Hilary Abigana (B.M. & P.C. - The Eastman School of Music, M.M. - Rice University) is the flutist for The Fourth Wall, a hybrid arts ensemble in which musicians are also actors and dancers. The Fourth Wall tours nationally having performed at venues from Alaska to Boston including featured events at three National Flute Association Conventions. The Fourth Wall pioneers new performance strategies such as Mixer, an audience interactive performance project where audience members are also performers and Fruit Flies Like a Banana, a hybrid arts sprint-triathlon in which the ensemble performs over 20 pieces in 60 minutes with the audience determining the show order. While at Eastman, Hilary won the 2003 Nielsen Flute Concerto Competition allowing her to perform with the Eastman Philharmonia Chamber Orchestra in a gala concert honoring Professor Emeritus, Joseph Mariano. She has also won the Byron Hester Young Artist Competition, was a prizewinner at the Myrna Brown Young Artist Competition, and a silver medalist at the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition. She is currently a member of two regional orchestras in the Midwest, is Co-Director of the Irish Arts Academy of Indianapolis, maintains a full private studio, teaches at Ivy Tech Community College, is a faculty member at Floot Fire (Dallas, TX) and the International Flute Symposium, performs with the Indianapolis Ceílí (Irish) Band, and freelances in the Indianapolis area. Please visit www.HilaryAbigana.com or www.TheFourthWallEnsemble.com for more information.

A native of Ithaca, New York, Liisa Ambegaokar Grigorov is a member of Fingerlakes Flutes and has performed with the Albany Symphony, the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, Grassroots Festival Orchestra, the Cornell Contemporary Chamber Ensemble, Ensemble X, as well as with the Ithaca College Chamber Orchestra and Cornell University Wind Ensemble as concerto soloist. A founding member of the Pro Musica Chamber Ensemble, she is also a board member of the Troika Association which sponsors concerts of new music and dance. A Lecturer in Music at Nazareth College, she is flute instructor as well as the director of the Flute Chamber Ensembles. For over fifteen years she has taught private flute lessons at Cornell University where she was recently appointed visiting-lecturer in music. In addition, she has taught at the Eastman School of Music, Ithaca College, Mansfield University, and 171 Cedar Arts Center. A candidate for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts from the Eastman School of Music, she received a Bachelor of Music from the Eastman School of Music, and a Master of Music from Ithaca College. Her teachers have included Bonita Boyd, Thomas Nyfenger, Samuel Baron, John Krell, Neal Zaslaw and Joyce Catalfano.

Jeffrey Barker is Associate Principal Flute of the Seattle Symphony, a position he began in the 2015–2016 season. Previously, he played as Principal Flute of the Boise Philharmonic since 2009. He has also performed with top orchestras around the country, including the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the Oregon Symphony. A Seattle native, Jeffrey is passionate about using music to connect with his community. He is a recipient of the 2018 Ford Musician Award for Excellence in Community Service for his work with Seattle’s homeless population through the Seattle Symphony’s Simple Gifts Initiative. Barker received his Bachelor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music under the instruction of Bonita Boyd, and his Master of Music degree from Carnegie Mellon University, where his teachers were Jeanne Baxtresser and Alberto Almarza.

Haley Bangs, a native of Colorado Springs, Colorado, is the Second Flutist of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.  She previously served as Associate Principal Flutist of the Omaha Symphony Orchestra and Principal Flutist of the United States Navy Band in Washington, D.C. She has also performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Annapolis Symphony, Evansville Philharmonic, New World Symphony Orchestra, and the Colorado and Breckenridge Music Festival Orchestras.

In addition to her performing career, Haley is a passionate educator. Her teaching career began as a flute instructor for Holland Music Studios in Rochester, NY in 2008. She also served as a group flute and oboe instructor for the Eastman School of Music’s New Horizons Band.  During the summer of 2009, she was a teaching assistant for the Seattle Youth Symphony’s summer music program, the Marrowstone Summer Music Festival.  From 2015-2017, Haley was the teaching assistant for the flute studio of Bonita Boyd at the Eastman School of Music, where she taught flute lessons and led studio classes for students of both the Eastman School of Music and University of Rochester. During her doctoral residency at the Eastman School of Music, Haley was a flute instructor for the Eastman Community Music School. She has also served as a teaching artist for the Very Young Composers’ Seminar, an educational program founded by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.

Haley is a doctoral candidate at the Eastman School of Music where she earned her Bachelor of Music Degree in 2009. While performing in the U.S. Navy Band from 2009-2015, she was able to continue her graduate studies at the Catholic University of America and received her Master of Music Degree in 2015. 

During her free time, Haley can be found taking care of her two dogs, Annie and Daisy, and enjoying the outdoors as much as she can. She is also an avid skier and scuba diver.

Jacqueline Cordova-Arrington is the Assistant Professor of Flute at the University of Oregon School of Music and Dance  and a member of the Oregon Wind Quintet. 

She is committed to collaborating with distinguished artists, citizens, and thinkers to create inspiring and culturally unifying experiences on the stage, in communities and in the classroom. As a former member of Carnegie Hall's chamber music collective, Ensemble Connect, Jacqueline collaborated with colleagues in performances at the Weill, Trinity, Subculture, and National Sawdust Concert Series.  In contrast to the ensemble’s more traditional performances, Jacqueline has experience leading interactive performances in various community spaces including public schools, correctional facilities, and centers for adults with developmental disabilities. Jacqueline completed her doctorate at the Eastman School of Music studying with Bonita Boyd with an additional certificate in World Music. Her former teachers include: David Cramer, Amy Porter, and Bradley Garner.

Equally at home on the orchestral stage, and as a recipient of the William D. Ford Fulbright Grant, Jacqueline was the first American to study extensively with principal flutists of the Berlin Philharmonic Andreas Blau. Her training in Berlin initiated her success as an orchestral flutist, leading to performances with major orchestras, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Buffalo Philharmonic, Louisiana Philharmonic, and Oregon Symphony.

Hailed as “one of the finest flutists of her generation” (Flute Network) Laura Barron made her solo debut, at age seventeen, with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Since then, she has given recitals and taught master classes from New Zealand to the Yukon, premiered over fifty works with the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble, and played several concerts at Carnegie Hall. Formerly the flute professor at the Universities of Oregon, Wisconsin, and Northern Arizona, Laura now lives in Vancouver where she has founded and runs the non-profit, Instruments of Change. This organization’s arts-based community development projects include teaching music to women in prison, bringing arts performances to schools, and facilitating writing projects with immigrants, seniors and youth. Also a writer and interdisciplinary artist, Laura tours with her original recital theater piece, What Moves Us, and performs with her duo Forbidden Flutes. Laura is a member of Something Collective, an interdisciplinary artist team that served a two-year Vancouver Parks & Recreation residency. And she recently completed her first novel, Mosquito Chronicles. laurabarron.net, instrumentsofchange.org

Joanna Bassett plays 2nd flute and piccolo in the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and began her orchestral career as a member of the Hong Kong Philharmonic. She has performed with the Canandaigua LakeMusic Festival, Skaneateles Festival, Tanglewood Festival Orchestra, Chamber Music Rochester and the First Muse series at the First Unitarian Church of Rochester. As a graduate student at the Eastman School of Music, she collaborated in memorable chamber music recordings with soprano Benita Valente and mezzo-soprano Jan DeGaetani. Cary Ratcliff’s “Five Joys: Gitanjali Dances” was a co-commission by Ms. Bassett and the Rochester Flute Association for her 2005 Flute Fair Recital, and a new sonata for flute and piano by Ken Kreuzer was recently commissioned as a special birthday gift from her husband. Ms. Bassett has degrees from Northwestern University as a student of Walfrid Kujala and the Eastman School of Music where she studied with Bonita Boyd and Leone Buyse. She was the founding president of the Rochester Flute Association and also from 2011-1013; she is also is a member of the Rochester Philharmonic League board. Joanna enjoys teaching in her home flute studio and is looking forward to being Program Chair of the 2015 NFA Convention.

Justin Berrie is a partner at Capital Counsel LLC, a NYC-based investment adviser with over $2 billion in assets under management. Justin focuses on investment research and portfolio management and served as the firm's Chief Compliance Officer from 2014 to 2019. Prior to his work in the investment industry, Justin enjoyed his career as an orchestral flutist, having held posts with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra and the Symphonica Arturo Toscanini in Parma, Italy, where he was appointed Principal Flute by Lorin Maazel in 2004. No stranger to educational establishments, Justin earned a BA in Economics from the University of Rochester and a BM from the Eastman School of Music in 2002 as a student of Bonita Boyd, an MM from The Juilliard School in 2004 as a student of Robert Langevin, an Artist Diploma from Yale University in 2008 as a student of Ransom Wilson, and an MBA in Finance from the Stern School of Business at New York University in 2016 while working full-time. Outside of work, Justin serves on the Board of Trustees of the Kaufman Music Center and plays flute in NYC chamber orchestra Camerata Notturna. He has completed five marathons and one ultramarathon.

Bruce Bodden - ESM class of 1986. Graduate school at Boston University 1986-88 (studied with Leone Buyse; got tired of school & never finished MM). Principal flutist of Spokane Symphony since 1990. Principal flutist of Des Moines Metro Opera orchestra since 2001. Years & years of private teaching, both at home and (2004-2013) Eastern Washington University. Beginning training in physical therapy in September 2013.

