At A Glance
Mon-Thurs 9:30 am-4:30 pm
- Fri 9:30 am-7:30 pm
- Early registration ends May 1, 2018
- Late registration May 2 - 31, 2018 ($25 late fee)
- Last chance registration June 1 - July 9, 2018 ($50 late fee)
Class Levels
Students of all levels of proficiency are eligible to participate. Students should have played flute at least one year.
There are 2 flexible levels of classes:
- Allegro: for flutists in grades 6-8 during the most recent school year
- Presto: for flutists in grades 9-12 during the most recent school year
Scholarships
Floot Fire offers financial assistance to students who could not otherwise attend our workshops. All scholarships are need based.
- Floot Fire awards partial scholarships only.
- Late fees and additional purchased items, such as photos and books, are not eligible for scholarship.
- Deadline for full scholarship consideration is May 1. Applications received after that date will be still be considered but only on an “as available basis.”
- Submission of the scholarship application is not a guarantee of an award.
- If you have qualified for scholarship in the past you are encouraged to reapply however, previous awards do not guarantee future awards.
- A scholarship application does not replace the workshop registration form. All scholarship applicants must register for a workshop online.
- All information submitted to Floot Fire Inc. will be held in strict confidence and permanently destroyed after the application is processed.
Schedule
Our flexible daily schedule includes: masterclass, electives, chamber music, flute choir, and recitals. Our flootful days cover flootastic topics such as breathing, tone, articulation, intonation, vibrato, technique, stage presence, practice habits, Body Mapping, Alexander Technique, performance tips, working with an accompanist, and much more!
Electives
Two elective periods allow students to choose courses of study that interest them most. Elective classes are open to all age levels unless otherwise indicated. Specialty instruments will be provided, some at an additional cost. Please indicate if you can provide your own specialty instrument.
Elective Session 1 (choose one class)
Elective Session 2 (choose one class)
Master Class
In master class students will work on musical interpretation, tone, stage presence, relaxation techniques, and much more! Students should be prepared to play two times in performance class. It is preferred that two different works or different sections from one piece be performed. Students must provide their own original piano parts. Flootastic pianists will accompany each performer however unaccompanied works are acceptable. Students may audit the class if they prefer not to perform.
Faculty Recitals
Faculty recitals take place daily at 1:15 p.m. They are free and open to the public.
Grand Finale Concert
A Grand Finale Concert will top off the week. Students will perform a class flute choir piece, a chamber ensemble, elective class music and a mass flute choir piece with all students and faculty performing in-the-round style. The concert is free and open to the public. A reception will follow.
Faculty
Lilia Agard
Lilia Agard is a freelance flutist, instructor, clinician and business owner in the Houston area. She currently plays piccolo with the Houston Civic Symphony, and principal flute with Sugar Land Winds. She maintains a private flute studio of over 60 students. In addition, she presents masterclasses in numerous middle and high schools, as well as hosts mock auditions for students, and hosts studio recitals. She created a YouTube channel “Flute by Lilia” of instructional videos to aid students auditioning for Texas Region and All-State Bands.
In the summer of 2016, Lilia was a part of the Floot Fire faculty ensemble that made a debut performance at the National Flute Association Convention in San Diego, CA.
Lilia received her BME and MMA from the University of Houston where her primary teachers were Claire Johnson and Sydney Carlson. Lilia has performed in numerous masterclasses across the country with various teachers including Julius Baker, Gary Shocker, Jonathan Snowden, Christina Jennings, Lisa Garner-Santa, Leone Buyse, Jim Walker, Amy Porter, and Carol Wincenc. In addition, she has studied privately with Dr. Kimberly Clark, and Aralee Dorough.
Lilia currently resides in Richmond, Texas where her home studio is located.
Sandra Benke
Sandra Benke is a free-lance musician and private flute teacher in the Houston area. She is Principal Flute/Piccolo with the Symphony North of Houston and serves as the director of the Woodlands UMC Flute Choir. She holds a BME from Sam Houston State University where she was a student of Jan Cole.
Kathy Daniel
Kathy Daniel, Professor of Flute at Sam Houston State University, served as principal flutist, section leader, and soloist with the United States Navy Band, Washington, DC, performing in and around Washington as well as on national concert tours. She was a soloist with the Boston Pops Orchestra in Symphony Hall and has performed in New York City at Carnegie Hall. Daniel has performed with numerous professional ensembles in the Washington area, including the Mid-Atlantic Chamber Orchestra, the Maryland Festival Orchestra, the Annapolis Chamber Orchestra, the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra, the Fairfax Symphony, National Women’s Symphony, the Prince George’s Philharmonic, and on concert tours with the United States Air Force Band. Since joining the faculty at SHSU, Daniel has performed with the SHSU Faculty Chamber Players and conducted the SHSU Flute Choir at National Flute Association Conventions and has remained active as a clinician at Texas Bandmasters Association, the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic, the International Clarinet Association, Texas Music Educators Association and Texas Flute Society Conventions. She has been named to Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers and Who’s Who in America. She has performed recitals in Romania, the Philippines, Colombia and Hungary.
