CATHERINE RAMIREZ: Transformation

Catherine Ramirez

Transformation

© 2006 Catherine Ramirez (837101142496)

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The first in 20 years to record Ernst Krenek's intriguing "Flute Piece in Nine Phases," flutist Catherine Ramirez pairs with pianist Michael Mizrahi on this exciting debut, including Schubert's masterwork Variations and an explosive array of new music

notes

Colombian-Mexican American flutist Catherine Ramirez has gained mounting admiration as a profound interpreter and spirited performer. Reviewed as "wonderful, an astonishing artist" (Brian Dickie, Chicago Opera Theatre), Ms. Ramirez has been praised for her "exciting, virtuosic, multi-hued and compelling" (Ransom Wilson, flutist) performances of both classical and contemporary music.

The 2008-2009 highlights include this season’s opener with the MUSIQA New Music Ensemble at Zilkha Hall in downtown Houston. Performances at Rice University include a recital of contemporary solo works by Salvatore Sciarrino, Brian Ferneyhough and Shin-Ichiro Ikebe, as well as a lecture-recital on Daniel Kellogg’s Into Utter Forever, commissioned for Ms. Ramirez in 2006.

The 2007-2008 season featured Ms. Ramirez in collaboration with composer Martin Amlin and Leone Buyse, former principal flutist of the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops Orchestras, in Amlin's work Intrada. She competed as a semi-finalist in the Concert Artists Guild International Competition in New York and was selected runner-up in the Shepherd School Concerto Competition. The 2006-2007 season featured Ms. Ramirez on Chicago's Dame Myra Hess Concert Series, including a live broadcast on WFMT radio. Additionally, she performed with the El Paso Opera and El Paso Symphony Orchestra.

Ms. Ramirez released her debut recital cd Transformation (CR4249) in 2006. Reviewed as "a world class player tackling demanding repertoire that's off the beaten path" (TAXI), Ms. Ramirez won a special 2005 Ernst Krenek Society Grant to record the unique repertoire on this disk. She has appeared in concert at the Teatro de Giglio in Italy, Salt Lake City's Temple Square Performances, Merkin Concert Hall, Symphony Space and Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall in New York. Distinguished collaborations have included those with flutists Mary Stolper, Jim Walker and Carol Wincenc, and with members of the New York Chamber Soloists, CUBE Contemporary Ensemble, "L'Offerta Musicale" Chamber Orchestra of Venice (Italy), and the Vermeer String Quartet.

First-prize winner of the prestigious New York Flute Club National Competition, Ms. Ramirez made her New York recital debut in April 2000. A previous award winner of the National Arts Association, the Léni Fé Bland Foundation, the C.H. Colgin Memorial Fund, and the El Paso Symphony Guild Young Artist Competition, she advanced to the finals of the 2006 Fulbright Competition, the 2005 Spanish National Ensemble competition, and the 2003 Contemporary Record Society of Performing Arts Competition in Pennsylvania. Qualifying as the only American flutist to compete in the 2003 Franz Schubert and Modern Music Competition in Austria, she won a grant from the Yvar Mikhashoff Trust for New Music.

A strong advocate of music education, Ms. Ramirez has taught music in five U.S. states and in Italy. Acknowledged for her engaging teaching style, she has appeared as a guest speaker at Brigham Young University (BYU), and as a guest artist/clinician at the University of Utah and the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). Formerly on the faculties of the DePaul University Community Music Division in Chicago and the El Paso Conservatory, she currently teaches non-majors and members of the community through Rice University in Houston.

Born in Phoenix, Arizona, and raised in El Paso, Texas, Ms. Ramirez started playing the flute in public school band at age 12, beginning private study at age 18. She earned a BA in music from Occidental College in Los Angeles, an Honors Diploma from the Boccherini Music Institute in Italy, and Masters Degrees in flute performance from Queens College and the Yale University School of Music. Her major teachers include Leone Buyse, Melissa Colgin-Abeln, Tara Helen O'Connor, Marzio Conti, Gary Woodward and Ransom Wilson. In 2007, she began the Doctor of Musical Arts program on full scholarship at Rice University.

**Supported by Chicago philanthropist Andreas Waldburg-Wolfegg, a grant from the Ernst Krenek Society, and over 75 individuals, the production of this CD tops-off with the talents of Keith Murphy (author of the program notes), Madeline Sturm (graphic designer) and pianist Michael Mizrahi.**

For more information, visit www.catherineramirez.com

reviews

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  • Amazing!
    author: Maria Shin

    This cd was given to me by my flute teacher, Cathy Ramirez, and it really made me want to practice my flute whole lot more! The music was really inspiring especially the Voice for Solo Flutist and the Muczynski. It was great to hear great music by a great performer and teacher!

  • author: TAXI

    It's great to hear a world class player tackling demanding repertoire that's off the beaten path. The playing and recording are first-rate...The choice of repertoire is wonderfully adventurous and laudable...This disc deserves to be on any classical station's playlist.

  • Ramirez transformed my love for the flute
    author: Kathryn Peterson

    “Transformation” instantly turned me into a flute enthusiast. Takemitsu's lyrical Voice for Solo is haunting and Jolivet's Sonate for Flute and Piano shows Ramirez's superb technique and brilliancy.

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