Catherine Branch is a passionate advocate of integrating disability advocacy and the arts.  As a flutist with cerebral palsy, she holds a unique perspective on music’s ability to act as an instigator of positive change.  Ms. Branch is dedicated to exploring the arts as a vehicle to promote social inclusion for people with disabilities, and in 2008 was awarded a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship to research the role of art in social activism around the world.  During her travels she began the “Music of Difference” project: a concert series whose goal is to encourage positive conversations about diversity.   The first Music of Difference album debuted in 2011, and as the project grows, a dedication to championing the music of living composers remains at its core.  Currently, in addition to working toward her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the Eastman School of Music, she is a research fellow of the national Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) program.  Ms. Branch works at the Institute for Innovative Transition at University of Rochester Medical Center, an organization dedicated to supporting inclusive higher education, competitive employment, and engaged, self-determined community living forpeople with developmental disabilities.  To read more about Ms. Branch and her Music of Difference project, visit www.musicofdifference.com.

After being inspired by listening to Bonnie’s incredible Flute Music of Les Six album and reading her thoughtful ideas in print,  Carolyn Brown knew the only school she wanted to attend for her doctorate was Eastman. She considers herself so fortunate to have studied at a school with such a tradition of excellence and a teacher like Bonnie! Carolyn is currently Professor of Flute at the University of Central Arkansas and Principal Flute with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. For more details, please go to her ASO webpage: 

http://www.arkansassymphony.org/themusic/orchestra/35/

Flutist Jennie Brown has performed throughout the U.S., and in Japan, Canada, Italy, France, Germany, and England. An active performer in Chicago, she performs regularly with the MAVerick New Music Ensemble and elsewhere. She can also be heard on Albany Records. Dr. Brown received Doctorate and Masters degrees from the Eastman School of Music where she won the esteemed Performer’s Certificate, and served as the Teaching Assistant to Bonita Boyd and the Music History department. She received her Bachelors degree from Northwestern University, where she studied with Walfrid Kujala, and received her high school diploma from the Interlochen Arts Academy. She has performed in Music Festivals at Aspen, the Music Academy of the West, and Norfolk. Jennie was a performer and adjudicator for the National Flute Association Annual Conventions in San Diego, Anaheim, and Las Vegas, and she will be serving as the Volunteer Coordinator for the 2014 NFA convention in Chicago. Dr. Brown is a faculty member at Wheaton and Elmhurst Colleges. Please visit www.JennieBrownFlute.com

“The kind of performance that sparks wild standing ovations. Definitive” says the American Record Guide of flutist Linda Chatterton. A Yamaha Performing Artist and soloist, Ms. Chatterton has performed at Carnegie and Alice Tully halls and was a featured recitalist on the Dame Myra Hess series in Chicago; recent international recitals include concerts at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London, and the National Concert Hall, Dublin. She has performed and given master classes in Europe, Asia and throughout the US. Her concerts have been broadcast many times on National Public Radio’s Performance Today. As a concerto soloist, highlights include many performances of the Lukas Foss Renaissance Concerto. Ms. Chatterton has commissioned, recorded and premiered dozens of new works, and she has independently released 5 CD recordings. She often can be heard giving her motivational presentation “It Sounded Better at Home!” based on her extensive work on the psychology of optimum performance. “It Sounded Better at Home!” will soon be released as a book. Ms. Chatterton received her Master of Music degree from the University of Minnesota and her Bachelor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music. www.lindachatterton.com

Hye Sung Choe, DMA is the winner of the National Flute Association’s Young Artists Competition and the first and only recipient of the highly coveted Artist’s Certificate in the woodwind department in the history of the Eastman School of Music. Praised for her rich and beautiful tone, deeply compelling and convincing artistry, and superb technique, Dr. Choe has performed actively in the United State, South Korea, and Eastern Europe as a soloist, recitalist, chamber and orchestral musician.   She has served as principal flute with San Antonio Symphony and TIMF Orchestra of Korea, 2nd flute with Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, and frequently performs with the Pacific Symphony in Orange County.  

Recently Hye Sung has expanded her career to flute choir and film music. She is a founding director of the Caltech Flute Choir.  Her recent film music can be heard on the Amazon TV series, "Mozart in the Jungle."

Ann Choomack was appointed Piccolo of the St. Louis Symphony by David Robertson in 2013. Prior to this she Piccolost with the Richmond Symphony in Richmond, VA as well as a regular performer with the Virginia Symphony and the Williamsburg Symphonia. During the summers she enjoys playing with the Sun Valley Summer Symphony in beautiful Southern Idaho and teaching and performing as a faculty member at the Eastern Music Festival in Greensboro, North Carolina. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, she completed her master’s degree at New England Conservatory in Boston. Teachers include Bonita Boyd, Paula Robison, Tim Day and Damian Bursill-Hall. She has performed in numerous music festivals including Festival Lyrique en Mer, Ash Lawn Opera Festival, Music Academy of the West, Kent-Blossom Chamber Music Festival, National Repertory Orchestra, and the Tanglewood Music Center.

Pamela Daniels is a native of Reston, VA and has been a flutist and piccoloist with The United States Army Field Band since 2014. Pamela received her Bachelor of Music degree and Performer's Certificate from Eastman School of Music and Master of Music degree from New England Conservatory. Previous to her time with the Field Band, she held the position of Principal Flute with the Cape Cod Symphony, and has held fellowships at the Tanglewood Music Festival, Music Academy of the West, and National Orchestral Institute. Pamela is a founding member of the National Chamber Winds, a chamber ensemble in the Washington, DC area.

In 2011 she won the Boston Woodwind Society’s Flute Merit Award and New England Conservatory’s Winds, Brass, and Percussion Concerto Competition playing the Nielsen Flute Concerto. Pamela has won 1st place in the Flute Society of Washington’s Collegiate Competition and was a finalist in the Byron Hester Solo Competition. Her primary flute instructors have included Elizabeth Rowe, Bonita Boyd, Paula Robison, and Judith Lapple.

Michael Davis is an award-winning flutist, composer and teacher in the Twin Cities, Minnesota area, who performs on flutes of silver, cedar, glass and bamboo. He received his bachelor of music degree from the University of South Carolina where, as a freshman, he was entered in the Music Teacher's National Association collegiate woodwinds competition and won the national first prize. With advanced degrees from the Eastman School of Music and Columbia University, he has taught flute and advanced aural skills at Iowa State University and served as piccolo soloist with the United States Military Academy Band at West Point. Dr. Davis is a performing artist member of Thursday Musical and a two time prize winning finalist for the prestigious McKnight Fellowship for Performing Artists. As a composer, his music has been performed all over the United States and in Canada and Europe, on music faculty recitals and by nationally and internationally recognized music ensembles like Zeitgeist and the Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus. In addition to being an MMTA master certified teacher of flute and music theory, he has taught professional development and success strategies to business majors at National American University, where (certified by the Pacific Institute), he also served as an Investment in Excellence facilitator. Former students include college professors, amateur and semi professional musicians, composers and music directors from coast to coast.

www.mikedflute.com

Dr. Karen Demsey, MM Eastman School of Music, DMA Rutgers University, is Professor of Flute and Music History at William Paterson University of New Jersey. She has published articles on flute pedagogy, and presents clinics and master classes nationally and internationally. She is currently doing research in the US and Europe for an upcoming book on innovative teaching in performance pedagogy. www.wpunj.edu

She recently performed as a soloist throughout China, and as a member of the International Flute Orchestra on tours of Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Croatia, Slovenia, and Turkey. Her CD, Recollections of the Inland Sea, internationally distributed on Capstone Records, features music for flute and marimba with Greg Giannascoli, including the premiere of a work commissioned for the duo. She has premiered numerous works nationally and internationally. She is Co-Director of the Artists International Award-winning chamber group, UpTown Flutes, and is featured on their three CDs, with a fourth CD about to be released. www.uptownflutes.com UpTown Flutes’ Carnegie Hall debut was described in New York Concert Review as "organic... mesmerizing.... UpTown Flutes deserves major attention as they are top-notch and one of a kind."

Tabatha Easley is Associate Professor of Flute at Virginia Commonwealth University.  Presenting ​concerts and masterclasses ​throughoutthe U.S., Colombia, Scandinavia, Australia, Malaysia, Japan, and Egypt, she has also been a soloist with the Fairbanks Symphony, Astoria Sinfonia in New York, the Cole Conservatory of Music Orchestra, Orange County Arts High School Orchestra, Virginia Commonwealth University Symphonic Wind Ensemble and Orchestra,  The University of Cauca Wind Ensemble in Popayán, Colombia, as well as Orchestra “EAFIT” in Medellín, Colombia.

In 2013, Ms.Easley cofoundedthe AarK Duo with percussionist Justin Alexander​. Committed to presenting new works for flute and percussion, the Duo have commissioned and premiered new pieces by Valerie Coleman, John Griffin, and Marco Alunno​.  They have performed in Sweden and across the United States, and Sydney, Australia. Their first CD, Hair, Cloth and Threadreleased in April, 2017. 

Active in several professional organizations, Ms. Easley serves as the Committees Liaison for the National Flute Association after having been the Secretary/Assistant Secretary for two years, and the Collegiate Flute Choir Competition Coordinator for five years. College Music Society Conferences have taken her to Finland, Sweden, Argentina, Australia, Canada, and in July of 2019, Belgium. She has also performed at the Society of Composers Inc. National Conference, the International Double Reed Society Conference in Tokyo, Japan, and the National Association of Wind and Percussion Instructors National Conference.

