Member Spotlight-Carmen Lemoine

Get to Know...Carmen Lemoine

The last year has been an exciting time with a lot of transitions and new opportunities for Carmen Lemoine! She was appointed Assistant Professor of Flute at Wichita State University, invited to teach chamber music at the Saarburg International Music Festival, and joined FNMC. Obviously, the last one isn’t nearly as momentous a life event, but we’re so happy to have her as a part of our organization! She recently gave a beautiful performance of Shawn Okpebholo’s On a Poem by Miho Nonaka: Harvard Square (the winning work in the solo flute category of the 2016 FNMC Composition Compeition) at the Mid-South Flute Festival and we look forward to her participation in future FNMC projects.
 
Q&A with Carmen…
 
What about new music for the flute appeals to you?
New music always presents not only technical challenges but also the freedom to interpret a piece of music that likely not many have heard before. Perhaps there aren’t even recordings to listen to- so a player must trust and rely on great artistry to bring this piece to life. Risk-taking is encouraged!
 
Describe your musical background and current activities.
I have a fairly standard journey of flute education: three degrees in flute performance. What I believe is not standard is my "portfolio"career: I have won auditions and performed with orchestras; I have freelanced in a metropolitan area and learned a ton of skills not taught in school; I have taught small children all the way up to conservatory-level; I've built website and even started my own podcast! I've almost done it all! I am currently Assistant Professor of Flute at Wichita State University and love every minute of it. If you are looking for a great reason to be in Germany this summer, I'll be teaching chamber music at the Saarburg International Music Festival and would love to see you there!
 
Do you have any upcoming events that you would like our friends and followers to know about?
Upcoming events include the Saarburg Festival (see above)- www.saarburgfestival.de- this summer; Mid-South Flute Convention where I'll be performing Shawn Okpebholo's beautiful and intriguing "On a Poem by Miho Nonaka"; a presentation at the Oklahoma Flute Society's annual flute festival about how to create resonance in your sound; a performance of Jonathan Newman's Concerto for
Flute with the Wichita State University Wind Ensemble; performances with the Louisville Orchestra and Lieurance Quintet; and, a performance of Lasse Thoresen's "Interplay" at the NFA Annual Convention in Minneapolis this August.
 
What advice can you give to flutists about approaching new music in practice?
My advice to flutists re: new music: start early and start slowly.
 
More About Carmen…
 
Carmen Lemoine wants to live in a world where education is free to all, pantyhose don’t exist, people aren’t afraid to be honest, Unti winery is her next-door neighbor, a train will shuttle her across town in 15 minutes, and all you need is love.
 
Until that day arrives, however, she has dedicated herself to mastering the art of the flute. Dr. Lemoine is Assistant Professor of Flute at Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas. She holds positions with the Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz symphonies in California, performs frequently with the Louisville Orchestra, and recently appeared as guest principal flute with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra in New Zealand. Equally at home in small ensembles of contrasting styles, she has been a member of Ensemble Mik Nawooj, a hip-hop/classical fusion group recently featured in the Wall Street Journal, and is currently a member of the Lieurance Woodwind Quintet.
 
Previous to her appointment in Wichita, Carmen introduced eager minds to the wonderful worlds of woodwind chamber music, musicianship, and music theory at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
 
In July 2016, she launched her latest project — the podcast Notes from the Audiophiles: Why Don’t I Like Classical Music?. Co-hosted with her brilliant friend Pinky, each episode delivers digestible morsels of music history in an accessible, conversational style.
 
Dr. Lemoine earned degrees in flute performance from the Eastman School of Music (B.M. and D.M.A.), where she studied with celebrated artist and teacher Bonita Boyd, and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (M. M.), studying with San Francisco Symphony principal flute Timothy Day. Learn more at carmenlemoine.com. 

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