Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
"It was a revelatory performance played with tonal beauty and emotional effect by members of the Vermeer and Elements String Quartets plus flutist Catherine Ramirez..."
- None
"From beginning to end, Catherine's playing was exciting, virtuosic, multi-hued and compelling."
- Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society Flutist and Professor of Flute at Yale University
"Catherine is a tremendous talent. She has a lovely voice on the flute; a beautifully unique singing tone coupled with wonderful artistry and amazing technical facility."
- Avery Fisher Career Grant Recipient and Flutist of the New Millennium Ensemble/Windscape
"I noticed her musical abilities to be remarkable. They include extreme sensitivity, virtuoso technique, a tone quality that is full of color and flexibility. In performance, her flute artistry is relaxed and almost conversational."
- Associate Professor of Flute at UT El Paso and Prinipal Flutist of El Paso Symphony
"Catherine is a gifted and tasteful musician with a broad horizon. One looks forward to seeing the profile of her future direction."
- Professor of Music at Yale University
"I, personally, find (her) technique, interpretation, i.e. understanding musically the Krenek work Flotenstuck, neunphasig extraordinary, really beautiful."
- Honorary President of the Ernst Krenek Society
"As a non-musician, I have never failed to be deeply touched by Ms Ramirez's play. This, paired with a personality that encompasses dedication and tenacity makes Ms Ramirez a very special musician in my mind."
- Philanthropist, contemporary art and music advocate
"It's great to hear a world class player tackling demanding repertoire that's off the beaten path. The playing and recording are first-rate...The choice of repertoire is wonderfully adventurous and laudable...This disc deserves to be on any classical station's playlist." - Review of TRANSFORMATION debut cd
Discography
TRANSFORMATION cd: works for flute and piano by Muczynski, Takemitsu, Schubert, Jolivet and the rarely heard Flute Piece in Nine Phases by Ernst Krenek.
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Colombian-Mexican-American flutist Catherine Ramirez has garnered mounting praise by audiences for her profound interpretations, spirited performances and insightful concert programming. Commended by Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center flutist Ransom Wilson for her “exciting, virtuosic, multi-hued and compelling” playing, Catherine's performance of both classical and contemporary music has likewise been acclaimed as “revelatory” (The Hartford Courant).
Dedicated to the promotion of new music, Catherine recently won a special 2005 Ernst Krenek Society Recording Grant. As the first flutist in over twenty years to record the composer's intriguing and undeservedly neglected Flötenstück, neunphasig for flute and piano, included on her debut CD, Catherine's performance received this praise from the composer's wife, Mrs. Gladys N. Krenek: “I, personally, find (her) technique, interpretation, i.e. understanding musically the Krenek work…extraordinary, really beautiful.” Similarly contributing to the creation of new works, Catherine won a 2004 Commissioning Award from Chicago philanthropist Andreas Waldburg-Wolfegg. She will introduce the resulting new chamber work by Young Concert Artist composer Daniel Kellogg through premieres in the upcoming 2006-2007 season.
First-prize winner of the prestigious New York Flute Club National Competition, Catherine 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 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, Catherine also won a grant from the Yvar Mikhashoff Trust for New Music.
As a recitalist, chamber musician and concerto soloist, she has performed throughout the United States and Europe, in such venues as the Teatro del Giglio in Italy, Merkin Concert Hall and Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall. Catherine appeared this fall on Salt Lake City 's Temple Square Performances, and will perform in 2007 on Chicago 's esteemed Dame Myra Hess Concert Series. She has performed in music festivals worldwide, including the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, the Vermont Mozart Festival, the Sankyo Academy in Florence ( Italy ), the Summer Academy of Music in Nice ( France ), and the Flute Academy at the Domaine Forget ( Quebec ). Distinguished collaborations have included those with “L'Offerta Musicale” Chamber Orchestra of Venice ( Italy ), with artists Jim Walker and Boris Berman, and with members of the New York Chamber Soloists, CUBE Contemporary Ensemble, and the Vermeer String Quartet.
A strong advocate of music education, Catherine has taught music for 16 years in five U.S. states and in Italy. Currently on the faculty of the DePaul University Community Music Division in Chicago, Catherine was recently featured as a guest speaker at Brigham Young University (BYU). She has presented a lecture-recital at Yale University, and masterclasses at the University of Texas at El Paso and at the University of Utah, where she was acknowledged for her engaging teaching style.
Raised in El Paso, Texas, Catherine started playing the flute in public school band at age 12 and began private study at age 18. She earned a BA in music from Occidental College in Los Angeles, a Diploma with Honors from the Boccherini Music Institute in Italy, and Masters Degrees in flute performance from Queens College and Yale University. Her major teachers have been Melissa Colgin-Abeln, Tara Helen O'Connor, Marzio Conti, Gary Woodward and Ransom Wilson.
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