Dartmouth got into the holiday spirit to the tune of four Fall River Fipple Fluters at the Russell Mills Schoolhouse Sunday, Dec. 15. 

A somewhat-annual tradition, group leader Judy Conrad said the group got started back in 1991 when she gifted her mother a recorder for Christmas to give her something to do. 

“I heard her practicing away on it,” Conrad said. “And so I said, ‘She needs a group,’” and there the Fipple Fluters were born. 

She said though her mother died in 2013, they’ve decided to continue with their performances, including for the Dartmouth Historical Society & Arts Board, which hosted Sunday’s event.

Fipple Fluter Marion Ryall is also a member of the board, “so I get them to come every time,” she said.

Ryall said she was randomly gifted a recorder years ago and decided to really begin playing it when her oldest child picked up the clarinet. 

Her husband encouraged her to attend a performance by the Fipple Fluters and they ended up hitting it off with members. 

“I wasn’t that great when I first joined the group, but that’s how you learn,” Ryall said.

Paul Ukleja, another member of the Fipple Fluters, said he was discovered by Conrad when he was using a cornet, which is similar to a trumpet, in an adjoining practice room.

He said he heard a yell from the next room and then Conrad came running it.

Ukleja said he appreciates that group members have the ability to attend performances when they are free, but that also meant he wasn’t familiar with all the pieces played on Sunday.

“Most of these were all my first time playing those particular arrangements and some of them I had never heard — very nice arrangements. I liked them all,” he said.

The group also brought recorders to pass out to attendees interested in learning the instrument. Ukleja noted how it is one of the most accessible instruments due to its affordability, crediting the use of the plastic material.

However, he said those who become more experienced on the recorder will begin to see the flaws of the instrument, which is difficult to get completely in tune.

“If it’s well made, you don’t have to fight so much to get it in tune,” Ukleja said, but the quality recorders made from wood can get quite pricey.