People who play Burkart

"I have been thrilled with the dramatic range and diversity of tonal color, articulation and dynamic possibilities in my Burkart flute. To spin out the most delicate, unending diminuendi and to soar in fortissimo passages with such rich and powerful projection are features of this superb instrument. It allows me to play just the way I like to and must be able to do to meet my own standards of excellence."

"I applaud Lillian Burkart yet again for her exceptional craftswomanship and sensitivity in being able to produce such a brilliant, consistent and outstanding instrument that I shall rely on and grow with for years of concertizing to come."

One of the most respected and acclaimed flutists performing today, Carol Wincenc has appeared as soloist with major orchestras worldwide and has premiered works written for her by numerous prominent composers. Ms. Wincenc was First Prize Winner of the Walter W. Naumburg Solo Flute Competition and is currently a professor of flute at both the Juilliard School of Music in New York and at the State University of New York in Stony Brook.

"I first discovered Lillian's piccolos 17 years ago when I was in my first job in the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and have been playing them ever since. I simply won't play anything else. It's necessary in the London Symphony Orchestra for me to cover a range of different types of work from top quality classical concerts to studio work for major artists and films -- the Burkart piccolo suits the job perfectly. I love the full bodied rich sound you can produce on them and the lightning articulation in the loud passages when I'm competing with my brass colleagues! Yet they retain a beautiful round sound even in the most pianissimo of phrases. I love my piccolo. Actually all three of them! What more can I say other than buy one!"

Sharon Williams is the Principal Piccolo of the London Symphony Orchestra one of the world's leading orchestras where she has been for the past 9 years. Prior to that she was Principal Piccolo in the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Hong Kong Philharmonic. She regularly works with most of Britain's major orchestras and freelances on film sessions and other commercial work.

She is also currently Professor of piccolo at London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama and regularly gives masterclasses. Major conductors she has worked with include Valery Gergiev, Sir Colin Davis, Bernard Haitink, Lorin Maazel and Rostropovich. Sharon can be heard playing Burkart piccolos on the "LSO Live" label and many film scores including Star Wars and Harry Potter.

Adelaide-born Geoffrey Collins studied at the Sydney Conservatorium with Nancy Salas (piano) and Victor McMahon, James Pellerite and Margaret Crawford (flute). He was awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 1982 to study in Europe with William Bennett, Michael Debost and Peter Lukas-Graf.

Geoffrey currently holds two positions: his long standing appointment as flautist with the Australia Ensemble and principal flute with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. Geoffrey has held a number of the country's most coveted flute positions, including associate principal flute and frequent guest principal with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and, for many years, principal flute in the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

A concerto soloist with most of Australia's leading orchestras, he has also played with such contemporary music groups as AZ Music, ACME, the Seymour Group, Flederman and the Sydney Alpha Ensemble. In 2002 he gave the Australian premiere of Christopher Rouse's flute concerto with the Adelaide Symphony orchestra. Recordings include Spinning (contemporary Australian works), the complete Mozart flute quartets with the Australia Ensemble and a duo recital with Australian harpist Alice Giles, Enchanted Dreams…Exotic Dances.

"I like to think that I'm an open minded person. I suppose that theoretically, it is possible that I could love a flute more than I do my Burkart 998 with its platinum riser. But I think the odds are infinitesimally small! I try all kinds of flutes constantly, at conventions, in my flute studio with my students, with colleagues in the business - but none other has the depth of sound, the color, the transparency, the flexibility, and the power, all rolled into one beautiful package. I think the Burkart flutes are the best in the world, plain and simple."

