Quinn Patrick Ankrum – Mezzo soprano Quinn Patrick Ankrum is a voice teacher and Licensed Body Mapping Educator, and takes an avid interest in musicians’ health and wellness. She has sung in many venues throughout the United States and abroad. With pianist Elizabeth Avery she created Living Song Project, a database that champions the vocal music of living American composers; the duo also commission and perform new works. Ankrum is Associate Professor at the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music.
Emanuele Arnone was born and raised in Rome, Italy and received a BA in film scoring from Berklee College of Music. He is an active composer, music editor, performer, and music producer in Los Angeles with hundreds of credits in musical recordings, film and television soundtracks and commercials to his name. arnonemusic.com
Deborah Rebeck Ash played the University of Michigan’s Haynes alto flute in 1976 later buying an Emerson alto. After her mother’s passing in 1998, she got an Altus bass and more recently a Kotato contrabass in memory of her father. She started playing contrabass in the Michigan Flute Orchestra during Covid and travels the world playing her Kotato alto with the International and Metropolitan Flute Orchestras. She directs Lower Michigan Low Flute Ensemble and SEMFA Flute Choir.
Catherine Audet holds the unanimous First Prize from the Conservatoire de musique et d’art dramatique du Québec. She earned her Master’s degree in performance and a Diplôme d’études supérieures spécialisées (DESS) in orchestral repertoire from the Université de Montréal. An active performer within the Quebec musical community, she participates in numerous concerts and events across the province. Catherine has been a dedicated member of Les flûtistes de Montréal since its foundation in 2012.
Lily Bayles is a second year Music Therapy major at Eastern Michigan University from Onsted, Michigan.
Marie Bennett – A native of the south side of Chicago, Marie Bennett holds a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University and a master’s degree from DePaul University, both in flute performance. A versatile performer, Marie can be heard on recordings by GIA Publications, and performs regularly with regional orchestras such as the Illinois and Rockford Symphony Orchestras. An active chamber musician, Marie performs regularly with several groups of which she is a founding member, including MKD Trio, a flute, violin, and cello trio; and Kaleidoscope, a flute, oboe, and piano trio. As an enthusiastic freelancer, Marie plays in pit orchestras for musicals, and with various other chamber groups in freelance settings. She is also an active liturgical musician.
Rose Bishop – International prize-winning flutist Rose Bishop enjoys a career as an orchestral musician, soloist and educator based in Iowa. A Trevor James Flute Performing Artist, she has performed extensively across the United States, as well as internationally across three continents. She serves as Instructor of Flute at St. Ambrose University, Coe College, Cornell College, Clarke University, and Kirkwood Community College. An active orchestral musician, she is the Principal Flute of the Southeast Iowa Symphony and Quincy Symphony Orchestras, Acting Principal Flute with the Dubuque Symphony, a Section Member of the Colorado Mahlerfest Orchestra, and has performed with the York, Battle Creek, Quad City, Cheyenne and Salina Symphony Orchestras, among others.
Lisa Cella – As a champion of contemporary music, Dr. Lisa Cella has performed solo and chamber music throughout the United States and abroad. Her “Low Flutes Project” has resulted in numerous commissions and premieres. She is a full professor and current Chair of the department at the University of Maryland Baltimore County.
Stephen Clark – A James Galway Rising Star Alumni, Stephen has presented many workshops, performances and classes at flute festivals around the world.
Holly Clemans, a Licensed Body Mapping Educator, is a past NFA Ped. Com. Chair, Editor of The Flutist’s Handbook, Vol. 2 (2012) & NFA presenter. She is an active studio, body mapping teacher & clinician in MI. She performs on an Altus bass, T. James alto, and Abell low whistle C head joint with Flute Fusion. In addition, she can be heard in the Lower Michigan Low Flute Ensemble, SEMFA Flute Choir, MI Flute Orchestra, & as a freelancer in SE MI.
Jenny Cline is an orchestral flutist and chamber musician, performing with several orchestras in the NY/NJ area, as well as with Uptown Flutes, Quinception Wind Quintet, and the Cline/Cuestas Duo. She has performed with the Professional Low Flute Orchestra at NFA conventions since 2022. Ms. Cline has been on the faculty of the New Jersey Workshop for the Arts since 1996, and her flute students regularly achieve honors at the local, regional, state, and national level. She has served on the executive board of the National Flute Association and is a past president of the New York Flute Club.
