About the Festival
The Kansas Summer Flute Festival is a flute camp for students of all levels and abilities who are interested in improving their flute and music skills while having fun at the same time! Throughout the festival, professional flutists and educators, Annie Gnojek and Mary Kirkendoll, will work with the students on all aspects of being a better flute player including basic flute care and techniques, ensemble playing, and advanced lessons on breathing and articulation.
Meet the instructors!
Mary Kirkendoll | Annie Gnojek
A flutist for the twenty-first century, Mary Kirkendoll has established herself as a leading performer of contemporary music. Her 2006 Carnegie Hall Debut was praised as a "powerhouse performance" by critics from New York Concert Review, and led to performances at the Cortona Contemporary Music Festival in Italy and the Esplanade Concert Hall in Singapore. Her devotion to expanding the flute repertoire has resulted in over a dozen world premiere performances in the past three years, including several works by Pulitzer-Prize nominated composer David Rakowski. This devotion has also led Mary to compose a collection of etudes on contemporary techniques. In 2008, Mary and her duo partner Michael Kirkendoll formed the DuoSolo Foundation, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to the creation and performance of new music. This season, DuoSolo will give performances and masterclasses at universities such as St. Olaf College (MN), Lewis and Clark College (OR), and Queens College (NY).
While devoted to the music of living composers, Mary is equally at home in the classical flute repertoire and has been a featured soloist with numerous orchestras, including a performance of Mozart's D Major Concerto, K. 314 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. In addition to her solo career, Mary has also performed with a number of New York ensembles including the Manhattan Sinfonietta, Gotham City Orchestra, and with the Los Angeles Master Chorale in the New York premiere of Steve Reich's You Are Variations in Alice Tully Hall. She also performs in the Lawrence Chamber Orchestra, Ottawa Symphony, and recently as a substitute with the Kansas City Symphony under Michael Stern.
A passionate educator, Mary recently created an interactive class on contemporary flute techniques, designed to introduce new techniques to students of all levels. The class has been presented to elementary and junior high students in Kansas as well as to students at major universities around the U.S. She is currently co-founder and director of the Kansas Summer Flute Festival for junior high and high school students, and previously founded and directed the Maui World Music Workshop (HI) and Brooklyn Band Academy (NY).
Mary holds degrees from the University of Kansas (DMA), Manhattan School of Music (MM), and Long Island Unviersity (BFA). Her major teachers include David Fedele, Linda Chesis, Bradley Garner, Sheridon Stokes, and David Shostac.
Annie Gnojek is in high demand as a free-lance musician, flute educator, and clinician in the Lawrence and Kansas City area. She is a founding member of the flute, oboe, piano trio Allégresse which performs extensively through out the U.S and Europe. She can also be heard as the principal flutist on the Naxos recording Redline Tango with the KU Wind Ensemble and is principal flutist in the Lawrence Chamber Orchestra. She has performed the Mozart Flute Concerto in G major with the Fort Hays State Symphony Orchestra and was the winner of the first annual University of Kansas Concerto Competition in 2005. In addition, she was national finalist in the Music Teacher's National Association woodwind competition in 2003, 2004 and 2007. Annie holds both a bachelor and masters degree from the University of Kansas where she studied with Dr. John Boulton and Professor David Fedele. She currently maintains a successful flute studio out of her home in Lawrence, KS, "Blues to Bach Music" in Shawnee, KS, and is the Adjunct Professor of Flute at Ottawa University. Many of Annie's students have enjoyed successes in Regional and State solo and ensemble festival, District and State Band, as well as winning solo competitions throughout the Midwest.