Jennifer Higdon with Judith Bentley, 1984
Questions for: Composer Jennifer Higdon

When the NFA approached Jennifer Higdon in 2016 to commission a new work in celebration…

Questions for: Composer Thea Musgrave

When pondering composers to commission in celebration of the NFA’s 50th Anniversary, piccolo soloist Laurie…

Questions for: Composer Julia Wolfe

Julia Wolfe’s Oxygen receives its first large-scale performance—featuring 144 flutists—at the NFA’s 50th Anniversary Convention…

Da Capo
On Top of the World with Chamber Music: The Flutist of the Da Capo Chamber Players on Choosing a Career in Chamber Music

As flutists pondering career options, unless we are planning to be soloists, we tend to…

Henry Cowell’s Trio for Flute, Violin, and Harp: Its Puzzling Premiere and Ineffective Purpose

An Academic Commission One of Henry Cowell’s (1897–1965) most momentous commissions is also one of…

Connections! Impact! NFA Distinguished Service Award Recipient Nancy Clew!

The 2020 Distinguished Service Award recipient clocked in years of impeccable service managing major events—including…

Karl Kraber
The Life and Legacies of Karl F. Kraber, NFA Lifetime Award Recipient

Born in New York in 1935, Karl F. Kraber (known to friends as “Fritz”) began…

Celebrating Ransom Wilson: NFA Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient

The 2020 NFA Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, Ransom Wilson, has had a major career as…

A Helping Hand: The National Flute Association’s Scholarship and Mentorship Programs

“I had journalists calling me, and newspapers and TV people. I didn’t know it would…

Beyond the Score: The Spirit of Tango in Piazzolla’s Tango-Études

A century after the birth of Argentine composer and virtuosic bandoneón player Astor Piazzolla, Mariana…

Paganini on the Flute

Why are the 24 Caprices, Op. 1, by Niccolò Paganini (1782–1840), originally for violin, now…

Sigal Museum
Window to the Past: Exploring Two Centuries of Early Flutes Via the Sigal Music Museum

The Sigal Music Museum in Greenville, South Carolina began life as the Carolina Music Museum…