Jocelyn Crosby is a flutist and teacher based in Lancaster. She was a finalist in the 2025 Low Flutes Competition and in 2022, she won third prize for the National Flute Association’s Alto Flute Artist Competition. Ms. Crosby was honored to be selected as a performer for the International Low Flutes Festival in 2024 and as an alto performer in their professional flute choir. She has been a judge for multiple flute and concerto competitions at the high school and collegiate level.
Judy Diez d’Aux, Artistic Director of Les flûtistes de Montréal, has commissioned original works by composers including Peter Senchuk, Jonathan Cohen, Billy Kerr, Nicole Chamberlain, Judy Nishimura, David Roche, Richard Désilets, Ali Ryerson and Éric St-Pierre. Since 2001, she has served as the Flutist and Chamber Music Coordinator for the Assisi Performing Arts Festival in Italy. Diez d’Aux is the current Chair of the National Flute Association (NFA) Low Flutes Committee. She resides in Montréal, Québec, Canada. lesflutistesdemontreal.com and jkdflute.com
Daniel Dorff is VP of Publishing for Theodore Presser Company. A sought-after expert on music engraving and notation, he has lectured at many colleges as well as Carnegie Hall, won over 50 MPA Paul Revere Awards for Excellence in Music Engraving, and advised the leading notation software companies. He has given pre-concert lectures for the Philadelphia Orchestra and Symphony in C. Dorff serves on the Boards of Directors for the Music Publishers’ Association of the USA, Charles Ives Society, Vincent Persichetti Society, Flute Society of Greater Philadelphia, International Low Flutes Society, on the New Music Committee of the International Clarinet Association, and has served on the Board and committees of the National Flute Association.
Mikayla Farmer is a well-versed performer and educator, holding a Bachelors degree in Music Education from Bowling Green State University in Ohio and a Masters degree in Flute Performance from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Mikayla has performed throughout the United States, including Colorado, NYC, and Illinois, as well as internationally in Ecuador and the Netherlands. While she emphasizes her ability in contemporary music and low flutes, Mikayla finds enjoyment in performing all areas of music.
Patricia García is a flutist from Mendoza, Argentina with a Master’s degree in 20th-Century Latin American Music Performance and a Bachelor’s degree in Flute Performance from the National University of Cuyo. She studied with Professors Lars Nilsson, Beatriz Plana, and Patricia Da Dalt. Since 1985, she has resided in Buenos Aires, where she is a member of the National Gendarmerie Symphonic Band and is dedicated to promoting contemporary music. She has been a member of several ensembles, including MEI Flutes, a duo with which she collaboratively composed more than 30 works for flutes, performed in cities throughout Latin America, and recorded two albums. In 2018, Patricia taught the workshop “Introduction to Contemporary Music” for flute and composition students in eight Argentine provinces, an experience that allowed her to gain insight into the current state of contemporary music education in Argentina. She has also given presentations and workshops on contemporary music for flute in Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Ecuador, and Uruguay. patriciagarcia.com.ar
Mariana Gariazzo holds academic positions at The University of Illinois Chicago, Elmhurst University, and VanderCook College of Music. Past President for the Chicago Flute Club and Program Chair for the 2025 National Flute Association Convention in Atlanta. Mariana is an advocate for contemporary music and an active private instructor in the Chicago area. Beyond the flute, she specializes in the scholarship of teaching, distance education, and instructional design.
Nicholas Gatto has a BM from The College of New Jersey, and an MM from Carnegie Mellon University. He is principal oboist of the Monmouth Symphony, and performs frequently with several other orchestras and opera companies in NJ. Nick is a founding member of Quinception Wind Quintet, and is the oboist on several tracks by jazz and R&B singer Will Downing. An accomplished organist and pianist, Nick is also Director of Music and Organist at St. Bartholomew Roman Catholic Church in East Brunswick.
Lisa Goethe-McGinn is a Chicago based soloist, collaborative artist, improviser, teacher and clinician dedicated to promoting contemporary music. lisagoethemcginn.com
Erin McConihay Grim performs in several ensembles throughout Central Florida. The ensembles include Central Florida Sunshine Flute, Space Coast Flute Orchestra, Orlando Concert Band, Orlando Premiere Pops Orchestra and Big Band, and Sestina, a chamber flute ensemble. Sestina performed at both the Florida Flute and NFA Conventions in 2025.
