Jacqueline DeVoe, President

Flutist Jacqueline DeVoe is an active freelancer in the New England area and performs regularly with Emmanuel Music, Cantata Singers, the Rhode Island Philharmonic, National Lyric Opera, Alea III, Masterworks Chorale, Boston Ballet and other ensembles. An 18 year faculty member of the New England Conservatory Preparatory School, she has also taught at MIT and Milton Academy and maintains an active private studio. In addition to her B.M. and M.M. degrees in Boston at New England Conservatory, she was a two-time recipient of the Frank Huntington Beebe Fund grant and the Austrian Government’s Stipend for Foreigners, and completed a diploma at the Hochschule für Musik in Vienna, Austria. Her primary teachers were Claude Monteux, John Heiss and Wolfgang Schulz. A Tanglewood Fellow, Ms. DeVoe is the former principal flutist of the Mexico City Philharmonic, has performed with the Vienna Chamber Orchestra and has been presented in solo and chamber music concerts in Europe, Mexico and the US. Ms. DeVoe performs with the North Winds Quintet, which presents educational concerts in schools throughout Massachusetts under the auspices of Young Audiences, and with Monadnock Music’s Lend an Ear program throughout rural New Hampshire. Ms. DeVoe has created and directed lecture/chamber music concerts for the Newport Symposium and has been an “Artist Teacher” in a pilot program through Young Audiences and NPR’s “From the Top” which brings gifted young artists into Massachusetts’ public schools.

Contact Information

Phone: 617-461-3994
Email: jacquelinedevoe@aol.com

Hannah Bitterman, Competition Coordinator

Hannah Bitterman, BA, Music from Michigan State University in East Lansing, MI, is a freelance flutist in North Central Massachusetts. Currently, Hannah teaches private lessons at Overlook Middle School in Ashburnham, Samoset Middle School in Leominster, Cushing Academy in Ashburnham and maintains a private studio at home. She also volunteers with the Oakmont High School Band in Ashburnham once a week.

As an active performer, Hannah plays with numerous concert bands in North Central Massachusetts, the Connello Consort, Harmony Transverse and the New England Conservatory Metropolitan Flute Orchestra.

Professional affiliations include the National Flute Association, Greater Boston Flute Association, AFM Local #173 and MENC.

Contact Information

Email: hannahb@net1plus.com

Heidi Bothfeld Baxter

Flutist Heidi Bothfeld Baxter is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music.  She performed and taught extensively in Boston before moving to New Hampshire in 1986.  Since that time, Ms. Baxter has performed regularly with Opera North, Vermont Symphony, Vermont Mozart Festival, Hanover Chamber Orchestra and various other orchestral venues as well as with the Baxter/Ghezzi Flute and Guitar Duo and with pianist Jeanne Chambers.  The Baxter/Ghezzi CD Songs and Dances is available on Amazon.  Ms. Baxter has studied privately with Lois Schaefer, Claude Monteux and John Heiss.  For a time she  was a flute maker at the Powell Flute Company and studied with flute builder Albert Cooper in London.Currently Ms. Baxter teaches flute and piano out of her home studio in Hanover, NH.

Peter Bloom

Peter H. Bloom is a distinguished soloist and ensemble flutist who tours internationally and appears on 30 CDs with distribution throughout North America, Europe and Asia. His performing career encompasses a wide range of chamber music from period-instrument performances to new music premieres, and he is also a noted jazz player. Winner of the American Musicological Society's coveted Noah Greenberg Award, Mr. Bloom has given solo recitals and master classes from Boston to Bangkok and tours widely with leading ensembles including Ensemble Chaconne, the duo "2" (with pianist/harpist Mary Jane Rupert), Olmsted Ensemble, New Mendelssohn Quintet Club, and the internationally acclaimed Aardvark Jazz Orchestra, now in its 36th season. He can be heard on recordings from Dorian, SONY Classical, Newport Classic, Leo Records and other labels. He serves as historical performance consultant to the American Museum of Great Britain, New-York Historical Society, American Antiquarian Society, and Boston Museum of Fine Arts, where he has given numerous lecture-demonstrations and has recorded for the museum's audio guide to musical instruments. He holds an MM with distinction in flute performance from New England Conservatory of Music and a BA (philosophy) from Boston University.