Ms. Easley holds a doctoral degree from the Eastman School of Music; the first Alaskan to do so. She is also a contributing editor in Charles West’s 2016 publication, Woodwind Instruments: Purchasing, Maintenance, Troubleshooting and More. Former teachers include Bonita Boyd, Michael Parloff, Martha Aarons, Dr. John Barcellona, and Dorli McWayne.

www.tabatheasley.com

A graduate of the Eastman School of Music and the DeVos Institute for Arts Management at The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Meghann Eckenhoff has been honored to work for many exceptional non-profit arts organizations. Early in her career she worked for the then-newly opened Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts and was part of the team responsible for managing Jazz at Lincoln Center's then-brand-new venue at the Time Warner Center in New York City. More recently she served as the Director of Artistic Operations for the Hartford Symphony and then as the Program and Marketing Associate for Arts for Learning Connecticut. Currently Meghann is the Assistant Director of the Music Preparatory Division of the Boyer College of Music and Dance at Temple University in Philadelphia.

Nicholas Fitton is currently completing his Bachelor of Music at the Peabody Institute in the studio of Marina Piccinini. He began his collegiate training with Bonita Boyd at the Eastman School of Music, where he performed regularly with the Eastman Philharmonia and the Eastman Wind Ensemble. In 2009 he won the piccolo position for the groundbreaking YouTube Symphony Orchestra, performing at Carnegie Hall under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas. An accomplished piccoloist, he has been second flute and piccolo at the College Light Opera Company since 2010. Returning to Boston in 2011, Nicholas participated in the Young Artist Studio and taught in the Teacher Training Program at the Boston Flute Academy, under the direction of Judy Grant. While in Boston, he continued his flute studies with Adam Workman. He has been a guest artist at the Boston Flute Academy, Boston College, and the Cape Cod Conservatory. He has played in masterclasses for Aaron Goldman, Elizabeth Rowe, Fenwick Smith, Geralyn Coticone, Leone Buyse, Cindy Meyers, Keith Underwood, Nina Assimakopoulos, and Doriot Dwyer.

Lauded by the South Florida Classical Review for his "vivacious and buoyant" playing, flutist Luke Fitzpatrick has been the principal flute of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic since 2015. During the summer, Luke also plays principal flute with the Des Moines Metropolitan Opera, and played principal flute with the Sarasota opera during their 2017 season.
Participating in summer music festivals is one of Luke's greatest joys as a musician. He has spent summers at the National Orchestral Institute, National Repertory Orchestra, Music Academy of the West, Aspen music festival, the National Symphony’s Summer Music Institute, and the Chautauqua music festival.
While living in Los Angeles, Luke developed a passion for chamber music, where he collaborated with artists such as Grammy-nominated pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet and the Ebene Quartet.
Now based in Fort Wayne, Luke is spending more time pursuing outreach and his love for teaching. He is the co-founder of the Bonita Boyd International Masterclass program, which meets annually at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY.
Luke's teachers include Bonita Boyd, Jeanne Baxtresser, Alberto Almarza, and Jim Walker.

Cynthia Folio is a composer, flutist, and music theorist. She is Professor of Music Theory and Composition at Temple University, where she received a Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching and a Creative Achievement Award. She received a Ph.D. in music theory and a Performer’s Certificate in flute from the Eastman School of Music. Her compositions have been described as “confident and musical in expressing ideas of great substance” and “imaginatively scored.” Her CD Flute Loops: Chamber Music for Flute features eight of her compositions, with her as flutist on four of them. She has a jazz flute CD, Portfolio, which is available for download online. She plays flute in several ensembles, including David’s Harp, Glaux, and Latin Fiesta. In addition, she has many articles, reviews, and chapters in books on music theory and analysis.

Equally at home in the solo, chamber, and orchestral stages, Sarah Frisof is a passionate flutist and educator.  As a soloist, Ms. Frisof was the second-prize winner of both the National Flute Association Young Artist Competition and the Heida Hermanns International Woodwind Competition, and she was a semi-finalist in the 2009 Kobe International Flute Competition. Ms. Frisof has concertized throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. In June of 2016, Ms. Frisof released her first solo CD, The Flute Music of Joseph Schwantner, an authoritative recording of all of Schwantner’s major works for flute.

In addition to Ms. Frisof’s work as a solo artist, she is an active orchestral musician, having worked with major symphony orchestras across the country, including the Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Dallas Symphony, and many others.  Ms. Frisof is principal flute of the Dallas Winds, the premiere wind band in the United States.  In the summers, Ms. Frisof plays with several festival orchestras including the Sunflower Festival (Topeka, KS), and Music in the Mountains (Durango, CO)

A graduate of the Eastman School, The Juilliard School, and the University of Michigan, she was formerly the Professor of Flute at University of Kansas and the University of Texas at Arlington. Ms. Frisof is currently the Associate Professor of Flute at the University of Maryland. 

Allison Garza Jewett was named piccoloist of the Houston Symphony in 2006. She served previously as piccoloist with the Houston Ballet and as a guest with the St. Louis Symphony, San Antonio Symphony and Houston Grand Opera. After graduating from Eastman with the class of 1998 she went on the receive her Master's degree from Rice University's Shepherd School of Music.

Flutist Sophia Gibbs Kim has performed around the world as solo, chamber and orchestral flutist, most extensively under the auspices of the American Russian Young Artists Orchestra and Chamber Players. Highlights include a solo flute residency with the Novosibirsk Philharmonic in Russia (Siberia), as well as appearances for the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival Society, the Bermuda Arts Festival, the White Nights Music Festival (St. Petersburg, Russia), at Alice Tully Hall and Merkin Concert Hall in New York City, both the Great and Small Halls of the Moscow Conservatory, Mariinsky Theater (St. Petersburg), and Smetana Hall (Prague). She has also toured Japan and Taiwan as principal flute with the Eastman Wind Ensemble. She was a prizewinner at the Coleman Chamber Ensemble Competition and the National Flute Association Masterclass Performer’s Competition. She has performed and given lectures at the NFA Annual Conventions and the NYSMTA Conference. Sophia is a Senior Flute Instructor in the Eastman Community Music School and faculty at Houghton College. An active performer and educator in the Rochester area, she has served as Board Member and Program Committee Chair for the Rochester Flute Association. She received the Performer’s Certificate, M.M. and D.M.A. degrees from the Eastman School of Music under Bonita Boyd, the B.A. degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison under Stephanie Jutt, and also studied at the North Carolina School of the Arts under Philip Dunigan.

Aaron Goldman (BM 1999), Principal Flute of the National Symphony Orchestra since January 2013, joined the NSO as Assistant Principal Flute in September 2006. Prior to joining the NSO, he was Principal Flute of the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra and has performed as guest principal with the Baltimore Symphony. An active soloist and chamber musician, Mr. Goldman has been featured with the Virginia Chamber Orchestra, Orlando Philharmonic, the Chamber Orchestra of Florida, and has performed at several National Flute Association’s annual conventions. He has also performed with the Eclipse Chamber Orchestra, the National Chamber Players, the 21st Century Consort, the Smithsonian Chamber Orchestra, and participates in many educational programs with the NSO, including performances in the Family and Terrace Theaters. He has given lectures at the Carnegie Institute, and the Smithsonian Institution such as “The Magical Flute” and “Math and Music: Closer Than You Think” alongside NSO cellist Yvonne Caruthers. Mr. Goldman is currently serving on the Board of the National Flute Association and is Vice President of the Flute Society of Washington. He recently joined the faculty of the University of Maryland.

Filipino-American flutist Norman Gonzales is currently principal flute of the Great Falls Symphony (Montana) and Fort Collins Symphony (Colorado).  A native of Georgia, he is an active solo, orchestral, and chamber musician, who has won top prizes in Young Artist competitions sponsored by the Atlanta, Central Ohio, Pittsburgh and Rochester Flute Associations.   Dedicated to spreading his knowledge and love of music, Mr. Gonzales was a flute instructor at the Eastman Community Music School and a mentor for the New Horizon Bands in Rochester, NY.  He served as a Teaching Assistant for world-renowned flutist, Bonita Boyd, at the Eastman School of Music where he received his Master of Music degree and Performer’s Certificate.  When not playing the flute, Norman enjoys cooking, watching movies, and running with his dog, Daphne. http://normangonzales.webs.com/

Brian Gordon: After Graduating Eastman in 1979, I became very drawn to the piccolo and studied with William Hebert and Walfrid Kujala. In 1980, I became Principal Flute of the Evansville Philharmonic while I attended IU. After one year I moved to Phoenix Az where I have played piccolo and Associate principal Flute for 40 years. As well I was fortunate enough to be hired at Eastern music festival where I taught and played for over 25 years. Many developing students from Eastman attended there and it was fun to hear them in the midst of their training.

In Phoenix I was extremely lucky to have been mentored by the then Principal Flutist , Marjorie Clark (maiden name) She was a student of Mariano, Kincaid and Moyse and she graciously shared their teachings with me. It was a wonderful connection to the values of Bonita Boyd and Wally Kujala.

It’s good to be older as Margie sent me to Marlboro to study with Moyse (he was 94 then) As well I had the influence of Lois Schaefer who was here after she retired ( I play her piccolo actually). I love that a long career in music is an endless learning experience connecting to those from the past while still being inspired by my colleagues today.

