Linda Wetherill

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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