Flute Academy News!

  • The Flute Academy and the Pittsburgh Flute Club were invited to perform in a showcase concert at the National Flute Association's annual convention in August 2009 in New York City. The concert was a HUGE success. Standing Room Only and 40 performers on stage. Alberto Almarza, professor of flute at Carnegie Mellon University was the featured soloist. Flute Academy Director, Wendy Webb Kumer, conducted.
  • FA students participated in the Guiness Book of World record concert at the NFA convention in NYC. Nearly 2000 flutists broke the record in August 2009: Josephine Fishback and Joe Bonadio.
  • The Flute Academy Flute Choirs performed their 2008 Holiday Concert at Phipps Conservatory and in a special performance for the Pittsburgh Lutheran Center for the Blind in Oakland.
  • The Flute Academy Spring Concert in March 2009 was performed in Murrysville in conjunction with the Pittsburgh Flute Club Young Artist Competition with special guest harpist, Cecilia McKay.
  • FA intern, Courtney Martin, recently accepted a scholarship to be a flute performance major at the University of Texas at Austin. We will miss her. THANK YOU Courtney for three years of great teaching!
  • Two Flute Academicians won competitions to perform at the NFA convention in NYC: Elyssa Bowen in the National High School Flute Choir, and Courtney Martin in the first Collegiate Flute Choir.
  • Rotary Scholar from Lille France, Helene Guinard has returned to France after spending the 2008-09 school year with the Flute Academy! Bon de la chance, Helene!
  • FA students traveled to music camps and masterclasses this summer, including Celeste Simpson, Helene Guinard, Joe Bonadio, Frank Gustine, and Ashley Taylor who went to the Pedagogy Intensive with Trevor Wye at West Virginia University in June; and Brigitta Hutchins, Navada VanTine, Frank Gustine, and Helene Guinard who went to the Bernard Goldberg masterclass in Ohio. Josephine Fishback attended the high school flute camp at WVU and Brigitta Hutchins attended the music camp at Penn State. Lots of summer study!

Flute Academy Alumni News!

  • T.J. Wible graduated from New England Conservatory with a flute performance major. He is now a graduate assistant at Boston Conservatory to work on his masters degree.
  • Alysha Suley is a junior at Berklee College in Boston studying flute and music therapy.
  • Ashley Taylor begins her music education degree at Slippery Rock fall 2009.
  • Chelsea Debonis begins her senior year at Duquesne University as a music technology major.
  • Former FA faculty, Pamela Murchison, continues work on her doctorate in flute performance at WVU and is on the faculty at Frostburg State University.
  • Former FA faculty, Dan Parasky, presented a clinic on pedagogy at the NFA convention in NYC.