Stephanie Jutt’s elegant artistry and passionate intellect have inspired musicians and audiences around the world. Her groundbreaking performances of new music, transcriptions, and traditional repertoire have made her a model for adventurous flutists everywhere. Ms. Jutt’s all-Brahms recording, Stolen Moments, with Jeffrey Sykes, pianist, was released in January 2005 on Centaur. Three Brahms sonata transcriptions by Stephanie Jutt were issued by International Music Publishing. Jutt received undergraduate and graduate degrees from the New England Conservatory of Music, where her teachers were James Pappoutsakis and Paula Robison. She also studied for one year with Marcel Moyse. Stephanie won the coveted Concert Artist Guild and Pro Musicis International Soloist awards, and has performed in recital throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. A devoted teacher, Stephanie Jutt is on the faculty of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She co-produces the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society summer chamber music festival for three weeks each summer with pianist Jeffrey Sykes in Madison, Wisconsin. Stephanie has served as board member and Program Chair for the National Flute Association, and is currently on the Commissioning and Artistic and Career Committees. As a recipient of a Kauffman award, Stephanie Jutt has created the UW-Madison Arts Enterprise, a multi-faceted initiative which enables emerging artists to envision and create viable career strategies.

"The sound of my gold Burkart flute is very special, it has many possibilities and the intonation is terrific. My Burkart flute gives me complete freedom to play in the orchestra and in chamber and solo performances! The quality and the beauty of the workmanship is outstanding, and the precision of the mechanism is stunning!"

José Ananias Souza Lopes was born in Brazil. He plays with the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra and teaches at Brazil's major summer festivals in Curitiba, Brasilia, Tatuí and Belém. He taught at the Tatuí Conservatory from 1983 to 1987, and at the São Paulo Music School since 1990. He has presented master classes at the world's finest music schools. He has studied with Jean Noël Saghaard, Christian Lardé and Pierre-Ives Artaud in Paris, Keith Underwood, Wolfgang Schulz and Jean-Claude Gerard.

Mr. Lopes has released three CDs. The latest one, "A Brazilian Celebration," is totally dedicated to Brazilian music.

Alberto Barletta was born in 1964 in Taurasi (AV), he studied in Avellino’s Conservatory “D.Cimarosa” with M° Vasco Degli Innocenti where he graduated with honors. Mr. Barletta completed his studies with M° Mario Ancillotti, M° Patrick Gallois and  M° Glauco Cambursano for the flute and with M° Ovidio Danzi for chamber music.

In 1988 he was first flute in “Italian Young Orchestra” and in the same year he founded the woodwind quintet “A.Scarlatti” in Naples. In 1989 the quintet obtained the first prize in the XIII edition of international Chamber music competition “F.Cilea” in Palmi.
In 1996 he was with the woodwind quintet “Arnold

”. He has been first flute solo in the Toscanini Philarmonic Orchestra in Parma, in the “A.Scarlatti” chamber orchestra in Naples, and in the Radio Philarmonic Orchestra in Naples.

Alberto Barletta is active in chamber music with the radio’s soloist playing around the world. He was teacher in “Alto Perfezionamento Musicale di Saluzzo” Academy and “La Bottega del Flauto – Master Courses” in Fossano (CN). He has recorded CDs for “Nuova Era” and “Stradivarius”.

Today, Alberto Barletta is first flute solo in “Radio National Philarmonic Orchestra” and has performed as soloist under the direction of Jeffrey Tate, Claire Gibault, Alan Miller, Gorge Pehelivanian and Pascal Rophé.

 

Andrea Manco was born in 1983 in Brindisi. He studied in Conservatory “Tito Schipa” of Lecce with M° Luigi Bisanti where he graduated with highest marks and dinstinctions. Mr. Manco completed his studies at Academy "Inctonri col Maestra" of Imola and with Michele Marasco at Academy of S. Felice in Firenze. In 2002 he attended the Academy of Scala in Milano with Davide Formisano. Andrea Manco furthered his studies at "Conservatoire Superieure de Musique de Geneve" with Jacques Zoone.

