Lizzo Got to Play Flute With Her Idol & ‘King of Flutes’ James Galway

4 May, 2023

Pop’s Queen of Flute has met her King of Flute!

Lizzo took to Instagram on Wednesday (May 3) to share a video playing alongside Irish virtuoso flute player and her longtime idol James Galway, whom she got to duet with for guests at the Met Gala earlier this week.

“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 Man with the Golden Flute by James Galway and it changed the trajectory of my life,” she captioned the post. “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. My father heard that and took my flute very seriously, he bought me lessons from university level teachers and my parents eventually got me Sasha Flute to keep up.”

The “Special” singer added that she performed “Amazing Grace” into Galway’s rendition of “The Carnival of Venice” at her father’s funeral. “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. Thank you for everything this week @sirjamesgalway ! You are truly the King of Flutes and I can’t wait to play with you again.”

See her full post below.