Hello from sunny San Diego! Since the end of the Opera season I have been doing a lot of traveling for work. As a proud Portland native I’m very happy that my trips have all been to the West Coast! I’m currently in beautiful Southern California playing guest Principal Flute for the San Diego Symphony. Back in April, I played guest Principal Flute for two weeks with the Seattle Symphony. While in the Northwest I also performed the Mozart G Major Flute Concerto with the Olympia Symphony (WA). I was fortunate enough to have my parents as guests of honor for both concerts in Seattle and Olympia. They rarely get the chance to hear me perform, so it was a very emotional couple of weeks for me. One of my brothers also took the train up to Seattle and heard a concert - his first classical concert in over 15 years! At the end of my week here in San Diego, my other brother (who lives in Los Angeles) will be attending a concert - and I believe it may be his first classical concert (professionally, that is; he certainly heard many painful flute recitals in my formative years)!
Further summer plans include playing at the Artosphere Festival in Fayetteville, Arkansas (under the direction of Corrado Rovaris, music director of Opera Philadelphia) and a collaboration with my dear teacher Jeanne Baxtresser and her former students at the National Flute Association convention in Washington DC.
Although I do have a good chunk of the calendar open, I feel very fortunate to have been called for this deeply gratifying work during Lyric's long off-season. After playing in the opera pit full time, it has been an adjustment and a joy to play on stage and to delve into the wonderful symphonic repertoire. I hope my colleagues in the Lyric orchestra are enjoying equally satisfying work!