Anders Hagberg is a Swedish flutist, saxophonist, composer, and Professor of Musical Performance at the University of Gothenburg. He is a critically acclaimed soloist who performs internationally, specializing in genre-crossing improvisation for flutes. With a substantial discography, he has also been commissioned to compose music for film and dance productions. His latest album, With Hope (2025), reflects on the global realities of war and climate change and has received rave reviews worldwide.
Charity Haney is a retired U.S. Navy flutist and conductor who currently performs with the Florida Flute Orchestra, her co-founded group, the Jacksonville Flute Duo and has been a speaker for events as well as a moderator for Veteran panels. She is a certified Grief Educator by world renowned death and grief expert, David Kessler, Certified Grief Yoga® Instructor, and a trauma-informed RYT-200. Her business, Soul’s Lighthouse, is where all of her passions merge to foster safe spaces for healing. “Musical Memories” provide people a way to honor their grief and remember loved ones’ on their Angelversary (day of their passing) by receiving a unique, flute duo recording of their loved ones’ favorite song with a dedication.
Amanda Harberg – Composer/pianist/educator Amanda Harberg’s music has been presented at major venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Verizon Hall, and Symphony Center. Her writing for a wide range of instruments weaves classical Western tradition with contemporary influences to create a distinctively personal style which “conveys a thoroughly original sense of happiness in music,” according to Cleveland Classical. “She invigorates the brain and touches the soul,” says composer John Corigliano. “I love her work.”
Mallory Harrison serves on the faculties of Miles College and Huntingdon College and is a DMA Teaching Fellow at the University of Alabama, where she performs regularly with the Huxford Symphony and Wind Quintet. She works in arts administration as Audience and Administrative Manager and librarian for the Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra. Nationally recognized as a performer, she has won prizes at competitions sponsored by the Mid-South and South Carolina Flute Societies, performed with the National Flute Association’s Professional Flute Choir, toured internationally, and participated in prestigious festivals and masterclasses. She holds degrees from Harding University and the University of Central Arkansas, with additional studies at the University of Missouri–Columbia, and has trained with numerous distinguished flute pedagogues.
Ikuko Ioka was the winner of the 2022 Bass Flute Competition that was part of the online Low Flutes Festival that year. She has many recordings of bass flute music on her YouTube page, especially music by Gary Schocker who has written several pieces for her.
Francis “Frankie” Jacquette (he/him) holds an MM in Flute Performance from West Chester University of PA, where he served as Principal of the WCU Symphony Orchestra and was a winner of their Wind Symphony Concerto Competition. As a low flutes enthusiast, notably on contrabass, he has performed with the PA Flute Choir, Metropolitan Flute Choir, National LGBTQIA+ Flute Choir, NFA Professional Flute Choir, and ILFF Professional Flute Choir. Frankie is also a member of the National Flute Association Low Flutes Committee, continuing to encourage and expand the repertoire for all low flutes.
Ece Karşal was born in İzmir, Turkey and began her music education at Istanbul University State Conservatory at a young age. She also graduated from the Mathematics Department of Marmara University Faculty of Science during her conservatory education. She completed her undergraduate and graduate studies at Istanbul University State Conservatory and served as a flutist and piccolo player in the orchestra. She completed her doctoral studies at Marmara University and conducted post-doctoral studies in Frankfurt and Toronto. Her doctoral thesis investigated the relationship between mathematics and music and conducted research on the relationship between mathematical and musical abilities and the effects of music on cognitive performance. She has authored a book titled “Mathematics with Songs” and her flute method book was published in 2015 by Pan Publishing House.
