Tag Archives: David Cramer

Guest Masterclasses in Fall term 2020

We recently enjoyed two guest artist visits (via zoom) from two wonderful artists. First we enjoyed hearing early flute specialist Soile Stratkauskas, who is a founder of the Victoria Baroque ensemble. She played a bit on several early instruments so we could hear the colour and tonal differences between them. She then shared important insights regarding building a career in music (this has been the theme of masterclass for the past year). Today we were joined in our masterclass by David Cramer, who recently retired from the Philadelphia Orchestra after an astounding 37 year career as an orchestral flutist. I had the good fortune of being able to work with David in Philadelphia for several years, after completing my MMus degree (with Julius Baker). He coached a fourth year performance major student (on the famed Bach “Aus Liebe” aria). Afterwards he shared some of his career experiences and offered his insights into building a career in music today. Thank you to both Soile and David! Our next guest clinician will be Regina Helcher Yost of the Charleston Symphony (October) who will lead us in a piccolo masterclass, and later in November we will be joined by Pittsburgh principal flutist Lorna McGhee! What an exciting fall term!