Instrument:
Flute
Biography:
Linda Wetherill, born in Milwaukee,
graduated from the
Eastman School of Music, having been awarded there the coveted
Performer's Certificate. The desire to expand her musical horizons
prompted her to leave for Europe, where she became first a member of
the Garbarino Chamber Ensemble in Milan, then principal flutist of the
Frankfurt Radio Symphony. This prestigious position, however, did not
satisfy all her evolving personal artistic needs, and two years later,
when she learned that Pierre Boulez had just established the "new
music" center IRCAM in Paris, Linda auditioned and was appointed solo
flutist of the resident Ensemble Intercontemporain. This move from
essentially mainstream chamber and orchestral playing to intensive
interaction with many of the greatest contemporary composers of the
world was a major turning point for her. Working directly with
composers Boulez, Stockhausen, Halffter, Messiaen, Berio, Holliger and
Kagel, she developed a prestigious and authoritative solo repertoire
which carried her to European festivals and to NY's Carnegie Hall to
premiere Stockhausen's Im Freundschaft as winner of East & West
Artists International Competition. Linda's desire to expand her range
of aesthetic awareness led her to accept an invitation to tour
extensively as a "cultural ambassador" under the auspices of the
United States Information Service. That 10 year adventure took her to
Turkey, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia (her performances there the first ever by
a woman!), the Arab Emirates, Egypt, Bosnia (giving recitals there
right at the start of its war), Macedonia, India, and
Pakistan. Throughout this period, she interacted extensively with
local musicians: classical and indigenous performers as well as
composers. She was co-founder of the Festival of Contemporary Music in
Ankara and Istanbul, while a guest of the Turkish government from
1987-91. There she worked in collaboration with Turkish, Russian, and
Middle Eastern composers, and lectured at Bosphorus University as well
as Middle Eastern Technical University as Professor of global and
contemporary music. When the Gulf War broke out, it became dangerous
for Americans to remain in that part of the world, and an invitation
from distinguished flutist and teacher Samuel Baron brought her back
to the States, to do graduate work at SUNY Stony Brook and serve as
teaching assistant.
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