Noted for her “high level of fearless skill,” flutist Alyssa Griggs is a dynamic orchestral, chamber, and solo artist. In October 2010 Alyssa received first prize in the Alexander & Buono International Flute Competition where she gave her solo debut recital at Carnegie Hall. Most recently (2013), she was a finalist in the Byron Hester Competition in Houston, TX. An avid orchestral musician, Alyssa is currently the second flutist of the Des Moines Metro Opera. Additionally she has performed with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, New Bedford Symphony, and the Ocala Symphony Orchestra. Equally versatile as a piccolo artist, her playing has been praised as “memorable” by the Boston Musical Intelligencer. Alyssa has also held substitute positions with the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, Symphony Nova, Symphony in C, and New World Symphony. Recently she performed with The Cleveland Orchestra at the Blossom Music Festival as part of the Kent-Blossom Summer Music Program. Alyssa has participated in such prominent festivals as the Aspen Music Festival, Sarasota Music Festival, Bay View Music Festival, Orford Arts Centre, Domain Forget, and the Pierre Monteux School. Alyssa has been heard on MPBN, Maine Public Radio, Iowa Public Television, and Iowa Public Radio. Currently, Alyssa is a student of BSO principal flutist, Elizabeth Rowe and piccoloist, Cindy Meyers. She holds a Master’s Degree with honors from New England Conservatory where she studied with Paula Robison and a Bachelor’s Degree with distinction from the Eastman School of Music, where she studied with Bonita Boyd and Anne Harrow. Alyssa also earned a certificate from Eastman’s Arts Leadership Program and was awarded membership to the elite Keidaeans Honor Society. 

Johanna Gruskin joined the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra as Principal Piccolo in 2022, having previously held positions with the New World Symphony and the Knoxville Symphony. She has performed as a guest with the Chicago Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony, Malaysian Philharmonic, Kansas City Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic and San Antonio Symphony. Johanna was twice a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center and returned as a featured performer of contemporary music with the New Fromm Players. As a member of the wind quintet Midic Winds, she was a medalist in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. Johanna received a bachelor of music degree from the Eastman School of Music, a master of music degree from New England Conservatory and a professional studies certificate from the Colburn School. Her primary teachers include Bonita Boyd, Elizabeth Rowe and Jim Walker.

Amy Hamilton received a Bachelor of Music and Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music, a Master of Music from Indiana University and a Doctor of Music from Northwestern University. Her major teachers include Bonita Boyd and Walfrid Kujala. Currently, she is Professor of flute, conducts the Laurier Flute Ensemble and coordinates the wind department at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.  She has performed with the Toronto Symphony, Canadian Opera Company and National Ballet of Canada, and has coached flute chamber music at the University of Toronto. In addition to her duties at Wilfrid Laurier, Dr. Hamilton appears in solo recitals and chamber concerts and has released a solo CD of Canadian music titled Canadian Music for Flute and Piano and chamber music CDs titled Canadian Flute Quartets with Quartet Laurier, Canadian Flute Duos, and Tryptique featuring music for flute, oboe and piano with the Meridian Trio. Dr. Hamilton has completed annotated bibliographies of flute and piano and flute chamber music found in the Canadian Music Centre collection, and the Laurier Flute Ensemble under her direction has recorded a CD of Canadian flute octets titled 8 Pieces for 8.

Since leaving Eastman, Maria Harding has been the Principal Flutist of the Omaha Symphony since 1997. She has also played with the Kansas City Symphony, the Saint Louis Symphony, and has held the position of Principal Flute with the Charleston (SC) Symphony Orchestra. In addition to her full-time orchestral schedule, Maria gives over 30 solo performances a year. Organizers of the National Flute Association convention recently invited her to perform as part of their “Generation X All-Stars” series, and in 2012 she presented Bloch’s “Suite Modale” with chamber orchestra as the centerpiece event in the Springfield-Drury Music Festival. Locally, she dedicates considerable time bringing music to Omaha senior centers, children’s hospitals, and hospice facilities. Maria enjoys a large and lively private teaching studio. She hopes to perpetuate the caring guidance she received from Bonita Boyd! website:www.mariaharding.com/

Deidre Huckabay is a performer, writer, and flutist living in Chicago and making contemplative art work. She is one of eleven members of Mocrep, co-curator of the We Series at Elastic Arts, and often plays flute with the world-touring shadow puppetry company Manual Cinema. She also runs an experimental, cooperative cassette tape label called Parlour Tapes+. Some recent experiences she feels proud of include co-authoring a book with Mocrep in which every sentence starts “I want to know” (I Want to Know, Spiderf*rt Press, 2020) and laying groundwork with colleagues for a Chicago Musicians’ Community Retirement Fund to support retirement security for non-union musicians. In 2021, she released her first solo record, Words for the Dead / Words from the Dead, an attempt to transmit messages to and from lost loved ones through a small Korg MS-20 synthesizer.

Deidre’s current home in Chicago is on the traditional homelands of the Council of the Three Fires: The Odawa, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi Nations. A sixth-generation Texan on both sides, she is the descendent of white British and Scottish settlers who squatted on still-unceded lands belonging to Wichita, Comanche, and Apache people near present-day Dallas, Lubbock, and Amarillo. Daughter of Charlotte and Ron, granddaughter of Bettye, Anne, and Bob, Deidre is named after soap actor Deidre Hall (best known for playing Dr. Marlena Evans on Days of Our Lives) and recognizes the origin of her name in the Ulster legend Deirdre of the Sorrows.

Alyce Johnson is the piccolo player with the Chicago Lyric Opera Orchestra, the second flutist with the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra and is on faculty at the DePaul school of music. Previously she served as the principal flutist in the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra for four years. Ms. Johnson left Shanghai in 2003 to join the New World Symphony Orchestra for one season, which included tours to Rome and Carnegie Hall. She was a winner of the New World Symphony concerto competition performing Mozart's Flute and Harp Concerto. Other solo appearances have been with the Chicago Philharmonic, Bach Week Festival, Shanghai Philharmonic, Shanghai Symphony, UNC-Chapel Hill Symphony, and the New Eastman Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Johnson received both her Masters Degree and a Performers Certificate from the Eastman School of Music, her Bachelor of Music degree with distinction from UNC-Chapel Hill and has participated in various summer festivals including the Tanglewood Music Festival, Music Academy of the West and the Aspen Music Festival. Her most influential teachers include Bonita Boyd, Brooks de Wetter-Smith, Fenwick Smith, Mary Kay Fink and Elizabeth Rowe.

Jessica Johnson (B.F.A. University of Michigan, M.M. Eastman, D.M.A. University of Wisconsin Madison) was a founding member and flutist for the new music ensemble Alarm Will Sound from 2001-2007. From 2007-2011 she was the Communications Manager at the Thurnauer School of Music in NJ, and from 2012-2013, Manager of Education and Community Engagement at the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. She is a proud stay-at-home mom with a great passion for knitting and being outdoors, and currently lives in India with her family. She is married to a fellow Eastman graduate, percussionist and composer Payton MacDonald. http://www.saffronwindowsill.wordpress.com 

Mindy Kaufman joined the New York Philharmonic in 1979 at the age of 22 after earning a bachelor of music from the Eastman School of Music where she studied with the legendary teachers Walfrid Kujala, James Galway, and Bonita Boyd. She came to New York after playing with the Rochester Philharmonic for three years with her teacher Bonita Boyd as principal flute. Ms. Kaufman has appeared both as a piccolo and flute soloist under the direction of Music Directors Zubin Mehta, Kurt Masur, and Lorin Maazel.  In addition to playing solo piccolo with the Philharmonic, her career includes performances as associate principal flute from 1995-2004, and from 2007-2013. In 1989-1990, she performed as principal flute with the Milwaukee Symphony. She recorded Avner Dorman’s Piccolo Concerto for Naxos, and has a solo CD titled French Flute Music.  She has performed on more than 40 film soundtracks.

Dr. Laura Kaufman Mowry is a soloist, orchestral, and chamber musician who has been hailed by the Washington Post for “absolutely gorgeous flute-playing.” Laura has performed with a variety of renowned ensembles, including the National Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Smithsonian Chamber Players, Fairfax Symphony, Alexandria Symphony, DC Public Opera, Peacherine Ragtime Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic, and New World Symphony. Laura performs in District5, a DC-based wind quintet dedicated to innovative ways of presenting classical music. Laura is dedicated to fostering the talents of young musicians. She maintains a private flute studio, and has coached wind players at the University of Maryland at Baltimore County, American Youth Philharmonic, and the University of Maryland High School Academy. She is also the Director of the American Youth Philharmonic Flute Ensemble.

Laura has received national recognition from prize-winning performances at the National Flute Association’s Young Artist Competition, National Society of Arts and Letters Wind Competition, New York Flute Club Competition, Flute Society of Washington Young Artist Competition, Pasadena Showcase Instrumental Competition, among others. Her experiences have inspired her to assist other musicians with competition preparation and overcoming performance anxiety. Laura holds degrees in Flute Performance from Eastman School of Music, The Colburn School, and the University of Maryland.

As the flute professor at University of Illinois, Jonathan Keeble is known for his rich tone, effervescent personality, and nuanced musicality. In high demand as performing artist and master class clinician, he has been described as having an “infinitely flexible sound, with many subtle colors,” and is among the leading performer/pedagogues of his generation. Jonathan’s passion for new music led him to commission many new works for the flute from rising young composers. From these efforts come the recently released, critically acclaimed recordings, Voyage and Song of the Black Swan as the Aletheia Duo, and Turbulent Winds with the Prairie Winds. Critics have lauded the collaboration in Voyage as being “memorable,” and Keeble’s performance as “spellbinding.” In Song of the Black Swan, his playing is lauded as “exquisite” (Fanfare Magazine) and “Keeble’s depth of tone and palate of colors is magnificent throughout the album. This is a fabulous addition to a … CD collection, both for the quality of the performance and the diversity of the repertoire.” (Flutist Quarterly) He is a regular performer, adjudicator, and presenter at National Flute Association conventions, and is currently Immediate Past President of the Association. Jonathan’s is the flutist for the award winning Prairie Winds and Aletheia Duo, and Principal Flute of the Sinfonia da Camera. He spends summers performing and teaching at Aria International, Madeline Island Music Camp, and at the University of Illinois Pre-College Flute Seminar.

