About me

Let me take a minute for an introduction.  While I was studying flute performance with James Pappoutsakis at the New England Conservatory in Boston, I found a job apprenticing with Powell Flutes – the best in the business.  Every day I learned something new, and I became skilled in the art of flute making.  My lessons with “Mr. P” as we called him, made me aware of his concept of sound and tone.  My lessons at Powell Flutes made me aware of the mechanical aspects of the art of flute making.  My greatest ambition was to build custom handmade professional flutes under my own name.

It was just like going to college to work under such people as Ed Almeida, Bick Brannen, and Dick Jerome.  During that period they trained Fredrich Von Huene, Jack Goosman, Charlie Roberts, Gene Sagerman, and myself, all of whom went on to establish new custom workshops.  We shared an admiration for Mr. Powell and for the new owners.  We were the class of the 60’s, who followed Verne Powell’s dedication to the art of making great flutes and playing the great music of the modern flute.

One day I met William Bennett backstage at Symphony Hall, and he showed me his Cooper flute.  When I played it, I could hear that the intonation was nearly perfect.  ‘Wibb’ Bennett invited me to visit him in London, and he introduced me to Albert Cooper.  They gave me their detailed designs for perfect intonation.  Immediately, I started working on my first flute based on the so-called Cooper Scale, and I sold it to Wibb in 1972.  That was the first Cooper scale flute made in America, which has since become the standard for all modern flute makers.  The introduction of the Cooper scale was innovative at the time, and it has made a lasting change in fine flute making.

I think that tradition is a quality that’s essential to the Arts, as it enables us to pass down our love of beauty from one generation to the next.  We value the fine arts, because the ideals they represent have been distilled and refined for generations.  I see fine instrument making as an important servant to music making.  The custom handmade flute is similar to the artists’ brush on the concert stage.  The dedicated ‘luthier’ is the back stage performer who welds the highest standards of craftsmanship to musicianship. 

To that end I formed Landell Flute Technician Training Program (LFTTP), which is a non-profit school for apprenticeship training in flutemaking and repair.  My workshop occasionally becomes a one room school house for student apprentices, who want to learn the skills from a master. 

I had lived in Boston for 10 years, and I longed for the country life, because the city was dirty, dangerous, and difficult.  In 1976 I moved to southern Vermont and established a new life.  Soon I met and married Marcie Parmly, and we moved north to be closer to her family. We happily settled in with Marcie’s parents in their homestead, and enjoyed the advantages of the extended family as we raised our 5 children, homeschooled them and fully trained them in music and Christianity. They all did very well following their own dreams and eventually moved to states far away. There are over 180 handmade Landell flutes in silver and gold, and one prototype flute in titanium. Innovation has been my hallmark. Hard work has been the means.

After living 25 years and working out of our home in rural Vermont, we decided to move to western Pennsylvania to be closer to our children and grandchildren in Wampum, PA.  In 2022 we sold our home in Richmond, Vermont, and we bought a home in Wampum next door to our daughter, Anna, and her family.  We enjoy living in this rural community about 30 miles north of Pittsburgh.  I have a rented store front space at 322 Main Street in town just a few miles away from our home.  We will continue to offer training courses for flute repair and flute making as we did in Vermont, and continue by offering extended employment to students who demonstrate their commitment to high standards for workmanship and performance in this newly reorganized workshop.  We hope and pray that several excellent workers will qualify to become members of the new “Landell Flutes LLC”, so that eventually I can retire from this work and see that the business will continue to function normally without me.  Please call me directly for more specific information about this unique business opportunity if you are interested in learning more about this plan.

Debussy Sonate for Flute, Viola and Harp

Recordings from 1999 with the "Joyful Noise Chamber Ensemble"

Jonathon A. Landell, flute

I.  Pastorale

II. Interlude

III. Finale

My College Teacher at NEC

Mr. Pappoutsakis was second flute in the Boston Symphony for 40 years.  He was my flute professor at the New England Conservatory, where I earned a Bachelor of Music under him.  He was my example of a geniune professional flutist and a thorough teacher.  His concept of a fluid and shimmering tone still lives in my inner ear even after more than 40 years!  His concept of sorority has been the goal that I have sought to weld into every flute I've made since then.

My High School Teacher

Philip Kaplan played 3rd flute in the Boston Symphony Orchestra next to Mr. P. for - how many - years. He was my private teacher in high school and prepared me for life as a professional flutist with his strict style that demanded perfect performances every week. I left each lesson determined to practice harder! His work with me formed a solid foundation for my own discipline in performance and in practice.

Edward Almieda

Ed was my mentor for flute making during my apprenticeship.  His work was the model of excellence and his craftsmanship was dedicated to perfection.  Building flutes under his own name served as a model for my own future, because he worked entirely alone in his home.  Sincere friendship was his personal style in relationships.

Fredrich Von Huene

Though I haven't worked directly with Friedrich, I was a frequent visitor to his workshop, and I learned a lot from watching him at work.  His love for early music was a model for many musicians of that time, and his dedication to making recorders supported all of us in that venue.  He recommended that I work as an apprentice at the Powell Company, and he helped me apply for a job by teaching me how to make a wooden head joint for my old cracked Meyers System flute.  That was the beginning of a long friendship.

Charles Roberts

I met Charlie at NEC when he entered the flute studio of Mr. Pappoutsakis.  Later we shared an apartment together, and we spent many happy evenings playing duets and just talking about the flute.  His interest in the technical side led him to full time employment at Haynes, and a year later he was padding new flutes for Powell Flutes.

When Charlie moved to Vermont, I brought each of my new flutes to him for finishing.  He was the best flute padding technician I've ever known, and I learned so much from him just by watching him work and talking with him about flutes!  His incredible patience and persistance have been a model for me as I have refined the art of padding every time I finish a new flute.

A life-long model

Rampal was the foremost soloist during the years after my time at NEC.  His recordings set my mind spinning toward playing solo concerts.  What a great experience I had one summer in his master class in Nice, France!  Double tonguing was never like this before!  His supple and fluid expression has been a life-long model to me for phrasing and expression.