Among his many recitals and ensemble concerts, Mr. Bloom has performed for The New York Flute Club, the U.S. Embassy, the American Musical Instrument Society, the National Flute Association, Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton University, The National Gallery (Washington, DC), The Metropolitan Museum (New York City), The Bach Festival Society of Winter Park Florida, Atlanta's Spivey Hall, the Royal Shakespeare Company's Residency at Davidson College; the Goethe Institute, Silpakorn University, Kasetsart University and the Regent School (Bangkok, Thailand); American University Alumni and Payap University in Chiang Mai, Thailand; and Mahidol University College of Music in Salaya Thailand.

Contact Information

Email: phbloom@comcast.net
Website: www.americasmusicworks.com

Kathleen Boyd

Kathleen Boyd serves as Principal Flutist of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and the Nashua Symphony, and plays Second Flute in the Rhode Island Philharmonic. She performs with the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, and has toured nationally with them.  She has also performed with the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops Orchestras, Alea III,
Emmanuel Music, Cantata Singers and Ensemble, Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, Springfield, Portland, and Albany Symphonies, and other ensembles throughout New England.

Ms. Boyd was awarded a Fellowship to the Tanglewood Music Center, and also participated in the festivals at Newport, Monadnock, Bach Aria, Sandpoint, Sarasota, Grand Teton, and the Operafestival di Roma. She has been an avid performer of chamber music and contemporary music, working closely with composers to perform and record their music. Eager to travel, her music has taken her on tours to England, Spain, Rome, Russia, and Greece. Previously, she played Principal Flute in the Filarmonica de Caracas, Venezuela.

Ms. Boyd received her Bachelors and Masters degrees of Music from the New England Conservatory of Music, and pursued doctoral studies at Boston University. Her principal teachers were James Pappoutsakis, Lois Schaefer, Doriot Anthony Dwyer, and Georgetta Maiolo. In addition to performing, she also serves on the faculty of Wellesley College, New England Conservatory Preparatory and Extension Division, Concord Academy, and the Cambridge School of Weston.

Contact Information

Email: fluteboyd@yahoo.com

Fernando Brandão

Flutist, composer, author, arranger and educator Fernando Brandão is from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. An active musician versed in classical, jazz and ethnic music, he has performed extensively as a bandleader, sideman, chamber musician and as a soloist with many prominent orchestras both in Brazil and the US. He leads the Fernando Brandão Septet, the group Alma, the Brasilis Quartet, and he is an active member of the groups Choro Democrático, Sergio Brandão & Manga Rosa, Teresa Inês Quintet, and Earthsound. Mr. Brandão is an Associate Professor at Berklee College of Music and a faculty member of Longy School of Music and the Community Music Center of Boston. A leading educator in Brazilian music, he has given many lectures about Brazilian music and composers, and he is the author of the play-along book Brazilian and Afro-Cuban Jazz Conception, published by Advance Music.

Contact Information

Email: fbrandao@berklee.edu
Website: www.fernandobrandao.com

Susan Caplan

Susan Caplan, B.A., Wellesley College, is principal flute with the Brockton Symphony Orchestra, Savoyard Light Opera Company, and the Sudbury Savoyards.  Susan has also performed with the New Philharmonia Orchestra, the Wellesley Symphony, the Westford Chorus, and the Spindrift Woodwind Quintet.  Susan’s woodwind quintet, The Trade Winds, performs in the Boston area. Her teachers have included Steven Finley, Doriot Anthony Dwyer, Elinor Preble, and William Grass.  Susan is on the music lesson extension faculty of the Canton Public Schools.