Gina Kutkowski graduated from the Eastman School of Music in 1992 where she had the honor of studying with Bonita Boyd. As a recipient of a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship, she completed a Graduate Diploma in Performance at the Sydney Conservatorium in Australia. In 1995, Gina was awarded a « diplôme de virtuosité » from the Société Suisse de Pédagogie Musicale in Switzerland. She was Professor of Flute at the Conservatoire National de Tunis in North Africa as well as resident soloist with the Orchestre Symphonique de Tunis during two years. She then held the position of second flute/piccolo with the symphony orchestra the “Sinfonietta de Lausanne” in Switzerland for nearly a decade. In addition, she has performed with the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne and the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. Presently, Gina is an active chamber musician and teacher in the Geneva region of Switzerland where she lives with her husband and daughter.

Kathryn Ladner joined the Houston Symphony on piccolo and flute in the fall of 2016. In addition to playing in the symphony, Kathryn performs with and is on the board of Third Space Music, a musician-led non-profit that puts on chamber music concerts and fundraises for local Houston charities. Kathryn also teaches private lessons on flute and piccolo. Before coming to Houston, Kathryn was a member of the Nashville Symphony from 2012-2016. While in Nashville, she also enjoyed performing with the Alias Chamber Ensemble and teaching flute lessons at the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt and the W.O. Smith Music School. 

Born and raised in Seattle, Washington, Kathryn began playing flute in public school at age 10. Kathryn holds a Bachelors of Music and Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music and a Masters of Music from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. While at Eastman, she studied flute with Bonita Boyd and took piccolo lessons with Anne Harrow. In 2010 she was the Piccolo Fellow at the Aspen Music Festival, and she has also performed with the National Repertory Orchestra and the Pacific Music Festival. At the Shepherd School of Music she studied with Leone Buyse, graduating in 2012.

Kate Lemmon earned her Bachelor of Music and Performer's Certificate from Eastman in 2012. She is currently a second-year master's student of Paula Robison at New England Conservatory. Kate has taken first prize in the Byron Hester Competition as well as third prize in the New York Flute Club Competition, and she has participated as a flute fellow at the Aspen Music Festival, Colorado College Summer Music Festival, and YOA Orchestra of the Americas. In Boston, she performs with Discovery Ensemble and the Boston Philharmonic. Kate also runs her own photography business and loves to photograph flutists! You can view both her photos and flute website at www.KateLemmon.com.

Kasumi Leonard earned her BM from The Eastman School of Music in 2009. Since then she has been a member of the United States Army Field Band, a group that tours the country over 100 days a year. She has been featured as a soloist with the band numerous times and has appeared on the educational DVD, Flute Fundamentals. While Kasumi was at Eastman she performed with The New York String Orchestra, The National Orchestral Institute and The Buffalo Philharmonic. She is originally from Seattle, Washington and now lives in Annapolis, Maryland. Her teachers have included Bonita Boyd, Anne Lindblom Harrow and Bonnie Blanchard. 

Anne Lindblom Harrow is the Associate Professor of Flute and Piccolo at the Eastman School of Music.  She is solo flutist with the Lake Placid Sinfonietta, the professional summer chamber orchestra of the Adirondacks.  Formerly principal flutist of the Florida West Coast Symphony Orchestra, Anne has performed with the Rochester Chamber Orchestra, the Rochester Philharmonic, the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Savannah Symphony, and the Skaneateles and Spoleto festivals. Anne earned her BM and PC in 1981 and later returned for her MM in Performance and Literature.  Her daughter Naomi joins Bonnie's flute studio as a member of ESM Class of 2017 and is Bonnie's first "grand-student".

Robert Lovasich, born 1957 in Oakland, California grew up in a musical family. His father, Gabriel Edward sang in the chorus of the San Francisco Opera and his mother, Margaret Jeanne, although professionally a statistician at the University of California in Berkeley was a brilliant pianist on the weekends. Robert began flute lessons at the age of seven and later clarinet and saxophone as well. During his high school years he won prizes at local competitions but was particularly pleased to become the first chair flutist with the California All-State Concert Band.

In 1975 - 1979 he studied at the Eastman School of Music under professors James Galway, Paul Dunkel and Bonita Boyd. During his senior year he had the privilege to substitute with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. He was especially glad to be chosen to perform a small solo-part next to Professor Boyd on a tour to New York City with the Eastman Wind Ensemble. After completing his bachelor degree he received a grant through the Fulbright Program to study at the Musikhochschule of Hamburg, Germany under Professor Karlheinz Zöller.

In 1980 he began a two year engagement as principal flutist and teacher at the Chautauqua Festival, NY. During his second season he was honored to be selected to perform as soloist with the orchestra. Since 1980 he has been Solo-Flutist of the National Theater of Mannheim, Germany. He has also performed as soloist with his own orchestra and the Kurpfalz Chamber Orchestra of Mannheim and other chamber orchestras in the region with works by Nielsen, Mozart, Vivaldi, Bach and Tchaikovsky. In 1990 he toured Israel as soloist with the Kurpfalz Chamber Orchestra. He has performed with the orchestras of the opera houses of Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt, Cologne and Düsseldorf among others. He has also performed with the Symphony Orchestra of South German Radio and toured with this orchestra in Spain under the direction of Neville Merriner. In addition to performing on the flute he has performed as a concert tenor with the Kurpfalz Chamber Orchestra and other chamber orchestras with works by Britten, Monteverdi, Mozart, Händel and even Giuseppe Verdi.

Starting In 1987 he had the opportunity to play solo-flute with the Richard Wagner Festival in Bayreuth. His most memorable performances were Tristan und Isolde and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg under the direction of Daniel Barenboim and the Ring operas with James Levine. In 1999 he was given the opportunity to perform solo-flute in the production for German television of Götterdämmerung also with James Levine. Among his many recordings for South German Radio his favorite is his recording of Ravel's Chansons madécasses with the famous Wagnerian soprano, Gabriele Schnaut.

Since 2000 he has been devoting more time to his hobbies, mountain and rock climbing. He has also been a marathon runner since 2004 having run the Boston Marathon twice in 2015 and 2018. He is proudest of his achievement in 2012 having come in second of his age-class at the Mannheim Marathon.

As CultureMap’s listings editor and arts/food writer, Joel Luks’ (BM 1995, performer's certificate) columns explore Houston’s creative community, with special emphasis on classical music, education and multidisciplinary arts. He pores over thousands of local offerings to curate an extensive lifestyle events guide, manages social media channels and contributes to social marketing and conversation strategies. In addition to producing video segments, Luks is a regular lifestyle contributor on KHOU, Houston's local CBS affiliate. Before joining CultureMap’s editorial team, Luks worked as the education director of Young Audiences of Houston, where he led more than 100 artists to design arts-in-education curriculum for underserved schools and implemented professional development workshops.

George Marge, Jr. has been heard throughout North America as soloist, chamber artist, and orchestral musician. He has toured with "The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber" and has performed in the pits of such Broadway musicals as "Into the Woods" (original and revival!), Les Miserables, Miss Saigon, The Secret Garden, Titantic, and Shogun. He has also played the solo flute chair in the Radio City Music Hall Orchestra for the "Radio City Christmas Spectacular" and has played on numerous television commercials. His alto flute playing is featured on Meghan Carey's album "Onion Dream". Mr. Marge holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music and a Master of Science degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Syracuse University. In addition to his musical endeavors, he is a licensed speech-language pathologist.

After her achievement becoming 3rd prize winner at the ARD International Music Competition in Munich, Sanae Nakayama pursued a successful career as a concert flutist and a teacher for nearly two decades. She was one of the most sought-after flutists in Japan playing recitals and appearing as a soloist with orchestras all over Japan and abroad. She also released two albums under the DENON label. Sanae was an associate professor at Musashino Music College in Tokyo and a visiting instructor at the Elizabeth Music University in Hiroshima and had taught at these schools for more than 15 years. Her acquiring of focal dystonia, however, compelled her to begin a new chapter. Two years after relocating to New York City with her husband, she became interested in ESL (English as Second Language) teaching. She has been teaching English and Japanese at the Berlitz Language Center for 5 years and has recently earned the TESOL certificate at Teachers College Columbia University. For Sanae, Bonnie has always been a role model not only as a tremendous musician but also as a remarkably insightful and inspiring teacher and she will continue to influence her in her future endeavors as an ESL teacher.

