Yvonne Chavez Hansbrough

Sunday, April 19, 2009

I am very pleased to announce that world-renowned flutist Alexa Still will be our guest artist.  She will teach a masterclass to Saint Rose students. See below for Alexa's biography.

 
        Alexa Still

About Flute Day at Saint Rose 

The College of Saint Rose is pleased to announce the first Saint Rose Flute Day.  Join us for this exciting day of activities, which will include flute choir events, a masterclass and concert. Dr. Yvonne Chavez Hansbrough, Associate Professor at The College of Saint Rose, will lead the flute choir events.

 All events will be held in the Picotte Recital Hall in the Massry Center for the Arts at The College of Saint Rose. Admission to all events is FREE and open to the public.

Flutists in 9th-12th grades are invited to apply to participate in the HIgh School Honors Flute Choir.  This activity will include a rehearsal at 10:30 a.m. and a concert at 4:00 p.m. There is no fee to participate in this event. Please complete application in the brochure and mail to Dr. Hansbrough.  Students will be accepted on the basis of their application. Click on link below to download PDF of brochure/application:

Saint Rose Flute Day Brochure/Application.pdf

Click link below to download simple application for the High School Honors Flute Choir (grades 9-12). See application for deadline and mailing instructions.

Flute Choir Application Only.pdf

Click here for driving directions to The Massry Center for the Arts

Event Schedule for Saint Rose Flute Day

Additional Events during the weekend:

Friday, April 17 Saint Rose Camerata concert "An Evening at the Opera" Dr. Yvonne Hansbrough will be joined by Micah Scoville, guitar, playing Potpourri on Rossini's Tancredi, op. 76 by Mauro Giuliano. Picotte Recital Hall, The College of Saint Rose, 8:15 p.m.

Saturday, April 18 The Albany Symphony, Alexa Still, soloist, playing The Pied Piper Fantasy by Corigliano, Palace Theater, 7:30 p.m.in Albany 

Alexa Still

Alexa Still is based in Sydney, Australia, as head of flute at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and maintains a busy concert schedule, having presented recitals, concertos and master classes in England, Germany, Slovenia, Turkey, Mexico, Canada, Korea, China, Thailand, New Zealand, across the United States and, of course, Australia.

Best known internationally for her many recordings on the Koch International Classics label, one of her more recent CDs includes John Corigliano’s Pied Piper Fantasy along with concertos by Katherine Hoover and Chen-Yi, and received unanimous acclaim:
    
"This is a superb recording. Still plays with flawless technique. In three demanding works, she never loses the clarity and beauty of her tone. She maintains astonishing control, from moments of screaming brilliance to compelling pianissimos." [American Record Guide]
    
"Anyone who doubts Still's dumbfounding technical ability or complete tonal control should hear these… Still creates a rainbow of colors within the range we might call "beautiful". You just won't hear better-sustained flute playing on disc than this, or more subtle, characterful phrasing: real, warm, communicative musicality." [Fanfare Magazine]
 

"...a showcase for the protean talents of Alexa Still, who runs Emanuel Pahud a neck-and-neck race in the new century’s flute sweepstakes…With all due respect to Galway, and appreciation for his commission, Ms. Still out-flutes him..." [Archive review].

A native of New Zealand, Alexa studied in the US with Samuel Baron at SUNY Stony Brook (MM, DMA) and also independently with Thomas Nyfenger, gaining numerous competition successes including the New York Flute Club Young Artist Competition, and, East and West Artists Competition for a New York Debut. Alexa returned home for 11 years to be principal flute of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra while making regular tours to the US for solo engagements and, in 1996, a Fulbright Award. From 1998-2006 she taught at University of Colorado at Boulder.

When her flute is in its case, Alexa is an avid motorcyclist, and she shares a daughter and two dogs with her husband. You can read much more about Alexa on her website: http://www.alexastill.com