Contact Information

Email: susancaplan@comcast.net

Seta DerHohannesian

Flutist Seta Der Hohannesian is a graduate of Smith College where she was a flute and composition major. She is currently Professor of Music in Performance at Wheaton College and also teaches at MIT through the Emerson Music Performance Program. She has taught at many Boston-area schools and, as an active freelancer, has played with virtually every major performing group in the city, including the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. She has played principal flute for the Opera Company of Boston, Boston Lyric Opera, Boston Concert Opera, Boston Academy of Music, Dedham and Newton Choral Societies, Harvard Chamber Orchestra and the Boston Ballet Orchestra. She has been a frequent coach and adjudicator for the Greater Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra.

Contact Information

Email: setatempo@hotmail.com

Julianne Johnston

Jessica Lizak

Dr. Jessica Lizak performs as one of Boston's most versatile flutists, with a style described as "poised, gorgeous, musical, and very sweet." Appearing in concert across the US, Canada, and Israel, she is currently principal flute of the Atlantic Symphony, and section flute of the Orchestra of Indian Hill. She performs with Opera Boston, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Cantata Singers, Gardner Museum Orchestra, Zamir Chorale, Marsh Chapel Chamber Orchestra, and nationally, with the New World and the Albany Symphony. She was a Fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center, Music Academy of the West, Domaine Forget, and Interlochen. In addition to winning the Pappoutsakis Competition, she won top prizes at the Myrna Brown International Flute Competition, Bohemians Club of the Detroit Symphony Concerto Competition, and twice won the BU Departmental Award for outstanding musical achievements. She has been a soloist at the National Flute Convention, the Greater Boston Flute Association's Flute Fair, and she has performed as a chamber musician on WGBH and WCRB.

Her discography includes a live performance of the American premiere of Carter's opera What Next? conducted by James Levine, and the first BSO release of live performances of the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra. She regularly records with BMOP, and she has collaborated with recording artists Tim Janis and Natalie Merchant.

Equally committed to education, she is on artist faculty with the Winchester Music School, Lexington Community Education, and the Boston Youth Symphony. She holds a DMA from BU, MM from NEC, and BM from UM Ann Arbor. Her teachers have included Nina Barwell, Leone Buyse, Geralyn Coticone, Marianne Gedigian, Renee Krimsier, Elizabeth Ostling, Fenwick Smith, and Jeff Zook.

Contact Information

Email: jessicalizak@hotmail.com

Photo Credit: Teresa Tam

Sarah Paysnick

Sarah Paysnick - Sarah Paysnick, a native of Longmeadow, MA, won the 2004 Pappoutsakis Memorial Competition when she was studying at Boston University with Marianne Gedigian.  She holds a BM in performance from Ithaca College where she studied with Wendy Mehne and completed her MM in performance with Ms. Gedigian at the University of Texas at Austin  in 2005.  She has also studied with Elaine Saloio Szlosek, and Jill Felber.  While Sarah continues to freelance and teach the modern flute, she has decided to concentrate in historical performance.  She performs with Cambridge Concentus and Exultemus period ensembles.  She was a semi-finalist in the 2007 and 2009 NFA Baroque Artist Competition and has twice been a soloist with the Harvard Baroque Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Phoebe Carrai.

Contact Information

Email: sarahpays@gmail.com

Dan Riley

Daniel Riley is a member of the faculty of the New England Conservatory of Music (N.E.C.) where he has taught flute since 1980.  He was conductor and Music Director of the Massachusetts Youth Wind Ensemble at N.E.C. for nineteen seasons.  He is former conductor of the Greater Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra (GBYSO) Repertoire Orchestra and the Lincoln-Sudbury Civic Symphony Orchestra.  Mr. Riley was flute soloist for five seasons with the Boston Bach Ensemble.  He was guest conductor of the Nashua Flute Choir at the National Flute Assoication (N.F.A.) Convention in New York City.  Additionally, Mr. Riley was presenter of retrospectives on the careers of two prominent flutists of the Boston Symphony Orchestra: Georges Laurent (Boston N.F.A. Convention), and Mr. Riley's teacher, James Pappoutsakis at the most recent Washington, D.C. N.F.A. Convention.  His former pupils have graduated from many of America's leading music schools including N.E.C., Boston University, Boston Conservatory, Hartt School of Music, Oberlin Conservatory, and the Curtis Institute.

