10. University of North Texas – Denton, TX
Notable Faculty: Mary Karen Clardy
Author of the eminent flute textbook The Flute Etudes Textbook, Regents University Professor of the University of North Texas Mary Karen Clardy is a flutist deeply involved in both the musical and academic culture of her instrument. Her students are regularly winning top prizes, faculty positions, and orchestral jobs across the globe, and her pedagogical publications are consistently reprinted and updated in multiple editions. An acceptance to UNT into her studio is no light honor, as Professor Clardy is an extremely distinguished and selective woodwind artist and teacher.
Check Out the Faculty: Here is Mary Karen Clardy’s seminal textbook, named above, the Flute Etudes Book.
9. Oberlin College-Conservatory of Music
Notable Faculty: Alexa Still
Alexa Still rose to prominence as an artist for the Koch classical music label, recording over a dozen albums of intriguing contemporary composers such as Carl Vine and Ernest Bloch. She was the former principal flutist of the New Zealand Symphony, and was a previous faculty member at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in Australia. She now resides in Oberlin, OH, where she takes on many of the top undergraduate students in the nation.
Listen to the Faculty: Check out fluist and Oberlin faculty member Alexa Still performing on a CD with music by Griffes and Hanson, among others.
8. Northern Kentucky University- Newport, KY
Notable Faculty: Nina Perlove
A widely respected teacher at a college that may seem, at first, to be a less conventional choice than other schools, Nina Perlove is an in-demand teacher and, quite probably, the most popular classical flutist on YouTube. Her website, www.realfluteproject.com, contains scores of videos with live demonstrations of techniques and performance excerpts. She is noted for her clarity as a teacher, as well as her passion for her instrument and for making her career via digital technologies.
Below, you can see a video of her making an animated analogy between proper breathing technique and balancing a cup of coffee.
7. Colburn School- Los Angeles, CA
Notable Faculty: Jim Walker
A flute student who wishes to have an eclectic career in film, orchestral music, wind band, jazz, and in the recording industry may benefit from the knowledge of legendary flute teacher Jim Walker, who was formerly the principal flute of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Jim Walker’s eclectic career as a significant flutist has allowed him a complex versatility with his instrument that will appeal to many creative, varied, and stylistically pluralist young flutists, making Colburn and Jim Walker a top choice for a flute performance degree.
Listen to the Faculty: Check out Jim Walker on this classic modern flute CD