Billy Kerr is an accomplished jazz flutist, composer, and Pearl Flutes performing artist who studied at the Juilliard School of Music and Queens College. His extensive performance history includes collaborations with legendary artists such as Liza Minnelli, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, Natalie Cole, Ray Charles, Henry Mancini, Julie Andrews, and the New York Saxophone Quartet. Since moving to Montréal in 1995, he has continued his work with the National Film Board and CBC while leading his own jazz quintet and serving as a versatile woodwind clinician. Composing for Les flûtistes de Montréal, he has premiered original works for flutes at recent National Flute Association (NFA) conventions, including “Chicago Fantasy” and “Dark Trio.” billykerr.com
Alicia Kosack teaches at York College of PA and YCPrep. She won first place in the 2025 NFA Low Flute Artist Competition, placed third in the 2025 American Prize in Instrumental Performance, and was a winner of the 2023 NFA Convention Performers Competition. A past VP of the Flute Society of Washington and former Mid-Atlantic Flute Convention program chair, she now serves on the NFA Low Flutes Committee. DMA, Univ. of MD.
Fumi Kuwajima an award-winning pianist from Japan, came to the US in 2006, quickly establishing herself as a collaborative pianist at NYU and other NYC music schools. Fumi regularly performs with Gary Schocker, including for his appearances at flute conventions in the US, Canada, and Japan, and for his recent two-week concert tour in Osaka, Tokyo, and Nagoya. She appears on Mr. Schocker’s 2015 CD, Inside Out. Now a resident of Pittsburgh, she is a collaborative pianist at Duquesne University.
Karen Large is a flute professor at FSU, principal flutist with the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, and performs with AGLOW Trio and Aviary Quartet. Beyond solo, chamber, and orchestral performance, her research interests include the world’s first Virtual Flute Choirs, Baroque flute performance, and translating textile weaving code into music. karenlarge.com
Gilbert Levy was born and raised in New Orleans and began playing drums at an early age and by his late teens was performing professionally in R&B bands in clubs on Bourbon Street and with jazz greats such as Wynton and Branford Marsalis. He is the co-leader of Mystic Journey and has performed, composed and engineered alongside Teng on all of their award-winning albums. He plays a unique hybrid world drum kit along with numerous hand drums and stringed instruments from Africa and the Middle East. mysticjourney.net
Paige Dashner Long is an internationally recognized flutist, flute orchestra director, contrabass flutist and award winning composer. Currently Ms Long, an Altus Flutes Performing Artist, directs the Metropolitan Flute Orchestra in summer residence at Groton Hill Music Center in Groton, Massachusetts, and the Florida Flute Orchestra. As an active guest flute clinician and ensemble director, she has led workshops and directed flute ensembles for music schools in France, Germany and Mexico, as well as for universities and flute associations throughout America.
Phyllis Avidan Louke, an Altus Artist, is principal flute with Tilikum Chamber Orchestra and Music Director of Rose City Flute Choir. She teaches privately, adjudicates and freelances in Portland, Oregon and is active in the national low flute community, specializing in bass and contrabass flutes. An active clinician and adjudicator nationally, she is also co-author of an award-winning series of teaching publications for flute published by Theodore Presser Company. She has been arranging and composing for the flute and low flutes since 1990, with many low flute publications for low flute and piano, low flute ensemble, and low flute choir published by ALRY Publications.
Debbie MacMurray has 25 years of experience with non-profit organizations in a variety of roles – president, secretary and treasurer. She was treasurer for the NFA for five years and has had 20 years of for profit experience as Regional Director of Operations for Luxottica/Pearl Vision. She plays with Song of the Angels in Los Angeles.
Mary Matthews is an international soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral flutist who has performed on four continents and in venues including Carnegie Hall and Severance Hall. A flute professor at Florida State Univ. and co-author of the Beatboxing & Beyond method books, she has also recorded commercially and released multiple albums. MaryMatthewsFlute.com
Lorna McGhee has been appointed principal flute of the Boston Symphony Orchestra beginning with the 2024-2025 season. She was previously appointed by Manfred Honeck as principal flute of the Pittsburgh Symphony, with which she recorded symphonies of Beethoven, Bruckner, Brahms, Dvořák, and Tchaikovsky, as well as the PSO’s Grammy award-winning Shostakovich Symphony No. 5. She has performed as guest principal with Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic, Philharmonia, Academy of St-Martin-in-the-Fields, and Chamber Orchestra of Europe, among others. Before emigrating to North America, McGhee was co-principal flute of the London’s BBC Symphony Orchestra.
