Duo Flautas Frescas
About
Duo Flautas Frescas was founded by flutists Julia Barnett and Alina Windell, with the intent of
commissioning, performing, and discovering music for two flutes and piano. Their first commission is from composer Daniel Dorff. Upcoming performances include recitals in Los Angeles, San Diego, Minneapolis, Auburn (AL) and Ft. Wayne (IN). Duo Flautas Frescas’ performance videos can be viewed on their website or YouTube channel. Dr. Barnett and Dr. Windell have been playing together for 14 years, after meeting as graduate students at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Praised for her vibrant sound and powerful musicality, flutist Alina Windell has captivated audiences throughout the United States and abroad. Since the summer of 2016, Dr. Windell has been an Artist in Residence and faculty member of the Orfeo Music Festival in Vipiteno, Italy, and is the newly appointed instructor of flute at Auburn University. In the summer of 2016, as winner of the National Flute Association (NFA) Convention Performers Competition, she was invited to play in the Newly Published Music Concert at the NFA Convention in San Diego, CA; and played newly composed chamber music at the International Double Reed Society annual conference at Columbus State University in Columbus, GA. In 2015, she appeared as a featured soloist in a
concert tour of Malaysia, sponsored by the Perak Society for the Performing Arts, and was a finalist in the Byron Hester Solo Flute competition in Houston, Texas. Recent or upcoming solo engagements include Auburn University, the University of Colorado at Boulder, Columbus State University, the Auburn University Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art Concert Series, and Dr. Windell has performed at the Houston Flute Club Flute Fest and the Colorado Flute Association Flute Fair.
Admired for her rich tone and fluid technique throughout the instrument’s range, flutist Julia Barnett is an active performer and teacher in Southern California. As a soloist she has performed with the San Diego Symphony, San Diego Chamber Orchestra, and the UCLA Symphony. She has performed with chamber ensembles such as the LA Grand Ensemble, Spirati Woodwind Quintet, and the Costal Winds. She has performed with orchestral ensembles including the LA Dream Orchestra, the La Grange Symphony, and is currently a member of the Midland/Odessa Symphony and Chorale as well as the Billings Symphony. She recently completed her Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree in flute performance at the University of California at Los Angeles, where she studied with Sheridon Stokes. For her Master of Music, Dr. Barnett studied with Christina Jennings at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and attended Rice University for her Bachelors Degree under the tutelage of Leone Buyse.
Dr. Windell has performed regularly with professional orchestras, first as a member of the South Florida Symphony Orchestra and is currently a member of the LaGrange Symphony Orchestra, and regularly plays with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra. She has also performed at the Springer Opera House, with the Albany Symphony Orchestra, the Lynn Philharmonia, the Bloomington Camerata Orchestra, the National Orchestral Institute Festival Orchestra, the Opera Theatre and Music Festival Orchestra of Lucca in Italy, and in concerts at the Duxbury Music Festival, as well as freelancing in New York City. An avid chamber musician and advocate of new music, she recorded the music of Carter Pann for the Naxos record label, premiered Circles by Rachel Matthews at the Pendulum Concert Series at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and performed for two years as a member of the Chinook Winds, the graduate wind quintet in residence at the University of Colorado in Boulder.
Recent or upcoming masterclass engagements include the Orfeo Music Festival in
Vipiteno, Italy, The University of Alabama, the University of Alabama Birmingham, the University of Nebraska in Omaha, Columbus State University, Sunway University in Kuala Lumpur, and the Kinta Valley Wind Ensemble in Ipoh, Malaysia. Dr. Windell’s flute students have received honors which include entrance and scholarship to the Interlochen Arts Academy, first chair in the Alabama All-State Band in Mobile, AL, and have been prizewinners in competitions including MTNA, the Atlanta Flute Club, and the Alabama All-State Band Solo Festival Competition. She completed her undergraduate studies at Indiana University, her masters with renowned flutist and pedagogue Carol Wincenc at Stony Brook University, and doctoral degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder, studying with Christina Jennings. She teaches flute and music appreciation at Auburn University and maintains a private studio.
In the Spring of 2012 she received 3rd place in the San Diego Young Artist Gold Competition and in 2010 was named an Elaine Krown Klein Scholar at UCLA. She has been a winner in the San Diego Symphony Concerto Competition, as well as the La Jolla Symphony Young Artist Competition, a two-time finalist in the Coleman Chamber Music Competition, a recipient of the Mary Ellen Hale Lovett Traveling Fellowship while at Rice University and a winner in the Musical Merit Foundation of San Diego competition. Dr. Barnett has also won scholarships to attend the Brevard Music Festival, as well as the Pierre Monteux School of Orchestra and Conducting.
Dr. Barnett's interest in new music led to the commission and premiere of Jacob Barton's ¡AY! ¡AY! ¡AY! ¡AY! in 2006, a work for flute, percussion and kalimba, based upon Mexican folk songs. She has also premiered numerous new works in ensembles and as a soloist, most recently in February of 2016 with the Los Angeles premiere of John Steinmetz's Whispers for flute, bassoon, and piano. Her desire to share a variety of cultures with her audiences resulted in the world premiere of Panagiotis Theodossiou’s “The Passage,” based upon a Greek play, which used alto flute, viola, and piano to explore the different scenes of the play. She also has a passionate interest in both studying and performing classical flute music by Mexican composers. Her doctoral dissertation, "Performing Practice in Roberto Peña's Concierto para Flauta y Orquesta: Discovering Mexico's Contemporary Classical Flute Music," focuses on the works of Roberto Peña, a flutist and composer from Chiapas, Mexico whose works for flute are a wonderful addition to the flute repertoire.