The Texas Flute Society is proud to present our 2012 Guest Artists
Carol Wincenc, Mark Sparks, David G. Weiss, Shauna Kay Thompson
Carol Wincenc was First Prize Winner of the Walter W. Naumburg Solo Flute Competition. She has appeared as a soloist with such ensembles as the Chicago, Saint Louis, Atlanta and London Symphonies; the BBC and Buffalo Philharmonics, the Saint Paul and Stuttgart Chamber Orchestras, and the New York Woodwind Quintet. She has performed in the Mostly Mozart Festival and the music festivals in Aldeburgh, Budapest, Frankfurt, Santa Fe, Spoleto and Marlboro.
Ms. Wincenc has premiered numerous works written for her by many of today’s most prominent composers, including Christopher Rouse, Henryk Gorecki, Lukas Foss, Peter Schickele, Joan Tower and Tobias Picker. She has recorded for Nonesuch, London/Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, and Telarc.
As a result of her fascination with the flute family, Ms. Wincenc created and directed a series of International Flute Festivals in St. Paul, Minnesota, featuring such diverse artists as Jean-Pierre Rampal, Herbie Mann and the American Indian flutist R. Carlos Nakai. Carl Fischer is publishing a series of Carol Wincenc Signature Editions, featuring her favorite flute repertoire. Carol Wincenc is faculty at the Juilliard School and SUNY Stony Brook.
Appointed Principal Flute of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in 2000, acclaimed for his colorful tone and spirited phrasing, Mark Sparks has firmly established himself as a leading American orchestral flutist and teacher. He has performed in both solo and ensemble roles in the United States, Europe, South America, and Asia with numerous orchestras, including guest appearances with the New York Philharmonic, Cincinnati Symphony, and Detroit Symphony Orchestra. In addition, Mr. Sparks was Associate Principal Flute with the Baltimore Symphony under David Zinman. Mr. Sparks has also performed as Principal Flute of the San Antonio Symphony, Memphis Symphony, and Canton Symphony. He began his career in Venezuela with the Caracas Philharmonic.
An enthusiastic teacher, Mr. Sparks maintains a private studio in St. Louis. He is a former full-time faculty member of the Peabody Institute, and has presented Master Classes and recitals in the U.S. and abroad.
Mr. Sparks can be heard on solo albums for the Summit label, as well as the St. Louis Symphony’s recent releases, and with other orchestras on the Telarc, Decca, and Sony labels. He has been interviewed by numerous publications, including Time magazine, and in various trade publications, for which he has also published performance articles. He is featured in Windplayer magazine’s feature on the nation’s top 10 principal flutists, and is included with distinguished colleagues in the book 101 Inspirational Stories from the World’s Best Flute Players.
David G. Weiss, woodwinds/composer, performs on a wide variety of flutes and woodwinds from many parts of the world, as well as western flutes, saxes, and clarinets.
Dave is best known for his association with Disney’s “The Lion King”, the Broadway musical, for which he served as co-composer and performer of the featured wood flute and panpipe music.
He has performed as a soloist on several hundred television commercials and programs, motion pictures, albums, and new media/internet projects. Many of these projects have gone on to win Tonys, Grammys, Emmys, an Oscar, Clios, and numerous Film Festival awards
As a NY freelancer, he has worked for the Metropolitan Opera, Phillip Glass Ensemble, American Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, and for approximately 50 Broadway musicals.
As a composer, his piece “O’Riley’s Grave” was released on Koch Classics in 2007. He recently composed all the music for the 9 part TV series “Around the World in 70 Days” for German television, and is currently co-composing for the upcoming Nat Geo mini-series “Party Like A … “. He performed his “Ghost Of The Fitzgerald”, for wood flute and computer, at the 2009 Flute Convention in NYC.
David Weiss plays a Sheridan gold flute.
Shauna Kay Thompson is consortium instructor of flute at the University of Evansville and principal flute with the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra. She is also member of the Harlaxton Woodwind Quintet, resident faculty ensemble at the university. Originally from Houston, Texas, Shauna has vast experience as a teacher and performer. Shauna won the 26th annual Myrna Brown competition with the Texas Flute Society and she is looking forward to returning to the 2012 festival as a guest artist. Shauna is also a laureate of many other competitions, including winning the Pittsburg Flute Club Young Artist competition and being selected as a finalist or semi-finalist in the National Flute Association’s Young Artist competition, Frank Bowen, the Claude Monteaux competition, and MTNA.
An enthusiastic orchestral musician, Shauna has previously served as principal flute with the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra and second flute with the Midland Odessa Symphony Orchestra, as well as many other orchestras. She has also been fortunate to perform as a concerto soloist on multiple occasions with the Fort Bend Symphony, Symphony North of Houston, the HSPVA orchestra, and the Texas Tech University Symphony Orchestra.
Shauna is currently working towards her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, where she previously served as the teaching assistant for the flute studio. She also earned her Master of Music degree in Flute Performance at CCM with Brad Garner and Bachelor of Music degree in Flute Performance at Texas Tech University with Lisa Garner Santa.