Dr. Sean Owen earned his Bachelor of Music degree in flute performance from the Eastman School of Music in 1995 and his Master of Music degree from The Ohio State University. He returned to Eastman to earn his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Flute Performance and Literature. Dr. Owen is a prizewinner of the 2004 National Flute Association Young Artist Competition and has performed throughout the United States and Europe. Formerly the flute professor at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan, Sean was a member of the Grand Valley Winds, GVSU’s faculty woodwind quintet. Dr. Owen is currently a member of the United States Army Field Band in Washington, DC, the official touring concert band of the United States Army. With nearly 25 years teaching experience, Dr. Owen is a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music in Flute by Music Teachers National Association. He has judged numerous competitions, including the National Flute Association Young Artist Competition, the Rochester Flute Association Competition, and Maryland Music Educators Association’s All-State Solo and Ensemble Festival. Dr. Owen has served on the Executive Board of the Ohio Music Teachers Association Central East District and as Program Chairman of the Rochester Flute Association. In addition to serving as Editor for the Central Ohio Flute Association, Dr. Owen has served as Volunteer Coordinator for the National Flute Association Convention and is a past member of the National Flute Association's Online Technology Committee and served as chair of NFA’s Young Artist Competition Repertoire Committee. His teachers include Bonita Boyd, Katherine Borst Jones, Richard Sherman, Joanna Bassett, Heidi Ruby-Kushious, and Beth Owen.http://www.seanjowen.com

Tallon Sterling Perkes, was born on September 6, 1961 and died on October 20, 2012 from pneumonia at 51. Tal played Principal Flute with the San Antonio Symphony. He began his professional flute career as a teenager performing with the San Diego Symphony studying with principal flutist Damian Bursill-Hall. Mr. Perkes received his Bachelor of Music degree and Performer's Certificate from the Eastman School of Music in 1984 where he was a student of Bonita Boyd. While at Eastman he was Principal Flutist on the Eastman Philharmonia's recordings for Mercury records and a member of the Rochester Philharmonic. He has held the positions of Principal Flute with the San Diego Opera Orchestra, Solo Piccolo with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra and Assistant Principal Flute with the Barcelona City Orchestra in Spain. Tal also loved teaching. He taught at the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan and at Trinity University for a time, and he gave private lessons. He participated in a program at St. Philip's College that provided lessons to students who couldn't otherwise afford them. When it became clear that health problems would end his musical career, he returned to school and, while still playing full time, earned a masters degree in architecture, and was preparing to embark on a new career at the time of his death.

Teresa Perrin enjoys an active career as a band, orchestra, and chamber musician. Since July 2018, she has been an active duty member of the U.S. Navy Fleet Band, and is  currently stationed at the Navy Band Southeast in Jacksonville, FL. There she plays in Wind Ensemble, Ceremonial Band, and Woodwind Quintet and performs throughout the Southeast region of the United States, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. 

As an Orchestral Musician, Teresa has played with the Venice Symphony, Ohio Light Opera, Southwest Florida Symphony Orchestra, Kravis Pops Orchestra, Boca Symphonia, Ocala Symphony Orchestra, Symphonia Gulf Coast, Coastal Symphony of Georgia, and the Sarasota Orchestra.

Teresa is a member of the Noble Trio with Michael Noble (piano), and her husband Gregory Perrin (viola). The Noble Trio had their debut performance in the summer of 2017 in Rancho Mirage, California to a sold out hall at the Coachella Valley Repertory Theater.

In March of 2018, Teresa performed as a member of the Syzygy Wind Quintet on their tour to Szeged, Hungary. The group was invited to perform a recital at the Szeged Conservatory of Music featuring the European premiere of Scott Wheeler's Village Music. In addition,  they gave the Hungarian premiere of Lowell Liebermann's Fantasy on a Fugue by J.S. Bach.

Teresa first began studying flute at the age twelve while living in Kaiserslautern, Germany.  Upon returning to the US, she studied in San Antonio, TX with Tallon Perkes of the San Antonio Symphony. She received her Bachelor of Music in flute performance from the Eastman School of Music as a student of Bonita Boyd and Masters of Music from Lynn Conservatory of Music as a student of Jeffrey Khaner. In addition, Teresa received Lynn Conservatory's prestigious Dean's Award for Excellence in Graduate Education which recognizes an exceptional graduate student that has made significant advances in their career during their studies at the conservatory.  

Appointed by President Tony Woodcock in 2009 as Founder and Director of New England Conservatory's Entrepreneurial Musicianship department, Rachel Roberts was charged with designing and leading a major new initiative that would equip young musicians with key extra-musical skills to support their artistic careers. Over the last three years, Rachel has launched a wide range of experiential programs and curricula, including a signature grant initiative, courses on arts entrepreneurship, fellowships, creative performance projects, and more. Prior to joining NEC, Rachel served as the first Director of Strategic Planning Engagement for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, working on organization-wide strategic and governance objectives. She led the ASO’s grand opening festivities at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park, a 12,000-seat outdoor facility that serves as the ASO’s summer home. She also instituted the orchestra’s "new traditions" during the inaugural 2008 summer series, including themed cuisines, Top of the Lawn pre-concert talks, audience text messaging, and Backstage Live intermission features. Rachel arrived at the ASO after completing the League of American Orchestras’ Orchestra Management Fellowship program, working with the orchestras in Aspen, Detroit, South Dakota, and Atlanta. Growing up in Iowa, Rachel studied flute and piano, which led her to pursue a degree in flute performance at the Eastman School of Music. Through the ESM’s Catherine Filene Shouse Arts Leadership Program, she discovered the full range of professional pathways within the music industry, prompting her to explore a career in orchestra management, beginning as Artistic and Production Assistant with the Houston Symphony. Beginning fall 2013, Rachel will be pursuing part-time graduate studies through the Harvard Graduate School of Education. A student of the Special Studies Program, she will focus her coursework on leadership and organizational change. Throughout her career, Rachel has continued to pursue her passion for flute, and enjoys performing, teaching at NEC's Prep School, and accompanying colleagues across the country.

Charlotte Roth has held tenure with the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra since 2017 where she plays Piccolo. She also holds the Piccolo and Assistant Principal Flute position of the Owensboro Symphony Orchestra. As an active freelancer, she also performs regularly with ensembles such as the Louisville Orchestra, the Evansville Philharmonic, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. She currently lives in Louisville, KY where she has a growing private studio of wonderful flutists from ages 8 to 50 years old. She holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music (BM) and Northwestern University (MM). When she is not playing flute, she enjoys hiking, swimming, running, and playing with her cat. Since 2019 she has completed 3 half marathons, one full marathon, and one triathlon.

Adam Sadberry joined the Detroit Symphony Orchestra as an African-American Orchestra Fellow in the fall of 2018. Adam’s orchestral experience includes performances as principal flutist with the Detroit and Memphis Symphony Orchestras and playing in the sections of the Albany Symphony, Detroit Chamber Winds, New World Symphony, and Omaha Symphony. In addition, he was a member of the studio orchestra that recording the soundtrack for the live action remake of Disney’s famous movie The Lion King. As a soloist, Adam has performed concerti with the Cordancia Chamber Orchestra, Clear Lake Symphony, Conroe Symphony, and the Detroit Chamber Orchestra. Adam has received top awards and recognition in competitions from organizations including From the Top, Tal Perkes Flute Competition, U.S. Army Band "Pershing’s Own", YoungArts, National Association of Negro Musicians, Houston Symphony League, Houston Flute Club, and others. As for passing the flute baton along, Adam has taught through the Eastman Community Music School, the Baylor Flute Seminar, and the Southeast Asia Music Festival. He is currently a teacher through the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Civic Youth Ensembles Lesson Program. Adam received his Bachelor of Music in Flute Performance and a Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music. Adam is wholly indebted to all of his incredible teachers and mentors including Bonita Boyd, Anne Harrow, Jennifer Keeney, Jeff Zook, Amanda Blaikie, and Sharon Sparrow.

Paula Santirocco (MM, ’89) began her performing career as an undergraduate at Baldwin-Wallace College where she studied with famed pedagogue and Cleveland Orchestra piccolo player William Hebert. Shortly after obtaining her Bachelor’s at BW she played piccolo in the Erie Philharmonic and flute with the New Cleveland Chamber Players while teaching at Cleveland State University. She was appointed Principal Flute in the Akron Symphony and flute teacher at the University of Akron and then returned to her native Rochester to study with Bonita Boyd and obtain her Master’s at Eastman. She returned to Cleveland to become Principal Flute with the Ohio Chamber Orchestra, Cleveland Ballet and Cleveland Opera, as well as play in the orchestras for the many Broadway touring shows which stopped in Cleveland. Always drawn to art, she began to paint after nearly 20 years as a performer, and in 2012 had a featured exhibition at the gallery of the Arts and Cultural Council of Greater Rochester, a show entitled “Inspiration and Imagination.” She feels that her background as a performer led her to paint large canvases with bold color. She has developed experimental tech­niques working with different media, applying paint with unusual items, creating exciting patterns and textures. Us­ing her own method of layering and overlapping washes of acrylic paint as water medium, she gives her work luminous depth and richness, different from varying angles and light. Although not a collage artist, she sometimes uses (or hides) vin­tage images of women to express themes of feminine freedom. She also designs and creates unusual jewelry in pearls, semi-precious stones and sterling silver. www.paulasgallery.com

Gina Sebastian graduated with a B.M. from The Eastman School of Music in 2009. She has served as Flutist with The United States Army Field Band since 2010. Gina is a frequent soloist with the band, performing works by Borne, Doppler, Bach, and more. She also co-wrote and appeared on Flute Fundamentals, an educational DVD produced by the Army Field Band and distributed to music educators and students across the US. As a member of The Pentagon Winds, a woodwind quintet with an educational outreach mission, Gina frequently gives recitals and masterclass in colleges and universities throughout the country. She is also principal flute of the Ars Nova Chamber Orchestra, a self-conducted group based in Washington, DC. Gina won the top prize at the 2007 Rochester Flute Association's Young Artist Competition. She was awarded a fellowship to perform as co-principal flute for the Aspen Music Festival's 2009 American Academy of Conducting orchestra under the direction of David Zinman. An active soloist, Gina has performed at the Mid-Atlantic Flute Fair, Rochester Flute Association Flute Fair, Texas Flute Society Flute Festival, and The National Flute Association's annual convention. She was most recently on the flute faculty for the 2013 Siena Music Festival in Siena, Italy.

