Colombian-Mexican American flutist Catherine Ramirez has gained mounting admiration as a profound interpreter and spirited performer. Reviewed as "wonderful, an astonishing artist" (Brian Dickie, Chicago Opera Theatre), Ms. Ramirez has been praised for her "exciting, virtuosic, multi-hued and compelling" (Ransom Wilson, flutist) performances of both classical and contemporary music.
The 2008-2009 highlights include performances with MUSIQA New Music Ensemble, symphonic performances with the acclaimed Shepherd School Orchestras conducted by Larry Rachleff, opera performances of Mozart’s Don Giovanni with Richard Bado conducting, and a collaboration with former Cleveland Quartet violist James Dunham.
The 2007-2008 season featured Ms. Ramirez in collaboration with composer Martin Amlin and Leone Buyse, former principal flutist of the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops Orchestras, in Amlin's work Intrada. She competed as a semi-finalist in the Concert Artists Guild International Competition in New York and was selected runner-up in the Shepherd School Concerto Competition. The 2006-2007 season featured Ms. Ramirez on Chicago's Dame Myra Hess Concert Series, including a live broadcast on WFMT radio. Additionally, she performed with the El Paso Opera and El Paso Symphony Orchestra.
Ms. Ramirez released her debut recital cd Transformation (CR4249) in 2006. Reviewed as "a world class player tackling demanding repertoire that's off the beaten path" (TAXI), Ms. Ramirez won a special 2005 Ernst Krenek Society Grant to record the unique repertoire on this disk. She has appeared in concert at the Teatro de Giglio in Italy, Salt Lake City's Temple Square Performances, Merkin Concert Hall, Symphony Space and Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall in New York. Distinguished collaborations have included those with flutists Mary Stolper, Jim Walker and Carol Wincenc, and with members of the New York Chamber Soloists, CUBE Contemporary Ensemble, "L'Offerta Musicale" Chamber Orchestra of Venice (Italy), and the Vermeer String Quartet.
First-prize winner of the prestigious New York Flute Club National Competition, Ms. Ramirez made her New York recital debut in April 2000. A previous award winner of the National Arts Association, the Léni Fé Bland Foundation, the C.H. Colgin Memorial Fund, and the El Paso Symphony Guild Young Artist Competition, she advanced to the finals of the 2006 Fulbright Competition, the 2005 Spanish National Ensemble competition, and the 2003 Contemporary Record Society of Performing Arts Competition in Pennsylvania. Qualifying as the only American flutist to compete in the 2003 Franz Schubert and Modern Music Competition in Austria, she won a grant from the Yvar Mikhashoff Trust for New Music.
A strong advocate of music education, Ms. Ramirez has taught music in five U.S. states and in Italy. Acknowledged for her engaging teaching style, she has appeared as a guest speaker at Brigham Young University (BYU), and as a guest artist/clinician at the University of Utah and the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). Formerly on the faculties of the DePaul University Community Music Division in Chicago and the El Paso Conservatory, she currently teaches non-majors and members of the community through Rice University in Houston.
Born in Phoenix, Arizona, and raised in El Paso, Texas, Ms. Ramirez started playing the flute in public school band at age 12, beginning private study at age 18. She earned a BA in music from Occidental College in Los Angeles, an Honors Diploma from the Boccherini Music Institute in Italy, and Masters Degrees in flute performance from Queens College and the Yale University School of Music. Her major teachers include Leone Buyse, Melissa Colgin-Abeln, Tara Helen O'Connor, Marzio Conti, Gary Woodward and Ransom Wilson. In 2007, she began the Doctor of Musical Arts program on full scholarship at Rice University.
**Supported by Chicago philanthropist Andreas Waldburg-Wolfegg, a grant from the Ernst Krenek Society, and over 75 individuals, the production of this CD tops-off with the talents of Keith Murphy (author of the program notes), Madeline Sturm (graphic designer) and pianist Michael Mizrahi.**
For more information, visit www.catherineramirez.com
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