April Clayton, FluTE
Recognized as a leading flutist of her generation, April Clayton maintains an active career as a soloist, chamber musician, orchestral player and pedagogue. Highlights include touring as a guest with the New York Woodwind Quintet, soloing alongside Roberto Diaz, and being featured in a cover story by Flute Talk magazine. She performs in festivals around the world, including residencies at the Seminários Internacionais de Musica in Brazil, at the Holder’s Season Festival in Barbados, on the Wells Cathedral Concert Series, and at the Aberystwyth Music Festival. She has performed in London, Zurich, Paris, Riva del Garda, Leipzig, Moscow, Vancouver, Mexico, throughout South Korea, New York City, and across the United States. She is Director of the Ecole Normale de Musique Paris Summer Flute Class and former Director of Chamber Music for the European American Musical Alliance Paris Summer Program. Ms. Clayton is Professor of Flute at Brigham Young University and Woodwind Studies Chair at The Gifted Music School. She is a member of the Orpheus Wind Quintet, Hat Trick, and Principal Flute with the Utah Chamber Artists. She has been a Guest Artist Instructor at the Conservatoire MJC du Vesinet and the Centre de Musique F. Hasselmann in France, and for Manhattan School of Music.
A dedicated performer of new music, April Clayton has participated in numerous premiere performances, and has collaborated with a long list of composers. She presented a concert of premieres written for her in Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall as a Williams Flutes Artist. Her CD of flute concertos features two new concertos written for her by Todd Coleman and Murray Boren. She received two “Best Performance” awards from the National Flute Association for her renditions of newly commissioned compositions.
April Clayton presented her debut solo recital at Carnegie Hall under the auspices of Artists’ International. Her first solo CD, Flûte Agréable, was released on the Crystal Records label. Accolades for her playing from the New York Concert Review, Fanfare, American Record Guide, and Flute Talk magazines describe her playing using such terms as “stunning”, “dazzling”, “impeccable”, “[played] with total conviction”, “outstanding”, “thoroughly polished”, “beguiling”, “superb”, “elegant”, and “delectable”.
At The Juilliard School, April Clayton was a Starr Doctoral Fellow and the youngest student to have been admitted to the D.M.A. program. Ms. Clayton was Principal Flute and Concerto Soloist with the New York Lyric Orchestra. She has been concerto soloist with orchestras across the country. She is a four-time laureate of National Flute Association competitions, and her students have won First Place awards in the NFA High School Soloist, Orchestral Audition, and Piccolo Artist Competitions.
David Wallace, Viola
Dr. David Wallace is a fiercely eclectic musician, an award-winning composer, a master teaching artist, and Chair of Berklee College of Music’s String Department. David’s concert appearances include solo performances with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and the New York Philharmonic, as well as international tours with the Teaching Artist Ensemble of the New York Philharmonic.
David performs regularly with his flute-viola-harp trio Hat Trick and his Texas-style swing band The Doc Wallace Trio, each of which is releasing a new album in 2016. David has been broadcast as a soloist and chamber musician on NPR, WQXR, KTV (Korea), CBS, ABC, PBS, Tokyo-MX, and NHK television. The New York Times compares his solo improvisations to “Jimmy Page fronting Led Zeppelin.”
Known for his mastery of many styles ranging from all classical genres to fiddling, rock, and free jazz, David has also gained widespread acclaim for his ability to connect with audiences in diverse community settings, including schools, hospitals, psychiatric facilities, houses of worship, and prisons. Symphony magazine hails his book Reaching Out: A Musician’s Guide to Interactive Performance, as "an invaluable manual for all musicians, classical or otherwise."As a composer, David has received commissions from Carnegie Hall, the New York Philharmonic, the Juilliard School, violinist Rachel Barton Pine, the Marian Anderson String Quartet, and the Robert F. Ryan & Qin C. Ryan Foundation.
Through the New York Philharmonic’s radical Very Young Composers program, David has mentored over a hundred children whose original compositions were performed by members of the orchestra. He received his D.M.A in viola performance from the Juilliard School where he served as a Morse Teaching Artist Fellow and as Teaching Assistant to legendary violist and pedagogue Karen Tuttle.
This summer marks David’s third year directing Berklee’s summer string program, the Berklee Global String Intensive. He continues his tenure as a charter faculty member of Mark Wood Rock Orchestra Camp and MyTalentForge.com. Learn and hear more at www.docwallacemusic.com and www.youtube.com/docwallacemusic.
kristi shade, harp
Based in New York City, Kristi Shade began playing the harp at the age of two and has since become one of the preeminent emerging harpists in the industry. A diverse performer, Kristi performs in a variety of musical settings including classical, jazz, pop, Broadway, contemporary and electronic music.
Kristi received her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Miami, where she studied with Valerie Whitcup. She went on to study with Susan Jolles at the Manhattan School of Music, where she received her Master of Music degree in 2007. She has been a participant of the National Orchestral Institute and the Henry Mancini Institute. Awards include American Harp Society Awards (1988, 1990, 1991), a Downbeat Jazz Award (2006) and an ASTA Award as Competition Winner for the state of Florida (2005).
Kristi is the Principal Harpist with the Chamber Orchestra of New York, with which she has recorded three albums on the Naxos record label. She is a member of the flute-viola-harp trio, Hat Trick, and the harp duo, Duo Scorpio. Duo Scorpio released their debut album, Scorpion Tales, in the fall of 2012 on the American Modern Recordings label and were featured performers at the 50th Anniversary American Harp Society Conference in New York City. Their album was included on the 2012 GRAMMY nomination ballot in three separate categories. Duo Scorpio were also featured performers at the World Harp Congress in Sydney, Australia in July 2014, where they premiered their commissions by composers Nico Muhly and Andy Akiho. Duo Scorpio also performed at the World Harp Congress in Hong Kong in July 2017, where they premiered their commission by composer Paul Patterson. Duo Scorpio's second album, Two Bridges, was released in the spring of 2017 and consists entirely of pieces commissioned by the duo.
Kristi has been a guest artist with the Baltimore Symphony, the Florida Philharmonic and the Albany Symphony Orchestra. Her solo engagements have included concerto performances with the Miami Symphony, the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas, Ensemble 212, and the Astoria Symphony. Kristi was the Principal Harpist for the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas, with which she toured Mexico and North America and recorded an album for Sony Classical.
Kristi has performed on Broadway for several shows, including Carousel, Hello Dolly, Cinderella, Wicked, A Little Night Music, Gypsy and The Apple Tree.
Kristi currently resides in Manhattan where she maintains a vigorous performance and teaching schedule. She has been on faculty at the Manhattan School of Music Precollege Division since 2007. More information at www.kristishade.com.