Mr. Manco won first prize at numerous national and international competitions: D.Caravita of Fusignano, F.Cilea of Palmi, E.Krakamp of Torre del Greco, G.Pellegrini of Cagliari, L.DeLorenzo of Viggiano, S.Gazzelloni of Roccasecca. He has been first flute solo in the Teatro alla Scala of Milano, Symphonica “A.Toscanini” conducting by Lorin Maazel, Hungarian National Philarmonic Orchestra of Budapest, Opera of Rome, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Pomeriggi Musicali of Milano, Virtuosi Italiani.

Andrea Manco is active in festivals and reviews around the world: “Settembre Musica” in Torino, internazional festival “da Bach a Bartok”, Festival of Magione, Festival of Ravello, Festival of Verdura in Palermo, concertistic season of Lecce, Festival of Ischia under 18, Review “Migliori diplomati d’Italia“ of Castrocaro Terme, “Syrinx la giornata del flauto” in Roma, Flautistic Festival of Karcag (Hungary), International Flautistic Review of Belgrad 2004. He has recorded some works of young Briccialdi for flute and piano for “Inedita” and the Sonata for flute solo op.115 of Prokofiev for the Cd of flutistic magazine “Syrinx”. He has performed in Genoa "first" Italian of "Katharsis" of T. Antoniou and some excerpts of Ghedini with the “Chamber Orchestra Genoa - Study for the New Musica”, performing many unpublished recordings.

Today, Andrea Manco is the first flute of "Teatro Regio" in Turin.

 

A world class flutist, Shanna Gutiérrez appears throughout the US and abroad as a soloist, clinician, and a core member of Ensemble Dal Niente (www.dalniente.com), with whom she was awarded a Kranischsteiner Stipend Prize at the 2010 Darmstadt Summer Courses. In 2012, as a historical first, Ensemble Dal Niente was awarded THE Kranischsteiner Prize for Intrepration. During the 2011 Stockhausen Courses (www.stockhausen.org) she received a prize for her performance of THINKI. She has been featured on live radio broadcasts for WFMT Chicago, performances at Carnegie Hall and the Chicago Cultural Center, contemporary music festivals throughout the US, and concerts and residencies in Colombia, Germany and Switzerland. Ms. Gutiérrez has been involved with the commissioning and premiere performances of dozens of works, including US premieres of works by Michel van der Aa, Malin Bång, Claus-Steffan Mahnkopf, and Karlheinz Stockhausen (THINKI, November 2011). She has worked with notable twenty-first Century composers such as Kaija Saariaho, Mark André, and Hans Thomalla. Ms. Gutiérrez is the founder of Sonic Sculptures--A Journey in Sound, through which she presents concerts and workshops on contemporary flute music and techniques throughout the US and abroad.

Shanna's CD, Mobilewith Jesse Langen on guitar (Numerica label) features the World Premiere recording of Fredrick Gifford's chamber and solo music for guitar and flute. Available on itunes!

Ms. Gutiérrez received performance degrees from the University of Michigan and Northwestern University. She has studied contemporary music with Matthias Ziegler, Camilla Hoitenga, Eva Furrer, Philippe Racine, and Kathinka Pasveer. She is also a former fellow of the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble at the Aspen Music Festival. A passionate educator, she is on faculty at the Music Institute of Chicago, and received her Suzuki teacher training from David Gerry and Kelly Williamson. She maintains an active teaching studio in Evanston and at the Midwest Young Artists Facility.

"Nothing compares to my Burkart Elite. My Burkart Elite with the M2 14K headjoint combination allows me to play with core tone that resonates through out all registers. I can play with a variety of tone colors and feel confident when I need to use an edgy tone or an entrancing liquid tone. Quite simply, my Burkart Elite helps me be the teacher and performer that I want to be every day."