Gareth McLearnon is an internationally renowned, award-winning flute soloist, orchestral and recording artist as well as a Haynes Artist, educator, prolific composer and arranger. He has given hundreds of masterclasses around the world including at Yale; Manhattan School of Music, mdw Vienna, GSMD; the Beijing Central Conservatory of Music; The Norwegian Academy; Swedish Royal College; Royal Danish Academy of Music; Gnessin School/Academy, and has been a tutor for Yuri Bashmet Academies in Russia since 2013.
Corinne Mona is a musician with roots in Maryland and all over the world. A champion of contemporary music, she has played throughout the contiguous 48, Norway, the UK, Spain, Italy, France, Poland, and Japan. Corinne currently freelances in the Maryland/DC area in various orchestral and chamber music settings and she also loves to teach. She appears with DCFlutes on alto flute and organizes chamber music concerts featuring living composers regularly.
Heather Neuenschwander is an internationally recognized flutist and a strong advocate for music education. She holds degrees in both music education and flute performance, and currently teaches both middle school band in St. Paul, MN and in her private flute studio. Heather has held positions playing flute and piccolo with the Michigan Philharmonic Orchestra, the Oakland Symphony, and the Southeast Iowa Symphony Orchestra, she regularly subs in orchestras around Eastern Iowa, and she is the founding Artistic Director of the Iowa City Flute Choir. Also active in the flute industry, Heather has worked at Flute Specialists, Inc. for over a decade where she hosts the live web series FluteSpresso and has enjoyed traveling and lecturing at flute studios and conventions across the nation.
Nancy Newman is a low woodwind specialist whose career spans from Montréal to Los Angeles, where she earned an MM in Jazz Studies and back home again. She has performed and recorded internationally across several countries, appearing in classical and jazz ensembles for numerous tours and festivals. Since adding the contrabass flute in 2014, she has performed at the National Flute Association (NFA), with Ali Ryerson’s Jazz Flute Big Band, the Japanese JFBB, and David Shostac’s FluteSonics. For the past eight years, she has been a dedicated member of Judy Diez d’Aux’s Les flûtistes de Montréal.
Ozlem Noyan was born in Istanbul. She started sing at TRT (Turkish State Television and Radio) Children’s Choir. She was accepted Mimar Sinan University State Conservatoire, flute department as Nazım Acar’s student in 1984. She graduated in 1993 with the third degree. Performing in a lot of concerts while she was student, Ozlem Noyan started to work in Istanbul Municipal Theater in 1993 with Evita musical and went on a lot of musical theatre plays, operettas, musicals. She worked as a flute group chef in Cemal Resit Rey Symphony Orchestra between 1998-2001. She works as a research assistant in Mimar Sinan University State Conservatoire.
Brittney Patterson – Dr. Brittney Patterson is an Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Montevallo, where she teaches flute and music history. She holds degrees from the University of Alabama, the University of Northern Colorado, and the University of Tennessee. An active performer, she has worked with several orchestras, co-founded the Delta Blue Chamber Players, and focuses her research on flute pedagogy, Germaine Tailleferre, and music at Frederick the Great’s court. Her publications appear in multiple professional journals, and she has presented her work at conferences across the United States.
Christine Potter – Dr. Christine Potter has performed in London, Paris, Mexico City, Toronto, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, Washington D.C., and many other cities in the U.S. Chris incorporated the International Low Flutes Society in 2023 which presents online and in-person workshops and Festivals. She has commissioned and premiered many works for alto and bass including Obstinato and Scherzo by Mike Mower and The Lowdown by Nicole Chamberlain. Her award-winning Advanced Alto Method, Alto Method and Bass Method are available in 16 countries via Amazon. 2026 will be her 22nd year of organizing Low Flutes Retreats and she directed a Low Flutes Choir at the James Galway Festival in Switzerland for six years. chrispotterflute.com
Carla Rees is a British low flutes specialist who has developed an international reputation for her innovative work. Her multi-faceted career encompasses solo and chamber music performance, collaboration, recording, composing, arranging, editing and teaching. She performs on Kingma System flutes (made by Eva Kingma, Bickford Brannen and Lev Levit), as well as both baroque and contemporary repertoire on baroque flutes.
Rowan Rodriguez is a second year Music Therapy major at Eastern Michigan University form Cleveland, Ohio.
