Flute Unscripted

Judith Mendenhall is the Principal Flutist of the American Ballet Theater Orchestra and is on faculty at Mannes and the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College. In 2016, she received the Distinguished Teaching Award from The New School, where she is chair of the wind department. Her many accomplishments include performing as a recitalist, chamber and orchestral musician in the United States and abroad. 

Stephanie Mortimore is the Principal Piccolo of the MET Opera Orchestra. Stephanie’s busy career of performing was almost derailed just a couple years ago when she was diagnosed with focal dystonia. She was kind enough to give an interview so I could learn a little more about her and brave enough to share her journey so far as a successful working musician with focal dystonia. 

Dr. Ellen Ochoa is an engineer, former astronaut, retired Director of Johnson Space Center, and classical flutist. She was the first Hispanic woman to go to space in 1993 and even brought her flute along. You can find video and photos of Ellen playing her Haynes flute aboard the near weightless environment of the shuttle Discovery. Through her missions and numerous discoveries, Ellen has continued to make time for music in her life and it was an honor to sit down with her and hear about the flute from a different point of view.

Every flutist knows who Linda Mark is. And yet, there is not much information out there on this pianist's beginnings. When she moved to New York after college she did the grunt work of knocking on doors, making cold calls, and asking teachers if they needed a pianist for their studio. That’s exactly how she met Julius Baker and his mentoring, teaching, and inclusiveness of her would end up shaping her career. After earning a reputation for being a natural with challenging flute repertoire, Linda was introduced to and has worked with every great performer in the flute community. 

Katie Althen, or @katieflute if you follow her on Instagram, is an up and coming young flutist with big dreams and big talent. Katie grew up in Pennsylvania and her unsuspecting parents, who enrolled her in different sports, dance, and music lessons, watched on as her passion for the flute and for sharing her gifts with others took over and led her study at some of the top conservatories in the nation. Katie has been at the forefront of the social media flute community and she is open and candid with her followers. 

Greg Pattillo has always been an unconventional flute player. From his days at conservatory to his brief stint as Principal Flute, Greg was always looking for something more and for a way to really connect with his audience. Everything really seemed to fall into place for Greg when he moved to New York City, started performing in the subways, and founded his group, Project Trio, with Eric Stephenson on cello and Peter Seymour on bass.

Whether Ransom Wilson is in front of an orchestra as a soloist or leading a group as a conductor, he is proud to be serving music and the vision of its composers. At the start of his career, Ransom knew he wanted to be a soloist just like his idol and teacher, Jean Pierre Rampal. He was immediately picked up by management, toured, and recorded albums. As Ransom began to feel disenchanted with the touring lifestyle, he turned to chamber music and he became the flutist for the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, a position he held for twenty years. Ransom incorporates his passion for chamber music in his curriculum at Yale University, where he is professor of flute.

Jake and Gabe Fridkis are the Flute Bros—literally brothers that grew up loving music and following their dream to become professional flutists. And dreams do come true. With Jake’s position of Principal Flute of the Fort Worth Symphony and Gabe’s recent win of the Assistant Principal seat, they are the first all sibling principals section in a major symphony wind section. 

Poised, gracious, and sincere: these are just a few words that describe flutist Christina Jennings as both a person and a performer. It is no surprise that students flock to the University of Colorado Boulder to study with the Associate Professor of Flute. Christina is invested in a holistic approach to flute playing and in fostering community. 

There are a lot of things that make Flutronix special. Allison Loggins-Hull and Nathalie Joachim are a flute duo changing the perception of what the flute can do and how it can sound through new compositions, exploration of genres, and use of electronic music. Together, Flutronix has released four albums, has collaborations and broadcasts around the world, and recently kicked off their two year residency at Carolina Performing Arts.

Nico Duchamp has made it his mission to carry on the French flute tradition. The French flutist, performer, and educator believes we owe quite a lot to the composers of the Paris Conservatory test pieces, the nuance of the language and its influence on articulation, and the overall refined French style. 

Andrea Fisher, also known as Fluterscooter, has followed her many interests over the years no matter how far off the beaten path they may be. The Juilliard trained flutist and Powell artist came by the Flute Center to give a talk on entrepreneurship and reveal some of the ins and outs of starting your own business, including making contacts, networking, and funding your own ideas.

Valerie Coleman was creative long before learning how to play the flute. At a young age, she started to write music down and began writing symphonies by the time she was 11. Since then, Valerie Coleman has established her career as the flutist and resident composer of the wind quintet, Imani Winds. Valerie shared with me more about collaboration, composition, and the next phase in her career.

Seth Morris is the newly appointed Co-Principal Flute of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. Seth’s passion for opera and ballet music has afforded him a depth of knowledge that came in handy at his audition for the Principal Flute position at the MET. I was fascinated to learn more from Seth about how the day he won his dream job went and his plans for the future.

Amy Porter was a perfect choice for our live episode. She admits she is most comfortable being center stage and star of the show, one of the many reasons she ultimately left her position with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and pursued a solo career. Amy graciously answered questions and let us pick her brain about all things performance, career, and personal life related.

He is one of the most famous and recognizable names in jazz flute. Nestor Torres has released 14 albums as a soloist, has been a featured flutist at a number of jazz festivals and orchestral concerts, and collaborated with other notable artists such as Herbie Hancock, Paquito D’Rivera, Dave Matthews, and Gloria Estefan. Nestor Torres brings the precision and excellence of classical training (along with his Latin flair) to the jazz flute idiom and joined me after a jam session at the Flute Center of New York to talk about his unique sound and his vision for the future of music. 

Martha Aarons hopped off a plane at JFK, jetted over to the Flute Center of New York to try some head joints, and graciously agreed to sit down with me for a quick talk. She was as easy to work with as I imagine she was with her longtime colleagues in the Cleveland Orchestra, where she maintained a position for 25 years. She reminisced with me and also shared her current plans to explore another side of her career: performing chamber works with her husband and stepping in to sub with orchestras across the country.

Brandon George is a Powell Artist that has performed around the world as a soloist and chamber musician, but he currently calls Brooklyn his home. With a full and varied freelance career, Brandon has performed regularly at some iconic New York venues such as Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Bargemusic in Brooklyn, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Brandon has his own advice for flutists starting out in their career, too. He highlights the importance of fostering a strong, lasting relationship with your peers and colleagues to build a freelance network.

You may have first heard today’s guest on Youtube. She is perhaps most known for starting the flute at just 3 years old and having a large collection of impressive recordings online as a young child. Since then, Emma has been working hard. She graduated from Curtis, has given a number of solo performances with the National Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Dallas Symphony, and Pittsburgh Symphony, has appeared at festivals and conventions, and has been active in collaborating with emerging composers on new works for the flute. Emma will soon be making New York her home, as she begins her Master’s degree at Juilliard with longtime teacher, Jeffrey Khaner.

Marco Granados strikes me as an open-minded and curious flutist, exploring all there is to do with the flute, including performing an array of genres in a variety of venues. He had his debut at Carnegie Hall, a performance with Placido Domingo at Gracie Mansion, a stint on Broadway, and even played gigs in the subway. But, perhaps Marco is most well known for his focus on Venezuelan music. He grew up in Venezuela and moved to New York to pursue his degree in Classical flute, but found his way back around to his roots and has since released CDs and transcriptions of the songs he loves and knows so well.