Elizabeth Shuhan is a lecturer in music education at Ithaca College, where she has also lectured in performance studies, chamber music and music theory. She is a private flute instructor in Ithaca, NY, an outside studio instructor at Cornell University and taught for four years at the Hochstein Community School of Music and Dance in Canandaigua, NY. As principal flutist with the Fort Smith (AR) Symphony, a position she has held since 1998, she has recorded three CDs for the Naxos label. She has also performed with the Skaneateles Festival Chamber Orchestra, Cayuga Chamber Orchestra and the Summer Music Festival of Arkansas. Ms. Shuhan was the director of the University of Arkansas Suzuki Music School, served as visiting assistant professor of flute at the University of Arkansas and was an active chamber musician and adjudicator in Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Missouri. She has held positions in the North Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and Meridien (MS) Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Shuhan is a past winner of the NFA Professional Performer’s competition, a finalist in the National MTNA competition, a finalist in the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition and winner of the Mid-South Flute Society Competition. She holds degrees from the University of Arkansas and the University of Southern Mississippi. Her principal teachers were Sheryl Cohen, Sharon Lebsack and Ronda Mains and she had additional studies with Bart Feller, Marianne Gedigian and Clare Southworth. She also studied advanced Suzuki flute teacher and performance training from Toshio Takahashi, the founder of the Suzuki flute method.

Matjaž Debeljak, born 1961, is a piccoloist and flautist in the orchestra of the Slovene National Theatre Opera and Ballet in Ljubljana, as well as a teacher at the Secondary School in Celje. He graduated in 1994 from the Academy of Music in Ljubljana under the mentorship of Professor Fedja Rupel, completing his post graudate work in 2010.

Debeljak played in the Slovene Police Orchestra for thirteen years, and was a member of the FOReM flute quartet. He is often in demand as a piccoloist working with the RTV Slovenia Symphoy Orchestra, the Symphonic Orchestra of the Slovene Philharmonic, the Academia Ars Musicae orchestra and others. Debljak has appeared as a piccolo soloist at international festivals in Zagorje (SLOVENIA), Belgrade (SERBIA), BFS Manchester (UK) 2008, and most recently at the 2011 NFA Conference in North Carolina, USA.

Debljak has had many collaborations with other piccolo artists, including Nicola Mazzanti, Lior Eitan and Jean-Louis Beaumadier.

In 2000 he recorded and published his first CD, together with the pianist Vlasta Doležal Rus, entitled Grafiti (Graffiti). He also records for Radio Slovenia. Slovene composers have written and dedicated fourteen compositions for piccolo to him, In May 2006 he release his new CD titled Prebliski (Ideas).

"The Burkart flute has made my playing so much easier. The flexibility and clearness of sound has convinced me that this is the exceptional flute. I was fortunate enough to use a Burkart headjoint on my CD. I since purchased an entire Burkart flute and I'm even more inspired."

Harold Jones has been soloist with numerous orchestras, including the Bach Aria Orchestra, New York Sinfonietta, American Symphony, Brooklyn Philharmonia, National Orchestral Association, Municipal Concerts Orchestra and Symphony of the New World. Mr. Jones is a faculty member at the Westchester Conservatory of Music, Manhattan School of Music, Manhattanville College, and Brooklyn College.

Born in Seoul, Korea, Myung-Joo Ahn came to the United States at the age of 15 and was educated at the Juilliard Pre-college. A graduate from The Juilliard School (in BM and MM double degree program), she received the Doctoral of Musical Art Degree from the State University of New York at StonyBrook in 1999.

Internationally, Ms. Ahn has performed many solo recitals and chamber music concerts including the Art Center and Yong San Art Hall in Korea, the Weill hall, Alice Tully hall in NY, Akademiekonzert at Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, Holland and Australia. Ms. Ahn had several solo performances with Korean Broadcasting System Philharmonic Orchestra, Korean Symphony, Su won Philharmonic Orchestra, Kun-Po Prime Orchestra (The Art Center Orchestra Festival in 2006), and Juilliard Pre-college Orchestra, New York Youth Symphony. Also, She was the grand prize winner at the New York Youth Symphony Concerto Competition, and NFA Soloist Competition and many others.

