Valerie Coleman

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Valerie Coleman is regarded by many as an iconic artist who continues to pave her own unique path as a composer, GRAMMY®-nominated flutist, and entrepreneur. Highlighted as one of the “Top 35 Women Composers” by The Washington Post, she was named Performance Today’s 2020 Classical Woman of the Year, an honor bestowed to an individual who has made a significant contribution to classical music as a performer, composer or educator. Her works have garnered awards such as the MAPFund, ASCAP Honors Award, Chamber Music America’s Classical Commissioning Program, Herb Alpert Ragdale Residency Award, and nominations from The American Academy of Arts and Letters and United States Artists. Umoja was chosen by Chamber Music America as one of the “Top 101 Great American Ensemble Works” and is now a staple of woodwind literature.

Coleman commenced her 2021/22 season with the world premiere of her latest work, Fanfare for Uncommon Times, at the Caramoor Festival with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s. In October 2021, Carnegie Hall presents her work Seven O'Clock Shout, commissioned by The Philadelphia Orchestra, in their Opening Night Gala concert featuring The Philadelphia Orchestra and Yannick Nézet-Séguin. This follows on the success of the world premiere of Coleman’s orchestral arrangement of her work Umoja, commissioned by The Philadelphia Orchestra and performed in Philadelphia and at Carnegie Hall in 2019, marking the first time the orchestra performed a classical work by a living female African-American composer. In February 2022, The Philadelphia Orchestra and soprano Angel Blue, led by Nézet-Séguin, will give the world premiere of a new song cycle written by Coleman, commissioned by the orchestra for performances in Philadelphia and at Carnegie Hall.

Coleman has been named to the Metropolitan Opera/Lincoln Center Theater New Works dual commissioning program in 2021/22. This season sees performances of her works by orchestras around the United States including the Minnesota Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Sarasota Orchestra, New Haven Symphony Orchestra, Yale Symphony Orchestra, Vermont Symphony and The Louisville Orchestra. Recent commissions include works for the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, The Library of Congress, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, American Composers Orchestra, The National Flute Association, University of Chicago and University of Michigan. Previous performances of her works have been with the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Symphony and significant chamber ensembles and collegiate bands across the country.

Former flutist of the Imani Winds, Coleman is the creator and founder of this acclaimed ensemble whose 24-year legacy is documented and featured in a dedicated exhibit at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. She recently co-founded and currently performs as flutist of the performer-composer trio Umama Womama.

As a performer, Coleman has appeared at Carnegie Hall and The Kennedy Center and with The Philadelphia Orchestra, Hartford Symphony, New Haven Symphony, Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Banff, Spoleto USA and Bravo! Vail. As a guest flutist, she has participated in the Mid-Atlantic Flute Fair, New Jersey Flute Fair, South Carolina Flute Society Festival, Colorado Flute Fair, Mid-South Flute Fair and the National Women’s Music Festival. In 2021/22, Valerie will appear at a host of festival and collegiate multi-disciplinary residencies, including Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Chamber Music Northwest, Phoenix Chamber Music Society, University of Michigan and Coastal Carolina University. Coleman will be the featured guest artist at the Long Island Flute Club, Raleigh Area Flute Association, Greater Portland Flute Society, Seattle Flute Society, University of Wisconsin-Madison Flute Day, Bethune-Cookman University Flute Day and the Florida Flute Society Festival.

As a chamber musician, Coleman has performed throughout North America and Europe alongside Dover Quartet, Orion String Quartet, Miami String Quartet, Harlem String Quartet, Quarteto Latinoamericano, Yo-Yo Ma, Ani and Ida Kavafian, Anne-Marie McDermott, Wu Han, David Shifrin, Gil Kalish, members of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and jazz legends Paquito D’Rivera, Stefon Harris, Jason Moran and René Marie. A laureate of Concert Artists Guild, she is a former member of Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center CMS Two.

Coleman’s work as a recording artist includes an extensive discography. With Imani Winds, she has appeared on Sony Classical, Deutsche Grammophon, Sony Classical, Naxos, Cedille Records and eOne, and as a guest flutist on albums with Wayne Shorter Quartet, Steve Coleman and the Council of Balance, Chick Corea, Brubeck Brothers, Edward Simon, Bruce Adolphe, and Mohammed Fairouz. Her compositions and performances are regularly broadcast on NPR, WNYC, WQXR, Minnesota Public Radio, Sirius XM, Radio France, Australian Broadcast Company and Radio New Zealand.