Ali Ryerson – With a career spanning five decades, jazz flutist Ali Ryerson has consistently ranked among the top flutists in the Downbeat Jazz Poll for well over a decade. Born in 1952 in New York City, Ali grew up in a musical family. Her father, Art Ryerson, was a renowned jazz guitarist who got his start with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra, and later became a top studio player in NYC, recording with everyone from Louis Armstrong, Erroll Garner, Charlie Parker, and Sarah Vaughan, to Frank Sinatra. Ali Ryerson has carried on the family tradition, becoming an international touring/recording artist, with performances ranging from Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, to the Blue Note (NYC and Japan), plus festival appearances worldwide. Ryerson has released over two dozen albums on major jazz labels, including Concord Records, DMP, Capri, and legendary jazz producer Bob Thiele’s final jazz label, Red Baron. When Ryerson’s groundbreaking Jazz Flute Big Band released their debut CD, Game Changer on Capri Records, the album hit the ‘TOP 10’ on the US Jazz Charts for six straight weeks. aliryerson.com
Özge SALAR BERBER – The artist began her musical career in 1997 at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University State Conservatory, studying flute with Halit Turgay, and continued her studies from 2001 onward with Italian flutist Vieri Bottazzini. She has enriched her musical background by participating in masterclasses led by world-renowned flutists such as James Galway, Jeanne Galway, Emanuel Pahud, Patrick Gallois, Davide Formisano, and Benoit Fromanger.
Aslıhan And Say was awarded the “Rising Star” award at the Galway Flute Festival (Switzerland) by the world-renowned flute virtuoso Sir James Galway and was presented with a golden flute mouthpiece. She has performed concerts in various countries including France, Switzerland, Germany, the USA, Italy, Luxembourg, the UK, Kosovo, Taiwan, and the People’s Republic of China. From 2016 to 2020, Aslıhan And served as the solo flutist at the Istanbul State Opera and Ballet, and has also performed as a guest artist with the North German Radio Symphony Orchestra, Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra, and Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra.
Diane Boyd Schultz is an accomplished flutist who has performed internationally and with numerous U.S. orchestras, earning recognition in several major competitions. She has appeared at prominent festivals, recorded for award-winning media projects, and given masterclasses across North America, the Caribbean, and Europe. A Rotary International Scholar, she has premiered new works by American composers and had her writing published in leading flute journals. Schultz is a professor of flute at The University of Alabama, a member of the Vuorovesi Trio, and a Yamaha Performing Artist.
Shari Shaw received her Bachelor of Music Education degree from Stetson University. She has been a private flute and piccolo teacher for 40 years. She plays many flutes from the piccolo down to the contrabass. She is a clinician at Merritt Island High School and Jefferson Middle School. She also teaches at Music & Arts and Marion Music. Shari enjoys performing with Sestina, The Space Coast Flute Orchestra, The Florida Flute Orchestra, and the Daytona State College and Community Flute Choir.
Christina Steffen enjoys a widely diverse music career as a musician, teacher, conductor, and chamber music coach. She has performed in many areas of the U.S. and Europe and at many music festivals. Ms. Steffen gave the southwest premiere performance of the Bohmler Sonata Celebre and was the soloist for the world premiere of Freedman’s “On the Other World” for alto flute and flute choir at the National Flute Association Convention.
Anne Stevens performs with Sestina, The Space Coast Flute Orchestra, Central Florida Sunshine Flutes, Orlando Concert Band, LCO Chamber Pops and the Rollins College Wind Ensemble. Anne was also selected to play bass flute in the Professional Low Flute Choir at the 2024 Low Flutes Festival, the Jazz Flute Big Band at the 2025NFA Convention, and the 2025 Florida Flute Association Teachers Flute Orchestra. Outside of music, Anne is a CPA based in Orlando.
Lenee Stevens conducts the Space Coast Flute Orchestra and co-conducts Central Florida Sunshine Flutes, Ms. Stevens is a retired band director and private music educator and conducted the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra’s flute ensemble for 18 years. Since relocating to Florida, Lenee performs throughout the area on flute, saxophone, and clarinet in several groups including Sestina, Orlando Concert Band, Saxophonia, and LCO Chamber Pops.
