Most artists would be thrilled simply to receive an invitation to perform at the Met Gala, but Lizzo got an even better deal: She got to perform with her musical hero, and she’s still buzzing from the experience.
On Wednesday, Lizzo took to Instagram to rave about the experience of performing with Irish flute player Sir James Galway. She wrote, “Where do I begin…? When I was 11 years old and learning the flute I needed a challenge from my 5th grade level studies. So I found [the album] The Man with the Golden Flute by James Galway and it changed the trajectory of my life.”
“I learned most of the songs by ear because the sheet music was too difficult to read at the time but eventually I fell in love with virtuosic flute music and memorized ‘The Carnival of Venice’ (James’ Version) when I was 14,” she continued. “My father heard that and took my flute very seriously, he bought me lessons from university level teachers and my parents eventually got me [my own instrument] Sasha Flute to keep up.”
Lizzo wrote, “When my dad passed away I played ‘Amazing Grace’ into ‘Carnival of Venice’ at his funeral… it was my promise to never give up. Now, years later I had the honor to play beside Sir James Galway, and receive lessons from him and even play his alto flute. I can confidently say I wouldn’t be the musician I am today without his influence.”
She finished by writing, “Thank you for everything this week@sirjamesgalway! You are truly the King of Flutes and I can’t wait to play with you again.”
She also posted video of herself playing side-by-side with Galway backstage.
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