amelia vitarelli, flutist

Amelia Vitarelli, a native of California, has emerged as one of the leading flutists and educators in the San Francisco Bay Area. An active chamber musician and soloist, Ms. Vitarelli has performed throughout the United States and Europe. Her 2003 performance of Jennifer Higdon’s Steeley Pause and Pierre Max Dubois’ Quatuar at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall received brilliant reviews. She currently performs extensively with Areon Flutes, an ensemble which she co-founded in 2005. Areon Flutes, a nonprofit organization, is committed to expanding the range and context of the flute chamber music through concerts, masterclasses, chamber music coachings and through their annual Areon Summer Flute Institute held in both Northern and Southern California.

Ms. Vitarelli, a staunch supporter of new music, has premiered numerous works for solo flute and for chamber music. Her most recent commission was for Mike Mower's Fictions for Four Flutes which she premiered at the 2004 National Flute Convention in Nashville, Tennessee. Additionally in 2007, Ms. Vitarelli premiered Noah Luna’s Entia for Four Flutes and Chia-Ying Chiang’s Four Elements for Four Flutes with Areon Flutes in Mountain View, CA. Ms. Vitarelli will be giving the NFA premier of Four Elements at the 2007 NFA Convention in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Ms. Vitarelli began her musical studies at age 10 in the California public school system. Seen as a bright young talent, Ms. Vitarelli was encouraged to begin taking private lessons in solo repertoire, chamber music and music theory. Soon after, she held top chairs in state and regional honor bands and youth symphonies and participated in numerous festivals and competitions. Ms. Vitarelli began her collegiate studies with French flutist, Isabelle Chapuis Starr at San Jose State University in California before even finishing high school. Upon completing high school, she received a scholarship to continue her studies there and completed her Bachelor of Music degree in Flute Performance, Magna Cum Lauda and with Honors. During her junior year she was a selected soloist with the San Jose State Chamber Orchestra where she preformed J.S. Bach’s Bradenburg Concerto No. 4. After graduating, she attended the University of Iowa were she completed her Master of Arts in Flute Performance, Summa Cum Lauda, with international soloist and recording artist, Tadeu Coelho. During her masters studies, Ms. Vitarelli was a Fine Arts Grant Recipient where she presented two recitals of Twentieth Century flute music. Her other advanced studies include the Domaine Forget International Music Academy in Quebec, Canada and postgraduate studies with Jill Felber at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Ms. Vitarelli has also performed in numerous masterclasses with some of the today’s leading flutists, such as Robert Stallman, Keith Underwood, Raymond Guiot and Claudia Anderson.

Ms. Vitarelli is committed to sharing her artistic vision with today’s young flutists. She currently has a competitive private flute studio in Silicon Valley, CA and is an Artist-In-Residence as conductor and chamber music clinician with Areon Flutes for the El Camino Youth Symphony. In 2003, she also served as Artist-In-Residence for the Music-In-Action program at the Community School of Music and Arts where she presented numerous concerts to thousands of elementary school children throughout the Mountain View and Los Altos areas of California.

Ms. Vitarelli is a Miyazawa Artist and plays on Boston Classic flute with 14k gold headjoint and platinum riser.