Hello, fellow flute Lovers!
Do you ever...
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Feel a bit awkward holding the flute?
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Feel unsure about how to make a difficult passage better?
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Get bored practicing scales?
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Want to improve your sound but are unsure how?
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Wonder when you’re going to make it into the District Honor Band?
You've come to the right place.
My name is Claire, and I’m a professional flutist… but I like to think of myself more as a sound explorer.
Curiosity is a musician's best friend, and the flute has an endless amount of colors and timbres to play with.
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In the last thirteen years of performing everywhere from Carnegie Hall to the back of a boat in the middle of a lake in Minnesota, I’ve learned a LOT about practicing, playing, and loving the flute, and I am excited to help you achieve your flutistic goals and dreams!
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I've taught total beginners to advanced high schoolers, both on Zoom and in-person, and can help you wherever you are in your flute journey.
What Students Are Saying
Claire was my very first flute instructor. She inspired me to play the flute after hearing her perform many times. I love listening to her play! Even though she knows a lot about the flute, she made it easy for me to learn about my instrument, how to hold it properly and how to create music out of it. I really like the way Claire teaches me, she is so kind and caring and makes it fun to learn! I am so lucky have been able to take lessons from her!
Rebekah, student
In lessons we will...
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Expand confidence in your playing and find your most beautiful sound (hello, rockstar flutist!)
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Establish fundamentals skills of breath control and finger technique that will last a lifetime
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Focus on repertoire YOU want to be playing (Billie Eilish, Mozart, you name it!)
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Work together to navigate those gnarly passages (I’ll tell you all about what I call “lobster fingers”)
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Explore comfort and ease in your physical relationship to the flute (enter the “Breath of Joy”)
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Learn mental skills that will prepare you to play any performance, competition or audition without your nerves getting the better of you
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Make plans that are fun, practical, and relevant to your goals as a flutist!
There are major perks to becoming a full time studio member!
As a full time studio member you'll receive:
1) Weekly fluting inspiration newsletters (aka Practice Pebbles - if a student tells me how they incorporated the pebble into their weekly practice, they’ll get a pebble from me to fill up their jar - once the jar is full, they’ll get to select a new piece of sheet music to add to their collection!)
2) Repertoire play along classes where students collaborate on a play-along “wish list” and suggest pieces from Lizzo to Bach, and we all play through it with a recording together (either on Zoom or in person).
3) Access to a studio-wide playlist of flute repertoire that we all listen to
4) Monthly flute looping tracks to improvise with as a warm up or cool down exercise. (Listen to a sample here - focused on Db Major)
5) Two recitals per year, one in the Winter and one in the Spring
6) Fludio Fun Days throughout the year!
My Teaching Philosophy
I believe that when we feel empowered, we are more open to love, beauty and connection. I love to investigate, create, and play with music, and my goal is to give my students the tools to do the same.
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My work with each student is centered on their own personal physical and mental experiences of playing the flute. I empower students by asking them questions about what they are actively experiencing and hearing so they can build an awareness of their musical voices. Students are encouraged to acknowledge their strengths (and I acknowledge them too!) and celebrate their success.
Through flute lessons, students will become their own best teachers and develop a voice of confidence and guidance for themselves that will last their whole life. Our lessons will include investigating difficulties in sound and technique with an open and curious mind, building a knowledge of repertoire from a range of cultures and time periods (playing pieces from Katherine Hoover’s “To Greet the Sun” to Clara Schumann’s “Three Romances” to Toru Takemitsu’s works) and becoming more aware of our innate musicality through movement exercises (Plastique Anime exercises to embody gestures in the musical lines - where is each phrase going? - and stepping out rhythms). I encourage students to actively listen and ask questions, and therefore empower them to ask questions and speak their mind.
I started taking lessons with Claire during the summer after my sophomore year of high school. During my first lesson, I was immediately taken by Claire's passion, energy, and insights. I came out of every lesson feeling like I learned a lot, and I enjoyed seeing the variety of techniques and explanations that Claire would put forward. She is such a kind, effective, and patient teacher whose passion for the flute inspires many- I could not recommend her enough!
Ammy Lin, Student
When I was a young student, there were many times when I didn’t feel confident enough in my own voice to speak up in class or talk to other people. I was afraid that I wouldn’t say the right thing, or that my voice wasn’t worth being heard because there were so many other people talking.
Once I started playing flute, my mentors helped me realize that there are an infinite number of ways to say something. My voice and my interpretation of the music, whether it be a phrase or a full piece, was worth hearing! I started to feel more confident in my playing, and I was able to compliment others on their interpretations, because I knew that what we each had to say was important. We could be individuals but did not have to be competitors.
I was no longer thinking from a place of fear, but from a place of confidence and curiosity for the many ways we can all show up in the world. I’m still learning, but I know my heart has been opened so much when I’m encountering things from a place of empowerment.