Susanna Self, former Principal Flutist of Charlotte Symphony, Acting Assistant Principal and Second Flutist of Baltimore Symphony, and Acting Assistant Principal of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, now lives in Lubbock Texas with her husband cellist Jeffrey Noel Lastrapes. Together they have founded Caerus Ensemble, an innovative chamber group that presents artistic, educational and music therapy-based programs throughout West Texas. She is currently Lecturer in Music at Eastern New Mexico University and Principal Flutist of the Peninsula Music Festival Orchestra.

In addition to serving as principal flute of the Lansing Symphony Orchestra, Richard Sherman is principal flute of the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra in New York and professor of flute at the Michigan State University College of Music. Active as a soloist, orchestral musician and recitalist, he is recognized as a dynamic performer and an outstanding musician with dramatic power. In addition to studying at the Royal College of Music in London, he received a bachelor’s degree in music from the Eastman School of Music and a master’s degree in music from Northwestern University. Mr. Sherman is former principal flute with the Rochester (New York) Philharmonic Orchestra and has given performances as guest Principal Flute with the Chicago Symphony, the English Chamber Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony, the Toronto Symphony and the Florida Orchestra. He has performed as a soloist with the Columbus Symphony, the Rochester Philharmonic, Youngstown Symphony, Lansing Symphony, Chautauqua Symphony and Bridgeport Symphony, among others. He is currently head of winds, brass and percussion at the Chautauqua Music School, part of the Chautauqua Institution. He has given master classes at many universities through the United States, as well as at the Sydney Conservatory in Sydney, Australia, at the Queensland Conservatory in Brisbane, Australia, at the National Brazilian Flute Convention, and more recently in Taipei, Taiwan, during the summer of 2013. Mr. Sherman recorded two albums with pianist Ralph Votapek released on Summit Records, and a third on Lansing’s Blue Griffin Recording label, which will also soon release a recording with his Icarus Trio. Mr. Sherman recorded “The French Album,” with the late pianist Kimberly Schmidt, and his most recent critically-acclaimed album, “French Album Vol. II: Homage to Pedagogy,” was released on the Blue Griffin Recording Label with pianist Ralph Votapek in May 2013. At the MSU College of Music’s 2013 spring graduation, Mr. Sherman was honored with the Dortha J. and John D. Withrow Excellence in Teaching Award.

Jessica Sindell joined The Cleveland Orchestra in October 2018. Prior to winning this audition, she was the solo piccolo player of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. After graduating from the Eastman School of Music under the tutelage of Bonita Boyd, she won her very first orchestral audition at the age of 22 to be principal flute of the Oregon Symphony. Ms. Sindell has been performing with the Lake Tahoe Music Festival orchestra since 2012, and also acted as principal with the Mainly Mozart Festival in San Diego as well as the Colorado Music Festival. She has also performed and recorded at the new Tippet Rise Arts Center. In 2020, Jessica was officially appointed professor of flute at the Cleveland Institute of Music.

Visit Jessica’s website at http://www.jessicasindell.com

Margaret (Meg) Sippey, MM in Performance and Literature & Performer’s Certificate, 2001.

Meg’s lifelong love of music began as a pianist, chorister and then a flutist. She received a Bachelor of Music in Flute Performance from Michigan State University, and Masters of Flute Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.  While at Eastman, she was also awarded the Performers Certificate.  

An accomplished performer, Meg was Principal Flute with the Akron Symphony Orchestra, the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra, and substituted with many orchestras including the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and the New World Symphony. While performing with the Evansville Philharmonic, she was on the music faculty for the University of Evansville where in her recruitment, teaching and festival planning she realized her passion for arts administration.

Prior to joining the Memphis Symphony Orchestra as their Director of Artistic Planning - Meg gained administrative expertise in opera companies and orchestras  across the country.  Most recently, Meg served as Executive Director of the Bay Atlantic Symphony in Atlantic City, NJ and prior to that Meg served a six year tenure at the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra where she served  in various roles of increasing responsibility, from Artistic Coordinator to Artistic Planning Manager & Assistant to the Music Director (Marin Alsop) and finally as Acting Artistic Administrator.  Meg has also worked for the Aspen Music Festival and School and the Houston Grand Opera. Throughout her career, Meg gained significant experience in Artistic Planning, Community Outreach, Audience Development, Budgeting and General Operations.

Meg describes herself as a devoted advocate of music and its ability to inspire, engage and transform people from all walks of life. She continues to foster meaningful, respectful and collaborative relationships with patrons, sponsors and members of the community. Meg currently resides in Memphis, TN with her dogs, Max and Polly. When not at the concert halls or in the office, Meg can be found traveling, hiking/walking the trails, visiting art museums or sharing a meal with friends.

www.bsomusic.org

A native of Vermont, Emily Skala has been the Principal Flutist of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra since 1988 and a faculty member of the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University since 1989. In 1991, she was awarded the Jean Frederic Perenoud Prize at the Second Vienna International Competition. Her critically acclaimed CD of music by Brahms and Schubert, released in 2001 by Summit Records, is frequently aired on radio stations nationwide. In a whirlwind week in January of 2010 she taught 28 students ages 13-42 in Suanbo, Korea, one of whom is currently a 2013 Masters candidate at Peabody. Former students perform professionally in orchestras from Germany to Korea and from Oregon to Virginia. While herself a student and as a professional, Ms. Skala has performed at many of the world's most renowned music festivals: Aspen, Great Woods, Osaka, Edinburgh, Hollywood Bowl, and Wolf Trap. She looks forward to adding another festival to this list as she joins Maestro Marin Alsop in Campos do Jordao, Brazil, to teach and mentor young South American flutists in the summer of 2013. An expert in orchestral repertoire, Ms. Skala has been called upon to adjudicate and teach at the National Flute Association’s annual conventions, to perform in honor of her former teachers, and to commission new works, specifically by Michael Daugherty and Michael Torke. Her arrangement of Richard Einhorn's flute trio entitled "Felicite's Parrot" is due out later this year, a portion of the profits from which will go to support World Parrot Trust.

A passionate advocate for chamber music, Melissa Snoza currently performs with the Peninsula Music Festival and freelances throughout the Chicago area. Also an active educator, Melissa currently serves as Adjunct Professor of Flute at Carthage College, teaches a music entrepreneurship course at DePaul University, and maintains a private studio. As a member of 5HE, Melissa has presented workshops at Northwestern University, Yale, NEIU, UW Milwaukee, and the Colburn Conservatory on arts entrepreneurship and creative programming, and contributes to the Entrepreneur the Arts blog. Previous award credits include First Prize at the National Flute Association’s Orchestral Audition Competition, as well as being selected as a winner of Northwestern University’s Concerto Competition. She has been a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, has performed with the New World Symphony, the National Repertory Orchestra, the Aspen Music Festival, and was the only American flutist invited to the first Music Master’s Course in Kazusa, Japan. Melissa is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and Northwestern University, with principal teachers including Bonita Boyd and Walfrid Kujala. Melissa is not only a well-known flutist and teacher in Chicago – she also makes a mean spread of Brazilian food and a mouth-watering chocolate pecan bourbon pie. http://fifth-house.com/artists/melissa-snoza/

Recently appointed principal flutist of the Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra, Evan Pengra Sult has been praised for his “standout” performances and “elegant solos” (The Gazette, Colorado Springs). He holds degrees from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (M.M. ’19) and the Eastman School of Music (B.M./P.C. ’17); his principal teachers are Tim Day, Bonita Boyd, Anne Harrow, Zart Dombourian-Eby, and Bonnie Blanchard. A regular presence at summer festivals, he has been a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center, Colorado College Music Festival, National Orchestral Institute, and Texas Music Festival, among others.

 Evan was a prizewinner at the Seattle Flute Society’s 2016 Young Artist Competition, has performed with the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, Seattle Collaborative Orchestra, and Academy Chamber Orchestra, and was an associate member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. He has also been a featured guest on 98.1 Classical KING FM’s popular program “Northwest Focus Live!” and has performed live on television in Houston, TX. In 2017 he was elected to the Beta Pi chapter of Pi Kappa Lambda, the only national music honor society. 

 Also a writer, Evan contributes to the “Passing Tones” column of The Flutist Quarterlyand was a fellow at the 2018 Rubin Institute for Music Criticism. In his spare time, he is an avid reader, crossword puzzler, politics junkie, and Anglophile.

An avid chamber musician and teacher, Sara Traficante performs as member of Vox Metropolis (piano trio), Azuline Duo (flute and guitar), and freelances throughout Ontario. Recent performances include broadcasts on CBC Radio-Canada, appearances at Festival of the Sound, Ottawa International Chamberfest, and The Banff Centre. BM with Performer's Certificate at Eastman studying with Bonita Boyd and MM from McGill University studying with Timothy Hutchins. An active teacher, Sara is Adjunct Flute Faculty at Redeemer University College. Sara maintains a vibrant studio of private students and is founder of the Hamilton Flute Club. Performance and education projects have been generously funded through the Ontario Arts Council, Heritage Canada, Ottawa Community Foundation and City of Hamilton Arts Awards. Sara lives in Hamilton, Ontario with her husband and daughter. They can be found in the neighbourhood playground or escaping to cottage country at every opportunity.

