Elizabeth McNutt
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Virtuoso flutist Elizabeth McNutt discovered her passion for new and adventurous music almost as soon as she began playing. She has dedicated herself to this path, commissioning and premiering countless new works and becoming an expert interpreter of the masterpieces of the last century. Besides her ongoing collaborations with young and upcoming composers, "commanding flutist Elizabeth McNutt" (LA Times) has worked with such recognized figures as Pierre Boulez, Brian Ferneyhough, Harvey Sollberger, Cort Lippe, Philippe Manoury, Russell Pinkston, Roger Reynolds, Joji Yuasa, and Joan Tower.
Particularly drawn to the new sound worlds of electronic music, she collaborates intensively with composers and technologists to create groundbreaking works for flute and live interactive computer systems. Her solo CD pipe wrench: flute + computer, on the Electronic Music Foundation Media label, was recently described as "astounding" (Flute Talk) and "a delightful listen" (SEAMUS Newsletter). Her other recordings are on the CRI and SEAMUS labels.
McNutt has performed across the USA, including concerts in New York City, Minneapolis, Washington DC, Baltimore, Birmingham, Chicago, San Francisco, and Philadelphia. Her international appearances include England, France, Germany, Switzerland, Greece, Korea, and Singapore. Her "cyber-flute" repertoire has been featured at the Los Angeles Philharmonic Green Umbrella Series, the Sonorities Festival in Belfast, Ireland, the IMEB Synthèse Festival in Bourges, France, the Hallswalls Contemporary Art Center, Steinberg Gallery of Art, the Berkeley Symphony, National Flute Association Conventions, June in Buffalo Festivals, International Computer Music Conferences, and SEAMUS National Conferences. She was the first performer to be the featured artist of the Electronic Music Midwest Festival in 2002, and was featured performer at the 2003 Third Practice Festival. She has been a soloist at such festivals as Darmstadt, Scotia, Norfolk, and Arcosanti.
In 2005 McNutt joined the faculty of the University of North Texas, where she directs the contemporary music ensemble Nova. She also co-directs the new music organization Atomic Clock Music Events. McNutt is a frequent lecturer on topics including contemporary performance practice, flute technique, performing with technology, and collaboration. She has lectured at Peabody Conservatory, Louisiana State University, Cincinnati Conservatory, SUNY Buffalo, and Minnesota State University, among others. American Composers' Forum, Colorado Flute Association, Mid-South Flute Society, and New Jersey Composers' Guild have also sponsored her presentations. Her writing has appeared in Organised Sound (Cambridge Press), the National Flute Association's Flutist Quarterly, the Boulder Daily Camera, Music Theory Online, and the Colorado Flute Association Newsletter.
Also a champion of common practice repertoire, in recent seasons McNutt has performed with the Denver Bach Society, the Intermezzo Chamber Music Sessions, and the Loon Lake Live Festival, performing music of Bach and Mozart. McNutt has won awards and fellowships from the Brannon-Cooper Fund, the American Composers' Forum, the Boulder County Arts Alliance Neodata Endowment, the National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts, Arts International, the Rocky Mountain Women's Institute, the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District of Boulder, and the Open Meadows Foundation. Her degrees are from the University of California, San Diego (DMA, 2000; MA, 1994) and the St. Louis Conservatory (BM, 1990); her teachers have included Harvey Sollberger, John Fonville, and Jacob Berg (flute), and Miller Puckette (computer music).
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