA: I was not sure what actually came to my forehead. I knew it was – some, like, black thing is flying away in the concert hall. But I really wasn’t sure. Then it actually came onto my head first. Then it came down to my forehead. Then I realized it was the butterfly. And I was kind of surprised.
SIMON: It’s quite beautiful to see. Did you think it was a beautiful moment?
OTA: Yeah. I mean – OK, first of all, of course, I have to concentrate on my performance. So it was pretty difficult to make myself to be concentrate on the music, especially, I don’t have my music with me. I was just playing by memory. So I just did by best. And actually, during that time, I tried to move so maybe, like, hopefully the butterfly would fly away. But actually, it didn’t fly away. And then I started to thinking, OK, maybe the butterfly enjoyed my music as well, so maybe I just should let the butterfly stay on my forehead. That I thought.
SIMON: I’m sure that’s it. I think the butterfly was having a good time. The butterfly likes you and loves your music.
OTA: (Laughter) I hope so. I mean, that would be my pleasure.
SIMON: So when you play in the next round of competition, are you going to expect the butterfly to come back?
OTA: Well, before the second round, actually, I had the manager of the competition actually told me we double check that there’s no butterfly so don’t worry (laughter). But yeah, I miss my buddy now (laughter).
SIMON: Yukie Ota is a flutist, and she performed this week at the Carl Nielsen International Flute Competition, along with a butterfly. Thanks very much for being with us.
OTA: Thank you very much.
(SOUNDBITE OF CARL NIELSEN INTERNATIONAL FLUTE COMPETITION)
SIMON: Yukie Ota advanced to the finals. She’ll be one of three participants to play in the final concert later today. What about the butterfly? This is NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.