flute
Praised for her “brilliance and beauty of tone” by the Baltimore Sun, Powell Artist Nancy Stagnitta is a leading crossover artist as both classical flutist and jazz artist. Her versatile artistry and passion for teaching have led to concert engagements and masterclass appearances in Africa, Europe, Asia, and across the U.S. She has served on the jury for the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, and appeared as a guest artist at Sir James Galway’s International Festival, with Billy Childs at Interlochen, and at the Clazz International Music Festival in Italy. Recent appearances include a concerto performance with the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra, a masterclass at the Mannes School, and a sold out solo performance of classical, jazz, and funk flute with Jim Walker.
Her album with Grammy Award winning jazz pianist and composer Bob James, “In the Chapel in the Moonlight,” has garnered acclaim across musical genres and was described by JAZZIZ magazine as “captivating… brilliant…striking: Stagnitta effortlessly picks up on James’ attitude, sounding not unlike Hubert Laws.” “Nancy Stagnitta is among a very few flutists on the planet who can truly play both classical and jazz flute,” says legendary flutist Jim Walker. “The recent recording with Bob James speaks volumes to her fluency and talent in great flute playing.” She has also recorded contemporary American classical repertoire for Capstone Records, and was featured on the Voice of America Broadcast Network, American Public Media’s Performance Today with the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, and on Classical KING FM in Seattle.
Appointed as U.S.I.A. Artistic Ambassador to Africa, she presented concerts and masterclasses in Angola, Botswana, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique and Namibia. She also gave the Asian premier of David Amram’s “Giants of the Night” Flute Concerto with the China National Symphony in Beijing, and has performed and taught at many festivals and universities throughout the US and abroad, including the Shanghai Conservatory, Biblioteca Universitaria di Napoli, Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow, the Detroit Women in Jazz Festival with Regina Carter, and the Mannes School of Music in New York. A two-time recipient of the Maryland State Arts Council Solo Artist Award, she is the former piccoloist with the Baltimore and Sarasota Opera Orchestras and performed with the Spoleto Music Festival and National Gallery Orchestras.
A passionate educator, Stagnitta currently serves as Instructor of Flute at Interlochen Arts Academy, a world leader in arts education. Her students have consistently attended top conservatory programs, won major awards and competitions, and can be heard in orchestras and ensembles around the world, including the Philadelphia Orchestra. Nine of her students have won the prestigious $10,000 Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award, and subsequently appeared on NPR’s “From the Top,” since 2009. As a result of her holistic approach to teaching, and an ongoing collaboration with the dance and physics departments at Interlochen, she was invited to present a lecture on the relationship between body alignment, resonance, and injury prevention at the 2011 Performing Artist and Athlete Science Symposium.
Stagnitta currently serves as Instructor of Flute at Interlochen Arts Academy, principal flutist with the Traverse Symphony and Great Lakes Chamber Orchestras, and subs with the Detroit Symphony. She earned her degrees from the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University, where she received the Ashworth Prize. Her teachers include Robert Willoughby and Timothy Day.