Currently, she is the principal flutist of the KBS Symphony Orchestra in Korea and a member of the Sejong woodwind Quintet, and has been selected as a Burkart Flute Artist since 2006. Ms. Ahn teaches at the Seoul National University, the Korea national University of Arts, Han Yang University and Yewon art School.

Wol-Sook Lee was the youngest principal flutist of the Dae Gu City symphony orchestra in Korea in 1992. Wol-Sook Lee had several solo performances with Vienna Waltz Orchestra, Dea gu City Symphony Orchestra, The National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, Russia Tatarstan National Orchestra, Korea Festival Orchestra, Ukraine Symphony Orchestra, Kyeong Buk Symphony Orchestra, Dae Gu City Korean Music Company, And Internationally she had many solo recital including International Exchange Concert of Korea and Japan, Russia Gnesin’s Academy Recital, C.B.S Radio Broadcasting Recital, Japan Hamamatsu Yamaha Music Camp Recital.

Currently, she is the principal flutist of the Dae Gu City Symphony Orchestra in Korea and teaches at Kei Myung University in Korea. She is also a music director and conductor of Calos Flute Ensemble which she founded and she has released 4 CDs.

Hae-Kyung Lee made her debut recital at the Carnegie Recital Hall after winning the Artists International Competition. Her performances includes solo appearances with the KBS Symphony Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic, Baroque Ensemble, Busan Philharmonic, Rumanian National Orchestra, Czech National Symphony Orchestra, I musici de Montreal, Maracaibo Symphony Orchestra, Manhattan Symphony among others. She has also participated in the Ibach Chamber Music Festival in Busan, Festival Music Alp in France, Arona International Music Festival in Spain, the Highlands-Cashiers Chamber Music Festival in U.S. Recent appearances include performances at the Seoul Spring Festival, soloist with Masan Philharmonic, performance of complete sonatas of J.S. Bach and performance at the Grand National Theater of Beijing celebrating the 2008 Olympic with the Seoul Spring Festival players. Her flute studies were with Murray Panitz, Samuel Baron, Carol Wincenc. Hae-Kyung Lee earned her Doctor of Musical Arts Degree from Manhatan School of Music. She is a Member of Seoul Chamber Music Society, a board of director of the Korea Flute Association and serves as a professor of flute at Dan-Kook University in Seoul.

Flutist James Hall has enjoyed a varied and impressive career as an international soloist, chamber and orchestral musician, and teacher. A versatile and engaging performer, The Kansas City Star called him “red-hot” and the Denver Musical Weekly called his performance “…the best flute performance I have witnessed in my life.” This past summer, he appeared as a soloist with the National Symphony of Paraguay and the Paraguayan National Conservatory Chamber Orchestra, and will tour South Africa in recital with pianist Stephen Pierce this Spring. Hall has been the winner of numerous competitions, including New York’s Artists International, St. Louis’ Artist Presentation Society, and the Kansas City Musical Club. He has been heard performing live on Kansas Public Radio and St. Louis’ Classic 99.

Hall is founder, artistic director, and flutist with the Chamber Music Society of Kansas City, which opened its debut season to critical acclaim in 2003. He has also premiered the works of notable American composers, including Hubert Bird’s flute concerto, which he performed in 2005. Hall has served as principal flutist with the Topeka Symphony, Missouri Symphony, St. Joseph Symphony, Greeley Philharmonic, Boulder Philharmonic, and the Boulder Bach Festival orchestras. He also works as a recitalist with pianist Patricia Higdon, with whom he has worked since 2002. As the Hall-Higdon Duo, the two made their Carnegie Hall recital debut in 2004, have since appeared in concert halls throughout the country.

Hall is in high demand as a teacher, having given master classes across the United States and around the world, and he is currently the flute professor at the University of Northern Colorado. Hall holds a doctorate from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and his principal teachers include Rae Terpenning, Mary Posses, and Carol Wincenc.