Alexa Still is known internationally primarily through her 20+ recordings that have garnered unanimous praise: “impeccable in technique and taste, seductive in phrasing” (Stephensen Classical C D Guide). “Still plays… so convincingly I cannot separate her from the music” (American Record Guide), Alexa got her doctorate in New York (SUNY Stony Brook), won competitions including the New York Flute Club Young Artist Competition, and, East and West Artists Competition. Awards include a Churchill Fellowship, a Fulbright, and the American Prize for Instrumental Performance, 2024. Alexa has taught at the University of Colorado at Boulder, the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and since 2011, the Oberlin Conservatory. Alexa has also performed as soloist in 16 countries, including many world premiers. Alexa’s articles have been read around the globe, and she has served her profession as President of the National Flute Association (USA). When her flute is in its case, Alexa loves old dogs and motorcycles. You can read much more about Alexa on her website: alexastill.com
Julie Stone is Professor of Flute at Eastern Michigan University and composer of several flute ensemble pieces.
Suzanne Teng, M.Mus., is a flutist, composer, music educator and Yamaha Performing Artist. She performs and records on an array of low flutes and world flutes and has received numerous international awards and critical acclaim for her seven albums of original compositions. Her studio work includes feature films, television and commercial soundtracks. She presents World Flutes & Low Flutes classes around the country and served on the National Endowment for the Arts Music Education panel for three years. suzanneteng.com
Dann Torres is a multi-instrumentalist with an affection for acoustic experimentation and electronic manipulation. Well versed in a variety of musical styles and idioms, from world fusion to post-rock, experimental and ambient jazz, his divergent approach to sound design seeks to deconstruct genres and bring elements of them together into something that is new, compelling and unique. soundsArchaic.com
Ayla Uludere – Professor Ayla Uludere, is a distinguished flutist, educator, and academic leader, currently serving as Flute Professor and Head of the Department of Wind and Percussion Instruments at the State Conservatory of Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University in Istanbul, Turkey. Born in Haskovo, Bulgaria, in 1970, she began her musical journey at the age of nine and completed her early music education in Bulgaria before emigrating to Turkey in 1990. She graduated with honors from Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, completing her undergraduate studies in three years and later earning both her Master’s degree (1998) and the first-ever Ph.D. in the Department of Wind and Percussion Instruments (2005) from the same institution.
Şebnem Uşen – Assistant Professor Şebnem Uşen was born in Istanbul in 1968. She began her musical education with recorder lessons under Fırat Kızıltuğ and attended the International Recorder Masterclass organized by Gerhard Braun in Stammheim, Germany, in 1985. In the same year, she commenced her flute studies with Prof. Mükerrem Berk and; in 1986, participated in the summer courses organized by Mimar Sinan University, working with Guy Cottin.
Deborah Venezia has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education from Fairleigh Dickinson University, a MM in Flute Performance from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, and Masters of Divinity from Drew Theological Seminary at Drew University. Deborah is the founding member of Éclectique and Sestina flute chamber ensembles. She currently performs with the ensembles of Sestina, Éclectique, Forza Wind Symphony, Space Coast Flute Orchestra, Central Florida Sunshine Flutes, and others. Deborah also teaches privately. She was selected, for the second time in 2024 to perform in the Professional Low Flute Choir at the International Low Flutes Festival. Sestina also performed at the Florida Flute Association Convention and the NFA Conventions in 2025.
Faith Wasson is an international performing artist, having performed throughout Europe and North America as orchestral, chamber musician and soloist. She currently holds the principal piccolo/3rd flute position with Southeastern Pennsylvania Symphony Orchestra where she is also the chamber music series coordinator. Additionally, Faith is a founding member of the Pennsylvania Chamber Artists trio and the creator of the chamber music series, Flute with Faith & Friends, featuring diverse repertoire and instrumentation. Mrs. Wasson holds a Bachelors of Music degree from Temple University and a Masters of Music from the Royal Irish Academy of Music. Faith teaches flute, piccolo and chamber music in Glenside, PA.