Joel Tse joined The Toledo Symphony as Principal Flute in 1998,  after three years in that position with the New World Symphony in  Miami Beach, FL. In addition, he served as Principal Flute of the  Hong Kong Philharmonic from 2001-02 and has performed as  guest Principal Flute with the English Chamber Orchestra and  Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Active as a soloist and chamber  musician throughout the world, Joel has been invited to perform  recitals in England, Singapore, Japan, and Costa Rica, among  others, and has played chamber music throughout Europe, Asia,  Russia, South America, Greece, Turkey and Israel. He has  participated in several renowned music festivals, including 3  consecutive summers with the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo,  Japan, and with the American-Soviet Youth Orchestra. In July  2000, Joel performed with the Pacific Music Festival’s 10th anniversary orchestra at the invitation of conductor Michael Tilson  Thomas, touring throughout the country with an orchestra  comprised of professional musicians from around the globe. An experienced, sought-after teacher, Joel has presented  masterclasses for the Costa Rica International Flute Festival and,  for several consecutive summers, he has taught at the William  Bennett’s International Flute Summer School in England,  Belgium, and Italy. He also has served on the faculty of the  University of Toledo Music Department since 2008, and Bowling  Green State University College of Music since 2016. He received a Bachelor’s degree with a Performer’s Certificate  from the Eastman School of Music, a Master’s degree from  Northwestern University, and a Performance Diploma from the  Royal Academy of Music in London. His teachers include Bonita  Boyd, Walfrid Kujula, Jeffrey Khaner, Keith Underwood and  William Bennett. Joel plays on a French flute made by Louis Lot,  #1720, circa 1872 and an Altus 1407.

After receiving her M.M. from Eastman, Mary-Ann Tu, played principal flute with the the NJ Lyric Opera , free-lanced playing "broadway" when she moved to New Orleans, and performed/taught at Chengdu University as a guest artist. Shortly thereafter, she detoured into the world of finance to become a a Vice President at Citigroup where she held positions in Credit/Risk, CitiVision andStrategy & Planning. After experiencing 911 first hand, Mary-Ann returned to her musical roots and founded MasterclassesNYC.com to promote concerts and masterclasses for world-class flutists. Additionally, Mary-Ann performs with her virtual band for seniors, directs the NYFC Ensembles program, leads Make Music NY Mass Appeal Flutes, and is spearheading the flute program at an Upper East Side (NYC) private school where she enjoys utilizing innovative technologies to improve teaching. She has written for The British Flute Society, The New York Flute Club Newsletter; she has been interviewed by Making Music Magazine, Make Music New York and the NY Flute Club. In the summer of 2013, she travelled to New Orleans to attend the NFA introducing Keith Underwood and presenting several slideshows. She attributes her love for music to Bonita Boyd. Website: masterclassesNYC.com

Christopher Vaneman assumes the role of Dean of Converse University’s School of the Arts in 2021. He has been Director of Converse’s Petrie School of Music and its Associate Professor of Flute, and received Converse’s Kathryne Amelia Brown Award for teaching excellence. As flutist of the chamber groups Echo and Ensemble Radieuse, Chris has played on four continents and all over the country, premiered dozens of new pieces, and collaborated on scores of original arrangements for the flute-guitar duo as well as the flute-oboe-piano trio. He is a past President of the South Carolina Flute Society and has performed at many conferences of both the National Flute Association and the International Double Reed Society; he has also lectured in many venues, including national conferences of the College Music Society.

      Chris holds three degrees, among them the Doctor of Musical Arts, from Yale University, where he studied with Ransom Wilson, as well as a bachelor’s from Eastman, where his teacher was Bonita Boyd; he spent a year as a Belgian-American Educational Foundation scholar in Brussels, and has worked on contemporary music and extended techniques with Robert Dick and Baroque music with Barthold Kuijken. Chris often writes on musical subjects; the Tokyo Quartet used his program notes for their complete cycle of the Beethoven Quartets at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center.

      His wife Kelly is Converse’s Professor of Oboe and Musicology; neither his daughter Tally nor his dog Biscuit teach anything there.

A native of Japan, Mihoko Watanabe, is Associate Professor of Flute and a member of the Musical Arts Quintet at Ball State University.  Prior to joining the School of Music, Dr. Watanabe taught at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, the Memorial University of Newfoundland, and the University of Windsor, Canada. A celebrated and versatile international flutist, she has won competitions and has appeared in Japan, Israel, Germany, England, and Canada as a recitalist, chamber musician, and concerto soloist.  As a member of the resident faculty woodwind quintet at Ball State University, the Musical Arts Quintet received the prestigious 2010 American Masterpieces: Chamber Music Grant from the National Endowment of the Arts, and released a CD entitled American Breeze in 2012. She is the principal flute of the Muncie Symphony Orchestra and performs with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. As a pedagogue, she has given numerous masterclasses and has adjudicated competitions throughout the United States, Canada, and Japan.  In 2005, she jointed the faculty of the Brevard Music Center Festival. Dr. Watanabe has published article, Essence of Mei, from the Flutist Quarterly of the National Flute Association in 2008 and it was been translated into Dutch for the Dutch Flute Association’s Fluit, in 2011 and the German Flute Association’s Flöte Aktuell in 2013. Dr. Watanabe has served as the president of the Greater Indianapolis Flute Club and she is active for the National Flute Association in USA. She received her Doctorate degree from University of Michigan, where she studied with Leone Buyse and Fenwick Smith, her Masters degree and Performer’s Certificate are from Eastman School of Music studying with Bonita Boyd, and her Bachelors degree is from Musashino Academia Musicae studying with Takao Saeki in Japan.

Dr. Valerie Watts is professor of flute at the University of Oklahoma where she teaches flute to graduate and undergraduate flute students. She is principal flute in the Oklahoma City Philharmonic Orchestra and a member of the Oklahoma Woodwind Quintet, woodwind-quintet-in-residence at the University of Oklahoma, since 1988. During the summer Watts performs as principal flutist with the New Hampshire Music Festival Orchestra led by Maestro Donata Cabrera (San Francisco Symphony Resident Conductor). She has appeared with several ensembles and as soloist nationally and abroad, including the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (NY), the Eastman-Dryden Orchestra (Switzerland & Germany), Bach Camerata (Santa Barbara, CA), Patterson-Watts Duo (Brazil), and The Oklahoma Woodwind Quintet (England & Austria). In 2006, she served as artist-in-residence at the Xu Beihong School of the Arts, Renmin University in Beijing, China. In 2012, Watts performed at the National Flute Association Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada to honor her teacher, Bonita Boyd, recipient of the NFA Lifetime Achievement Award. Watts was a 1993 finalist of the Festivales Internacionales de Flautistas in Lima, Peru, and is a former fellow at the Bach Aria Institute and Festival in Stony Brook, New York and the Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California. Watts has recorded with the CBS Masterworks, Integra and W.W. Norton labels.

BM—Northwestern University, summa cum laude, MM—Eastman School of Music, DMA—Eastman School of Music.

Monica Williams is a graduate of Eastman School of Music and has studied with several esteemed flutists such as Bonita Boyd, Susan Levitin, and Brad Garner. She has performed with orchestras in Rochester NY, Cincinnati OH, and Chicago IL and has toured Europe and the United States. Currently Monica is a member of several contemporary chamber ensembles in the bay area, including Phoenix Rising. Additionally, She is the director of Flock of Flutes, East Bay's première flute choir, and music coordinator for Civic Arts Education, and Center Representative for the Carnegie Hall Music Development Program. She teaches private flute at Civic Arts Center of Walnut Creek and her home studio in San Francisco. Monica has won numerous national competitions, with organizations such as Civic Union League of Chicago, Chicago Flute Club Competition, Rochester Flute Association, Chicago Symphony Young Performers competition, and the National Flute Association.

Carol Winterbourne Lockart received her BM in Flute Performance from the University of CA at Santa Barbara and her MM with a Performers Certificate in Flute from the Eastman School of Music where she studied Flute with Bonnie Boyd. She met her husband, jazz saxophonist Rob Lockart, at Eastman and they were married in 1981.  They have two wonderful kids and currently live in Canoga Park California. Carol is a free-lance flutist in the Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, plays flute in the New West Symphony, and teaches flute at Ventura College. She will always hold Bonnie as one of her greatest sources of inspiration.

Heather Zinninger Yarmel is Assistant Principal Flute of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, and has performed as a guest with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Rhode Island Philharmonic, and New World Symphony.  She previously held the position of Principal Flute of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra in New Orleans, where she was featured as soloist with the orchestra on several occasions. She has been a prizewinner in several national competitions, including the National Flute Association's Orchestral Audition Competition where she was awarded first prize. Also active as an educator and chamber musician, she previously held teaching positions at Xavier University of Louisiana and New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, and she co-founded and directed NOLA Chamber Fest, a chamber music competition that serves musicians across the Gulf Coast region. She currently coaches for the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra and maintains a private teaching studio. She shares her passion for chamber music with the Milwaukee community by regularly performing with and serving on the artistic board of Milwaukee Musaik. Heather earned a Master's Degree from Rice University and a Bachelor's Degree with highest distinction and a Performer's Certificate from the Eastman School of Music. Summer festival appearances include Midsummer's Music Festival, Lakes Area Music Festival, Tanglewood Music Center, Music Academy of the West, and National Repertory Orchestra. She grew up in Louisville, KY and spent her senior year of high school studying at Interlochen Arts Academy. Her primary teachers include Leone Buyse, Bonita Boyd, Tallon Perkes, and Donald Gottlieb. When not playing the flute, she enjoys taking brisk walks, hiking, advocating for animal rights, and maintaining a recipe website called Flutes and Veggies.