Jan Gippo was Piccolo/Flutist of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra from 1972-2008.  A graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music, he taught at Webster University from 1980-2010, was on the faculty of the University of Missouri-St. Louis, and Saint Louis University, and presented recitals and masterclasses throughout the United States and abroad. 

         From 2002-2006, Mr. Gippo served as Chairman of the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians, ICSOM. This organization represents 52 major orchestras of the United States and over 5000 musicians.

         He is the author and editor of “The Complete Piccolo:  a comprehensive guide to fingerings, repertoire, and history,” published by the Theodore Presser Company.

         As founder of the Piccolo Committee of the National Flute Association, Jan helped raise over $120,000 to commission 15 new works for the instrument.  Gippo has served on the board of directors for the National Flute Association where he was the spearhead for the creation of the Piccolo Artist Competition.  

         In addition, he was co-chair of the St. Louis Symphony’s orchestra committee and was the creator of feature “Let’s Talk Picc” in Flute Talk and has continued as author, contributing editor, and editor-at-large of Flute Talk Magazine, an Instrumentalist publication. 

         He is also the owner/publisher of Meridian Publishing LLC that publishes the Gaubert Suite for flute and piano and piccolo works: Benshoof Spindrift, Broughton Concerto for Piccolo, and Loeb Preludes Volume III plus much more. Check the web site for new publications: www.jangippo.com

"The first time I heard a Burkart 5-95 flute I knew that this was the flute and the sound that I had been searching for for years. It had a stunning dark tonal core with a ring to it like no other flute I had ever come across. I simply loved it and had to have one. I love that its tone is clear and focused. My 5-95 Elite flute always projects in any setting that I perform with it in: whether it is in an orchestra, in a chamber music setting or in solo work. Both of my head joints, the 595 and the Full Platinum, are exceptionally responsive and give me an enormous dynamic range with all of the demanded musical expressiveness. I love that I can actually feel the resonance in the tube. (It vibrates when I play!)
Until now I had never found an instrument which had both a reliable and well built mechanism and a great sound…. but my Burkart 5-95 does. Its mechanism is as tight and as fast as I could ever hope for in an instrument. It also has been absolutely reliable--a feature which is very important to me since I use my flute for so many hours every day for practicing, teaching, and performing."
"My Burkart piccolo?…well… it can be described as simply “world class”…and awesome, awesome, awesome! Everyone who tries it is just astounded by it."

Flutist Judy Braude appears frequently as a concerto artist with many Boston area groups and has premiered several concerti written exclusively for her. She also appears regularly as a recitalist up and down the East Coast. In addition, she can now be heard as a recording artist on her own recently released solo cd entitled “The Twelve G.F. Handel Flute Sonatas”.

Previous to expanding her recent foray into solo flute artistry, Judy was for many years a busy orchestral freelancer in the New York, Philadelphia, and Boston areas performing in such venues as Carnegie Hall and on national TV and radio with orchestras such as the New Jersey State Opera Orchestra, the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra, and for almost twenty years as the solo Principal Flutist with the Merrimack Valley Philharmonic Orchestra.

Additionally, Ms. Braude has been also active as a flute teacher, having served on the flute faculty of the Boston Conservatory in their Special Programs Division for over a decade and several other college faculties. Recently she became a certified Suzuki flute teacher and she now currently maintains a busy private studio in addition to serving as a flute teacher for several Boston area community music schools.  Judy is also the Founder/Director of the “White Mountain Flute Conservatory”, a summer flute camp for gifted Junior and Senior High School flutists.

Judy received her BS degree in Music Education as flute major with David Berman  at Ithaca College and her MM Degree in Flute Performance with Charlie Delaney at the University of Illinois. Additional flute teachers have included Stephen Preston, Goran Marcusson in Master Classes and  Julius Baker, Maurice Sharp, Murray Panitz and Shaul Ben-Meir privately. Judy also had the wonderful opportunity to play for and study with the legendary Marcel Moyse in his Master Classes in Brattleboro, Vermont when she was a young undergraduate student many years ago.