Dave Weiss is a Brooklyn based flutist, multi instrumentalist, composer, and video creator. He is an original member of Disney’s “The Lion King”, and dozens of other Broadway shows. He’s also featured on hundreds of Films, TV commercials and programs. Dave is also a video creator.
youtube.com/@DavidGWeissFlutesWoodwinds
Kelly Mollnow Wilson is a flutist, teacher, and manual therapist in Cleveland, OH. She teaches Body Mapping at Oberlin Conservatory and Cleveland Institute of Music and her private practice serves musicians seeking to maximize their movement potential. She writes monthly for The Flute Examiner and is the lead author/flute author of Teaching Woodwinds: A Guide for Students and Teachers. MM, Ohio State; BME, Baldwin-Wallace. precisionperformanceandtherapy.com
Douglas Wimer earned the B. Music in Piano performance from Philadelphia College of Bible (now Cairn University) as a student of Dr. Samuel Hsu and the M. Music in Organ performance from Westminster Choir College as a student of Maestro Robert Carwithen. Doug currently services as Organist/Choirmaster at St. Stephen Reformed Church PCA, New Holland and is also the owner of the Buch Organ Company in Ephrata, PA, where he lives with his dear wife and love of his life, Joy.
Beste Yalı was born in Istanbul in 2003. She started her flute education with Professor Ayla Uludere at MSFAU Istanbul State Conservatory in 2012. She graduated from the university in 2025 with second-highest honors. She won Mention Award at the “13th International Competition Young Virtuosos 2017” in Bulgaria and “First Prize by Unanimous Decision” at the “Association a travers la flute 8th International Flute Competition 2018” in France. She won First place at the “European Music Academy Varna 5th International Flute Competition 2020”.
Ecem Yılmaz began her formal music education in 2006 at Istanbul Pera Fine Arts High School. She continued her studies at Marmara University Faculty of Fine Arts, where she was admitted to the Flute Department of the Music Program and studied with Prof. Dr. Ece Karşal, graduating with high distinction in 2015. Following her undergraduate degree, she completed her Pedagogical Formation Program at Marmara University Atatürk Faculty of Education.
Matthias Ziegler – Sponsored by Eva Kingma Flutes, Matthias Ziegler is one of the world’s most versatile and innovative flutists. He is committed both to the traditional literature for flute as well as to contemporary music and concepts that cross the boundaries between classical music and jazz. Accordingly, his performances take place in a vast range of contexts: he plays principal flute with the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, has toured with the percussionist Pierre Favre and performed with the pianist George Gruntz as well as with the American contrabass player Mark Dresser. He is also a member of the ”Collegium Novum Zurich“, where he has worked with Mauricio Kagel, Heinz Holliger and George Crumb. Concert tours have brought him to the US, Japan, Australia, South America and Israel. Many recordings on CD document his inclusive musical interests. matthias-ziegler.ch
Flute Choirs
Istanbul Flute Ensemble was founded by Prof. Ayla Uludere, Prof. Dr. Ece Karşal, and Dr. Şebnem Uşen, faculty members of Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University State Conservatory, Marmara University Faculty of Fine Arts, and Yıldız Technical University Faculty of Art and Design. The ensemble is distinguished by its unique structure that includes all members of the flute family and performs both works by contemporary Turkish composers and arrangements from the Western classical repertoire. Since its first concert in March 2016, the group has appeared in numerous national and international festivals, including premieres of works by Turkish composers and performances in the United States and across Europe. Composed of academicians and distinguished flutists, the ensemble is dedicated to promoting Turkish flute repertoire internationally and actively records works by Turkish composers.
Lower Michigan Low Flute Ensemble was founded by Dr. Deborah Rebeck Ash in 2024 for the International Low Flute Festival. They perform mainly on alto, bass and contrabass flutes, and have performed at NFA Conventions, the Chicago Flute Club Festival, the Fredrick Marshall Sculpture Museum (Saginaw Valley State University), the St. Cecilia Society (Flint Institute of Arts), the Great Lakes Flute Festival in Kalamazoo, MI and the Society of Musical Arts in Ann Arbor. Members come from a wide region of Michigan’s lower peninsula.
Song of the Angels Flute Orchestra – Founded by Frederick Staff and under the direction of Charles Fernandez, Song of the Angels Flute Orchestra is a Los Angeles-based ensemble comprised of flutes in all sizes – including piccolos, C flutes, Alto and Bass flutes, Contrabass flutes, F Contrabass flute (the only one in the world!), and a Double Contrabass flute (one of only 4 in the world!). The group performs six to ten concerts per season in the Los Angeles area.
International Low Flutes Festival 