Elyse Knobloch

Flutist: Freelance, soloist, chamber musician, orchestra and band. Teaching: Private flute instructor, teaching artist affiliated with the Bronx Arts Ensemble, NYS certified music teacher. Instrument specialty: c flute, alto flute, piccolo. Instrument secondary: soprano and treble recorder. I am fascinated with sound, its properties, and how the arrangement of sound seems limitless.  Creating colors and shapes in music to share with the public is an exciting venture that sometimes brings inspired discoveries for both artist and audience.  The key is sharing; that is probably why small ensemble playing is a passion.  The intricate details that make things work in performances and teaching gives new meaning to participation.  The real treat comes from the responses from these shared experiences, yielding the expected and unexpected. I am a regular member of two chamber ensembles, Bas Duo and Northern Westchester Flutes.  I offer my talents to the community with these groups as well as other affiliations, many other wonderful local professionals, and through individual performance opportunities. Bas Duo is a flute and guitar ensemble that concertizes, conducts educational lecture recitals, and has ongoing activities. Bas Duo released the CD "Colors: Flute and Guitar Music from the 20th and 21st Century" on Sabudo Records; it champions music rich with and ethnic feel from each composers' homeland.  Future projects include commissions and collaborations with other arts forms.  Why flute and guitar?  The music is exciting and crosses genres.  People who may avoid classical music are drawn to this music that is charged with ethnic familiarity and an international palette.  20th and 21st century works for this combination offer strong Latin and Spanish influences and new sounds and textures by celebrated composers world-wide.  Bas Duo performs in the greater NY metropolitan area, has been heard at Caramoor Center for the Performing Arts, the One O'Clock Series at Trinity Church/Wall Street, and is expanding its reach to other states on the East Coast.  Locally, Bas Duo has been a frequent performer at Grace Church in White Plains and for ArtsWestchester's Free Arts Day.  Bas Duo has performed in Lewes, Delaware music by composers from America, Argentina, Bulgaria, France and Hungary, and the Celia Cruz Performing Arts High School (MECC grant).  Bas Duo has participated in many benefit concerts, including Haitian relief concerts given at Hoff Barthelson Music School, Scarborough Presbyterian Church and Briarcliff Congregational Church in which the funds were directed to a specific orphanage that had still not received any funds to help feed the children. Northern Westchester Flutes is a 7-member, professional ensemble that performs without a conductor.  Featured is music with piccolos, c flutes, alto flutes and bass flutes.  Northern Westchester Flutes performs throughout Westchester County and offers original music and transcriptions for multiple flutes.  NWF was chosen through competitive selection to perform at the National Flute Association Convention in New York City in 2009.  Projects include a recorded video currently on the internet at Pleasantville Community Television, and prestigious performance at the National Flute Convention in August, 2009.  Both Bas Duo and NWF joined my solo recital in 2010 to benefit the Grace Church Community Center soup kitchen, where we raised over $2000!

Bachelor of Music in Applied Flute, Boston Conservatory of Music, Boston, MA. Master of Arts in Teaching, CUNY at Lehman College, Bronx, NY, Music Major: Electronic Music, West African Drumming, Band Literature. Certified Music Teacher, K-12. Studied with Thomas Nyfenger, Paul Fried, Paige Brook, Julius Baker and Harold Jones. Self-taught skills: Soprano and Alto recorders, Folk Guitar and Singing. Diploma and Certificate in computer programming, The College of Westchester and Pace University.