Molly Duggan becomes youngest flute technician to receive Straubinger certification

Molly Duggan is a young, emerging technician who has been repairing flutes for two years in Portland, Oregon. Loquacious and charismatic, she is the type of person who can effortlessly place herself into any conversation that she pleases. It is this personality that Molly's customers love her for: genuine, conversational, and energetic. But despite her tender experience in the flute repair industry, Molly just received an affirmation that many flute technicians dream to have: Molly is now Straubinger certified.

The Straubinger™ Pads were invented by flutist David Straubinger when he noticed the inconsistencies and erroneous nature of the traditional flute pads. Traditional flute pads are constructed with materials such as natural felt and cardboard which are imprecise and susceptible to changes in weather and humidity. They are, therefore, less reliable and stable and prone to developing leaks. David Straubinger realized this and embarked on a four-year journey to develop the revolutionary patented flute pads, which consist of meticulously fabricated stabilizers, pad supporters, cushions, and skins. Straubinger was later awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2015 Chicago Flute Club Flute Festival for his groundbreaking invention.

Not all technicians, however, are able to install these Straubinger™ Pads. In fact, David Straubinger only permits special certification to technicians who attend his four-day courses. Applications to attend are increasingly competitive on a yearly basis, consisting of a growing waitlist and lengthy approval times.

At first, Molly did not expect to able to attend one of the Straubinger courses. After all, she was relatively new to the repair business and attendance requires at least ten years of experience. Certification seemed like a distant goal. But after a spontaneous inquiry by her mentor, Darren Cook, and a miraculous turn of events, Molly and Darren found themselves suddenly invited to attend. Darren credits their invitation to his shop's growing reputation in the Pacific Northwest and Darren's connection to his own flute repair mentor Robert Gilchrist, who was intimately remembered as the "flute magician," family friend of the Straubingers, and one of the most talented flute technicians in the United States. This was how, within a week, Darren and Molly went from a simple email to two roundtrip tickets booked from Portland to Indianapolis, filled with the promise of David Straubinger's validation.

The four-day training was "very much like a boot camp," Molly describes. The six attendees were expected to show up from 9am to 7:30pm, working arduously every day to learn the padding process. First, they repaired any manufacturing defects on flutes. Then, they worked on perfecting the padding and shimming process, cycling through until all sixteen to seventeen keys of the flute have been fitted. The technicians there painstakingly worked to tolerances as little as .0005 inches. During this time, they were constructively critiqued by members of the Straubinger family and were only allowed to rest during meal breaks.

"I was so blessed they saw the potential in me," Molly muses. "[The Straubingers] were super accommodating and they were right there next to me."

On November 19th, Darren and Molly officially completed the course and received their prestigious certification. This makes Molly, at nineteen years old and with two years of quality craftsmanship, the youngest flute technician ever to receive Straubinger certification.

Molly’s life goal is to be a master flute technician. Because of this, she focuses on flute performance as well, with a goal of landing a spot in a symphony orchestra some day. Molly knows that the better she can play the instrument, the better and more sensitive a technician she can be. She is preparing to transfer to Portland State University from Portland Community College as a Flute Performance major and is playing as the Principal Flutist of the Metropolitan Youth Symphony Orchestra. Currently, Molly privately studies and repairs flutes with flutist Darren Cook.

Molly Duggan and her mentor Darren Cook serve flutists in the Pacific Northwest. Together, they own and run Canter Music Shop. For more information about Canter, visit www.cantermusicshop.com.