Flutist Michelle Matsumune

Hailed as “possessing rich, mellow flute playing, lovely lyrical style, and excellent breath control” by ClassicsToday.com, flutist Michelle Matsumune is a fourth generation Californian and an avid solo and chamber music performer. In addition to concertizing regularly as a soloist, she has released 4 chamber music CDs: Postcards, with the woodwind trio Ceora Winds, two CDs with the Resonance Flute Consort (Flute Tootin’ Yule and Lights, Camera, Flutes!), and Duo Arioso’s flute and harp CD of Medieval music entitled Cantico. Michelle performs as a singer and flautist for both the choral group Wagner Ensemble and the Independent Opera Company. As a soloist, Michelle has performed flute recitals in Europe, Mexico, and throughout the United States, and at music festivals in Mexico City and Geneva, Switzerland. With a strong interest in World Music, she toured as the featured soloist with the Southern California Balinese Gamalan Group as well as with Persian pop singer Moein, and performs as principal flute with VASCAM (Vietnamese American Society for Creative Arts and Music). Michelle has worked closely with many contemporary composers including James Tenney, Eugene Kurtz, Adrienne Albert, Peter Wing Healey, P.Q. Phan and Nancy Bloomer-Deussen. She is married to composer Mat Matsumune, and has premiered all of his flute works. In 2020, Michelle created FluteWave, a YouTube channel dedicated to relaxing flute music, which she composes and records herself. Michelle studied flute with Peter Lloyd at Indiana University and received her MFA at California Institute of the Arts. She is on the faculty at Claremont Community School of Music and teaches privately.