About Ken

​​​​​​​Ken's imagination was captured in the early 1980s by the song of a traditional Native American flute, and has continued on a lifelong journey to share with others his fascination with this wonderful instrument and its music.  As a flutemaker, his designs, detailed artisanship and artistic style are always striving for authenticity, instrumental performance, and flawless craftsmanship.  A pioneer in the rebirth of a nearly lost musical tradition,  Ken's work has played a significant role in its modern renaissance. 

His early flute designs and introduction of traditional tunings in the mid-eighties has served as a template and inspiration for many of today's most notable artists and flute-makers. Ken has personally sent out over 10,000 instruments into the world, which has helped seed a thriving North American and international community of Native American style flutists. As a dedicated teacher and a lifelong educator, Ken co-founded the first educational programs focused specifically on the NA flute and many of the household names in the modern flute community are former students and workshop participants.  Ken's educational and artistic collaboration with celebrated musician and multi-talented educator R.Carlos Nakai began in 1987 and has resulted in not only Gold and now Platinum recordings, but also educational projects such as RNAF and INAFA, and now to the first non-profit educational foundation devoted entirely to the flute tradition of North America, formerly The Renaissance of the North American Flute Foundation, now renamed as The FluteTree Foundation, www.flutetree.org

In 2​012 Ken was inducted into the Montana Circle of American Masters in Visual Folk and Traditional Arts, a program of the Montana Arts Council and National Endowment for the Arts:  ​"In recognition of artistic excellence in a body of work and contribution to the preservation of the state's cultural heritage."  His instruments are displayed in both the Grammy Museum and in the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix.

Ken is a Vietnam-era veteran of the Cold War in Europe and served as a missile technician and firing crew chief.  He later became a high school science teacher in both public schools and in the tribal high schools on the Rocky Boy and Flathead reservations. Ken holds a B.A. in Biology from Whitman College and an M.S. in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana.

Ken is now retired from a 25 year career as a first responder, firefighter and EMT for the Arlee Volunteer Fire Department.  Ken is a father and grandfather, and with his wife and artistic partner, Anja aka Penny lives and works from the wooded top of an ancient glacial moraine in the Rockies of Western Montana they have named "Amon Olorin",  hill of dreams.  

The Flutes from Amon Olorin

My relationship to each instrument begins with the search for the miracle of the wood. The painstaking discovery of the rare pieces of clear timber with exceptional grain and color for a flute is met with surprise and gratitude. The wood is taken home and the project begins by making a perfectly sized and matched set of blanks.  The rest of the process is to employ a DaVinci intent and tools to bring the flute from inside the wood.  Flutes are usually made in small groups and the process takes most of a month to complete, from layout to carving the inner headpiece and resonating chambers, next to the windways, finger holes, and sound producing mechanism.  Inside each flute is my signature, flute number, and date. Next the two halves are mated, more holes are cut, more carving, and then the careful hand shaping of the flute begins with carving and shaping tools and then lots of sandpaper.  I do not own a lathe, or a boring machine, or a C&C.  Amon Olorin flutes are handmade in a way that I hope shows respect to the old ones and how they made them.

Once the final shaping is done the flute then spends a week or so in the finish room, where an all-natural linseed hard-oil from Germany is rubbed by hand into the wood. The finish is then left to air dry and harden before being hand-buffed smooth. The process is then repeated as necessary until the wood glows. Next, the flute is waxed to make it shine. Along the way is time to build the little mini-sculpture hardwood fetish block, get out the jeweler's saw and the needle files to cut and shape the silver plate and adjust and set the flutes voice, wrap bees-waxed thread onto the flute, and cut the tie for the block from traditionally brain-tanned and smoked Antelope hide. (His contact: Braintanbuckskin@gmail.com. Melvin is also an MCAM inductee.)

After final assembly, performance testing, careful listening, and final inspection, the flute is done.  "Thank you, it was a pleasure making this flute just for you."