After a competition that would have left even seasoned musicians breathless, a West Virginia University flautist was awarded one of the top prizes from the Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity.

Angela Collier-Reynolds, who is pursuing a DMA in WVU’s School of Music, received the Mary Ann Starring Memorial Award in Woodwinds/Brass at the competition. The award includes a $1,500 scholarship and a solo recital during the 47th national Sigma Alpha Iota convention held in St. Louis in July.

Her competition repertoire included selections from Carl Reinecke’s “Concerto for Flute and Orchestra,” Robert Dick’s “Fish Are Jumping,” and Johann Gottfried M�thel’s “Sonata in D for Flute and Continuo.” For her recital, Collier-Reynolds played Philippe Gaubert’s “Sonata No. 1” and “Zoom Tube” by Ian Clarke.

“When I presented my recital, I could not have asked for a better response or more appreciative audience,” Collier-Reynolds said. “I’ve been told that this is the largest SAI convention to date, so I had the opportunity to share music with at least 700 members and affiliates from all over the world.”

The WVU flautist is experienced in the world of musical competition. She’s been a prize winner in the Mid-South Flute Society’s Young Artist Competition and in previous SAI Graduate Performance Awards events in Orlando and Chicago. She’s also served as a judge for prestigious flute competitions throughout the U.S.

Aside from solo work, she’s also an accomplished orchestral musician, having performed with symphonies in Evanston, Skokie Valley, and Fayetteville, N.C., and with the World Youth Symphony Orchestra. She’s been a featured soloist with the Northern Iowa and Austin Peay Symphony Orchestras.

At WVU, she’s graduate assistant for Nina Assimakopoulos, assistant professor of flute.

“Angela is among the top graduate teaching assistants I have had the privilege to work with in over 20 years of university teaching,” said Assimakopoulos. “In addition to performing her tasks with the highest level of competence and professionalism, she adds warmth and cohesiveness to our learning community through every activity she is involved in.”

Those activities include performance with the WVU Graduate Wind Quintet, and collaboration with composers like Benjamin Cornelius-Bates. Collier-Reynolds and Cornelius-Bates will premiere a series of works for flute starting in December of this year. She has also recently begun work as an adjunct professor of flute at Fairmont State University and holds a position with the Gateway Chamber Orchestra in Tennessee.

In addition to Assimakopoulos, Collier-Reynolds’s teachers have included Angeleita Floyd, Lisa Wolynec, Patricia George, Deanna Little, Nicole Riner, and JoAnn McIntosh. She has performed in master classes for the legendary James Galway, William Bennett, Leone Buyse, and many others.

-WVU-

eva /09/17/15

CONTACT: David Welsh, Creative Arts Center Marketing and Communication
304-293-3397; David.Welsh@mail.wvu.edu

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