Celebrating its 10th year, the Festival Flautas del Mundo took place in Mendoza, Argentina from September 19-23, 2018 for which UNO was well-represented:

UNO Professor of Flute, Dr. Christine Beard made her 3rd appearance at the festival hosted by Pablo Salcedo. During previous festivals, Beard has been the featured concerto soloist with the Mendoza Philharmonic Orchestra and brought UNO flute students to perform at the festival (2016), and she performed alongside colleague Dr. Tomm Roland as a member of the flute/percussion duo Zephyrus (2012). This year, Christie taught a flute masterclass for students attending the festival, and performed a recital of solo and chamber music for flute and piccolo by North and South American composers including Herman Beeftink, Richard Treuel, and Derek Charke. For her recital, Beard invited Canadian flutist Laurel Swinden to share the stage with her, the program also including a flute trio for which she also asked her former flute student, Leanna Keith to participate. www.christiebeard.com 

Keith is a 2012 graduate of UNO with a Bachelor of Music in flute performance and studied with Beard throughout her high school and college education. She received her Masters degree in flute performance from The University of Washington in 2015 where she was a student of Donna Shin. Currently residing in Seattle, Leanna met guitarist Daniel Husser with whom she formed the duo, Crows at the Crosswalk who was also accepted to perform at the World Flutes Festival in Argentina. Together, the ensemble writes their own music – often utilizing improvisatory elements with sounds inspired from the music of cultures around the world, jazz, and rock. As a group they create pieces which showcase Leanna’s background in both classical flute extended techniques and Asian flute training, as well as Daniel’s blues guitar styles and folk-like bouzouki playing. The result is an amalgamation of both musical and cultural styles that is wholly unique to the ensemble. https://www.leannakeithflute.com/

For more information and photos from the 2018 World Flutes Festival, visit www.worldflutesfestival.org or their page on Facebook at www.facebook.com/worldflutesfestival