Committed to arts education, entrepreneurship and chamber music advocacy, Coleman created the Imani Winds Chamber Music Festival in 2011, a summer mentorship program in New York City welcoming young leaders from over 100 international institutions. She has held flute and chamber music masterclasses at institutions in 49 states and over five continents, including The Juilliard School, Curtis Institute, Manhattan School of Music, Mannes College of Music, New England Conservatory, Oberlin College, Eastman School of Music, Yale University, Carnegie Mellon, Interlochen Arts Academy, Beijing Conservatory, Brazil’s Campo do Jordão Festival and Australia’s Musica Viva. As a part of Imani Winds, she has been artist-in-residence at Mannes College of Music, Banff Chamber Music Intensive and Visiting Faculty at the University of Chicago.

Coleman recently joined the Mannes School of Music Flute and Composition faculty in Fall 2021 as the Clara Mannes Fellow for Music Leadership. Prior to that she served on the faculty at The Frost School of Music at the University of Miami as Assistant Professor of Performance, Chamber Music and Entrepreneurship. In 2021/22, she leads a year-long residency at The Juilliard School in their Music Advancement Program through American Composers Forum.

She adjudicates for the National Flute Association’s High School Artist Competition, Concert Artist Guild, APAP’s Young Performing Concert Artists Program, ASCAP’s Morton Gould Award, MapFund Award and the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and has served on the Board of Advisors for Composers Now, Sphinx LEAD, APAP’s Classical Connections Committee and the National Flute Association’s New Music Advisory Committee and Board Nomination Committee.

Coleman’s compositions are published by Theodore Presser and her own company, V Coleman Music. She studied composition with Martin Amlin and Randy Wolfe and flute with Julius Baker, Judith Mendenhall, Doriot Dwyer, Leone Buyse and Alan Weiss. She and her family are based in New York City.

For more information on Valerie Coleman:   Website.    Facebook

Hristina Blagoeva

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Hristina Blagoeva is a flutist native of Bulgaria. She is currently on the faculty of Brightpoint Community College and Virginia State University. She has established a career as a soloist, chamber musician, and performer of contemporary music. Recent New York City performances have included a sold out recital at Carnegie Hall, as well as at Le Poisson Rouge celebrating Philip Glass, with the composer in attendance. Other recent performances include presenting Joan Tower’s Rising for flute and string quartet at Carnegie Hall as well with the composer in attendance. In the summer of 2023 Dr. Blagoeva performed as a concerto soloist with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra in Pernik, Bulgaria and at the World Piano Conference in Novi Sad. Serbia. In 2022 Hristina presented a tour of performances and masterclasses at the University of Texas at Tyler, Texas Lutheran University and University of Texas at San Antonio with a program of contemporary music and poetry. Ms. Blagoeva has presented solo recitals at the Bulgarian Consulate in NYC, and at the embassy of Bulgaria in Washington D.C. as part of the European Month of Culture and the Bulgarian Music Society Music Series. 

An avid contemporary music performer, Hristina has commissioned and premiered multiple solo flute and chamber works by composers from Bulgaria, Canada, USA, Japan, Greece, Brazil, and others., including works for her flute and percussion ensemble Iktus Duo. Iktus Duo was the 2014 Ackerman Chamber Music Competition winner and has appeared at Harvard University, Bates College as well as universities in Louisiana, Texas, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Illinois, Colorado, Washington and Oregon. Hristina has performed at numerous contemporary music festivals including the Queens New Music Festival NYC (2016-19),  Multicultural Sonic Evolution Festival NYC (2016-17), Spontaneous Combustion New Music Festival in Portland and Seattle (2018), New Music for Strings Festival in Aarhus, Denmark and NYC (2016-17), Versipel New Music Festival in New Orleans (2015), and the Pine Mountain Music Festival in Michigan (2019). Championing music by diverse composers, Hristina has worked with organizations such as the New York Women Composers, Association for the Promotion of New Music, RAM (Random Access Music), ACM (Access Contemporary Music), and recently performed with Valerie Coleman on the Texas premiere of her work Bostonian Scenes for flute quartet.

