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Career and Artistic Development Committee

Our Mission

The Career and Artistic Development Committee has been created by the NFA with the mandate to provide artistic and professional guidance as well as to facilitate access to information about career resources for all NFA members.

     
     
     

Activities

The CAD committee offers both career and artistic development guidance, because we recognize the dynamic interdependence between the artistic and business aspects of every flutist's career. To serve our mission, we launched a mini-conference of workshops at the 2010 Anaheim Convention, and they have since become a standard part of the National Flute Convention. Featured Guests have included Jeanne Baxtresser, Alberto Almarza, Lillian Burkart, Flutronix, Cristina Ballatori, Alice K. Dade, Meret Bitticks, Shanna Gutierrez, Stephanie Jutt, and Eva Amsler, among others. The CAD committee also sponsors the biennial NFA C.R.E.A.T.E. Project Competition. Established in 2014, this unique competition seeks to reward and encourage new thinking and viable, innovative ideas with a seed grant.

We believe that the word "career" involves more than just earning money as a flutist. It's what shapes our path as artists and vice versa. Whether you're a full time flutist, an aspiring student, or an adult amateur, our committee has something to offer you! 

     

NFA C.R.E.A.T.E. Project Competition

The biennial C.R.E.A.T.E. Project Competition is designed to reward new thinking and viable, innovative ideas. Learn more on the C.R.E.A.T.E. Project Competition webpage. Below you will find a list winners and finalists. 

2020 Winner: Adrienne Read, Ensemble 126 - Ensemble 126 is a dynamic flute ensemble dedicated to expanding the repertoire for flute ensemble. The group hopes to create a more expansive collection of repertoire that defies common expectations of the traditional flute ensemble.

2020 Finalists:
John Nguyen
Nicole Riccardo
Stéphanie Superle

2018 Winner: Iva Ugrčić, LunART Festival - LunART Festival's mission is to support, inspire, promote, and celebrate women in the arts through public performances, exhibitions, workshops, and interdisciplinary collaboration; thus enriching our community and creating a welcoming space for learning and experimentation. 

2018 Finalists:
Sabrina Raber: Find Your Beat 
April Cheung, Joanne Wheeler, Laura Pillman, Maria Gabriela Alvarado, and Stacey Chou: In Radiance
Natasha Hongsermeier-Graves: Musicians for Healing

2016 Winner: Jessica Sherer & Emma Shubin, Play It Forward -  A nonprofit organization providing private music lesson scholarships. In exchange, students "play it forward" by volunteering their own time to help others.  

2016 Finalists:
Stacey Chou: In Radiance
Bonnie Cochran: In Concert 
Michael Hoover: Chicago Symphonic Winds

2014 Winner: Shelley Martinson, Elizabeth Robinson, David Graham, Ashley Shank, Flute New Music Consortium - A 501c3 nonprofit organization committed to promoting new music for the flute by commissioning works, organizing premieres, and encouraging repeat performances. 

2014 Finalists 
Leonard Garrison: L’Atelier de flute: French Intermediate Flute Repertoire
Meg Griffith, Rik Noyce: Whole Musician: Mind, Movement, Music
Melinda Ostrander-Aviles: Flute Troops: Scouting for Flutists

Resources

Following is a list of websites designed to help aspiring artists gain the entrepreneurial knowledge and skills needed to establish and maintain a career as an independent artist.

Music Career Guides and Strategies

CV, Resume and Cover Letter Guides

Marketing Your Music

Arts Entrepreneurship & Grant Resources

Arts Entrepreneurship Books & Podcasts

New Resources