Kasumi Lamm
Kasumi Lamm is a flutist residing in Spring, TX, who currently serves as Substitute Flute and Piccolo with the Houston Symphony. Also an active educator, Lamm teaches flute lessons in Conroe ISD and Klein ISD. Lamm is a prize-winning soloist and her honors include the First Prize in 2015 Evanston/North Shore Music Club Competition. She was a two-year orchestra fellow with the Texas Music Festival Orchestra. Lamm received her Masters of Music with distinction in flute performance from DePaul University where she studied with Mark Sparks and Mary Stolper. She holds her Bachelors of Music from the University of Houston where she studied under Jennifer Keeney and the founder of Floot Fire, Dr. Kim Clark.
Lamm began her musical studies at age 8 on piano and switched to flute at the late age of 17, when she moved to the States from her native country of Japan. As an educator, Lamm focuses on efficiency and effectiveness in order to improve flute playing faster. Lamm is a proud alumnus of Floot Fire (Houston 2008, 2013) and very excited to be returning as a faculty member in 2017.
Natalie Meidel
Natalie Meidel is a flute instructor and freelance musician in The Woodlands, TX. Originally from Pittsburgh, Natalie spent many years touring in the US with the Renaissance Winds and had performances in Ireland and Switzerland as a soloist. Her career has included multiple performances at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. She’s a past performer at the National Flute Association convention as well as the Texas Music Educators Association convention. Natalie teaches and conducts masterclasses and her students include multiple All-State musicians, a Houston Youth Symphony Concerto Competition winner and Interlochen program participants. Her students regularly win positions in Region and Area Band / Orchestra competitions as well as other local competitions. A student of Jim Walker, Natalie has a Music Performance degree from Carnegie Mellon. She has also performed in masterclasses with Marcel Moyse, Jean Pierre Rampal and Sir James Galway. She was a former adjunct professor at Carlow University in Pittsburgh. She is married and has one daughter, Sarah, a student at the University of Southern California studying Flute Performance with Jim Walker.
Davina Sloat
Davina Garibay Sloat is a flute instructor, clinician, freelance flutist, and director of the nationally recognized, Woodlands Young Artist Flute Choir, who performed at the 2007 National Flute Association convention in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Mrs. Sloat is a graduate of the Meadow School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University, where she earned a Bachelor of Flute Performance degree, while studying with Floot Fire founder, Claire Johnson. Mrs. Sloat has also studied with the late, Byron Hester, principal flutist of the Houston Symphony and Dr. Sydney Carlson, formerly with the Houston Grand Opera.
While in Dallas, Mrs. Sloat taught privately at the Booker T. Washington School for the Performing and Visual Arts magnet high school and in Mesquite ISD. She currently teaches privately in the Woodlands and Spring area serving Conroe ISD. She is an active adjudicator for TMEA Region IX. Her students are members of All District, All Region, and All State Bands and Orchestras.
Vicky Williamson
Vicky Williamson is a freelance performer, teacher, lecturer and clinician in the Houston and surrounding areas. She has studied with Kathy Daniel, Dr. George Morey, Judith Mendenhall, and Dr. Myrna Brown. Other influential teachers include Byron Hestor, Arthur Ephross, Carol Wincenc, and Gary Schocker. She has also performed in master classes and studied with Marcel Moyse, Christina Balatori, Robert Dick, Jill Felber and Jim Walker. Vicky was principal flutist of the Army 214th Special Forces Command Band and has performed with the Clear Lake Symphony, Richardson Symphony, the Brazos Valley Symphony and currently plays with Symphony North of Houston. Vicky serves on the staff of Floot Fire-Houston, the board of the Houston Flute Club and is past conductor of the Houston Flute Club Choir. She has received outstanding soloist at the Texas Flute Festival, performs with the “Brazos Breeze’ professional flute choir (with performances at TMEA and the 2013 National Flute Association), toured with the International Flute Orchestra in northern Spain, and performed with Ali Ryerson’s Jazz Flute Big Band that premiered the CD Game Changers at the 2013 National Flute Association.