Elaine Saloio Szlosek

Elaine Saloio Szlosek was awarded second prize in the 1982 Pappoutsakis Flute Competition, was a finalist in 1983, and won first prize in 1987. Elaine was honored to serve as secretary for the Pappoutsakis Competition for 10 years, resigning from this position in 2005. She has her B.M. in flute performance from Boston Conservatory of Music and her M.M. in flute performance, graduating with "Distinction in Performance," from New England Conservatory of Music. She studied with William Grass, Lois Schaefer, and Thomas Nyfenger. Elaine is on the music faculty at Westfield State College, The Community Music School of Springfield, teaches privately in her home studio, and performs as a soloist and in several chamber and orchestral organizations in the New England area. In 2006, Elaine established "Melodia" a musical organization in which she utilizes her flute and vocal ablility along with various professional musicians in the Massachusetts and Connecticut area. Elaine currently resides in Ludlow, Massachusetts.

Contact Information

Email: elaine@melodia-music.com
Website: www.melodia-music.com

Adam Workman

Originally from Vergennes, Vermont, flutist Adam Workman graduated from the Boston University College of Fine Arts where he received a Bachelor's Degree in Flute Performance. During his college career he had the good fortune to study with some of the finest flutists teaching today. In this capacity, his primary influences include Marianne Gedigian, Jacques Zoon, James Walker, and Linda Toote. Other important teaching influences include Louis Moyse, Steven Finley, and Paula Robison.

In addition to orchestral, chamber, and solo performances throughout New England, Adam has appeared at the Hampden-Sydney Chamber Music Festival, the Flynn Theater, the Lake Placid International Institute, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and on Vermont Public Radio. He can also be heard performing with Boston-based chamber groups including the Commonwealth Chamber Players and the Fensgate Chamber Players. As a private flute instructor, he has taught flute in Vermont, Boston, and Los Angeles, and has also presented flute master classes for the Music Education Division of the Boston University College of Fine Arts. Currently he maintains a private studio in the Greater Boston Community.

Contact Information

Phone: 617-519-8966
Email: adam.workman@gmail.com
Website: www.adam-workman.com

Photo Credit: Corriveau

Brian Van Sickle

Brian Van Sickle was born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He attended several universities while an undergraduate, but graduated from Calvin College, where he studied flute with Darlene Dugan. After several years of freelancing and teaching in western Michigan, he moved to Boston. He attended graduate school at Boston University, where he studied with Leone Buyse. While at BU, he had the opportunity to study chamber music with many former members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, including Doriot Anthony Dwyer, Ralph Gomberg, Matthew Ruggiero, and Thomas Gauger.

After graduate school, Brian joined the staff of the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, spending two summers at Tanglewood. In the fall of 1993, he was invited to join the staff of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, where he remains employed to this day. He began his tenure at the BSO in the Development Office, where he managed the Tanglewood Annual Fund, overseeing its first crest over the $1 million mark. He then moved into Tanglewood management and finally joined the Business Office, where he is currently the Helpdesk Administrator for the Information Technology department.

Brian maintains an active freelance schedule as well, serving as principal flute for the Boston Civic Symphony, the Newton Symphony Orchestra, and the Lowell House Opera Orchestra at Harvard University. He joined the Board of the James Pappoutsakis Memorial Fund in 2008.

Contact Information

Email: brianvs@verizon.net