Ms. Blagoeva has given lecture recitals, workshops and performances at the Upper Midwest Flute Fair, Texas Flute Festival, Florida Flute Association Convention, Wisconsin Flute Festival,  Oklahoma Flute Society Flute Fair, the Flute Society of Kentucky Flute Festival, Austin Flute Festival, the Greater Philadelphia Flute Fair,  and the Mid-South Flute Fair. Other notable appearances have included at the New York Flute Fair, the New Jersey Flute Fair, and the 2021 and 2016 National Flute Association Conventions. Hristina completed her BM at Louisiana State University, MM at the University of Texas at Austin, and DMA at Stony Brook University in May 2018. She has studied with Dr. Katherine Kemler, Marianne Gedigian, Aralee Dorough, and Carol Wincenc.

Cara Dailey

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Cara Dailey is a flutist in The United States Air Force Concert Band and First Prize winner of the 2016 NFA Piccolo Artist Competition. Prior to moving to Washington DC, Ms. Dailey taught at McLennan Community College and Baylor University in Waco, Texas, and performed with the Alabama, Louisville, Waco, and Temple Symphony Orchestras. Previously, she was principal flutist in the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra, taught at the University of Evansville, and was the piccoloist for the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Dailey earned a Masters of Music degree in flute performance from Northwestern University and Bachelors of Music in flute performance from Baylor University. Her primary teachers include Helen Ann Shanley, Walfrid Kujala, and John Thorne.

Sam Golter

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Sam Golter is a flutist and musicologist at the University of Virginia, where he is completing his PhD in Critical and Comparative Studies in Music. He received his MM in flute performance from the University of Oregon where he studied under Molly Barth and has a BM from Lawrence University where he studied under Erin Lesser. AS a flutist, Sam is especially interested in collaborations with composers and electroacoustic repertoire. As an educator, he enjoys finding ways to incorporate extended techniques into practice routines and encouraging students to develop healthy and holistic relationships with their instruments.

Matthew Olwell

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Matthew is a performing and teaching artist whose work blends percussive dance, live music, video, photography, and other visual media. He began his professional career touring for nine years with Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble, with whom he appeared in the London production of Riverdance. A multi-instrumentalist, Matthew works with Irish traditional music, tap dance, and Appalachian flatfooting to tell stories that are deeply rooted in traditional art forms.

Matthew has been a featured performer and teacher at numerous international music and dance festivals and camps, including Jacob's Pillow, the Dublin Dance Festival, the Augusta Heritage Center, the Far North Fiddle Festival, the Swannanoa Gathering, the Newport Folk Festival, the John C. Campbell Folk School, and the Aulnay All Blues Festival in Paris. In the summer of 2014, Matthew performed in Russia on a U.S. State Department Arts Envoy tour with The Meaning of Buck Dance.

Other projects include a 2023 guest appearance with Anam at the National Folk Theater of Ireland and the 2015 release of CyberTrad, Matthew’s debut recording project, which blends traditional and original Irish and Breton music, played on wooden flute and Human Beatbox, and of which the Irish Echo writes, “Outstanding... Olwell is an artist with a keen vision.”

Matthew holds a BA in Multimedia Performance from Davis & Elkins College and an MFA in dance from Temple University, and is currently an Apprentice Flutemaker at Olwell Flutes. 

Patrick Olwell

Through many years of painstaking research, careful experimentation with flute design, and precise standards of craftsmanship, Patrick has made the name Olwell synonymous with wooden flutes of the very highest quality and made instruments that are prized by some of the world’s most skilled flute players. Since 1978, through measuring many simple-system transverse flutes from 19th century and tinkering with the dimensions of the bore, embouchure, and tone holes, Patrick has created his own designs that play more easily and are more in tune and responsive than many of the extant 19th c. instruments available today. Popular in the playing of Irish traditional music, Olwell flutes are championed by world-class musicians such as Matt Molloy, Seamus Egan, June McCormack, Brian Finnegan, and many more. Patrick’s attention to detail, love of music, and unique aesthetic sensibilities have made Olwell flutes a favorite with musicians worldwide. www.olwellflutes.com