Bonita Boyd
Professor of Flute
Born in Pittsburgh, Bonita Boyd grew up in Long Beach, California. Her
teachers included Maurice Sharp of the Cleveland
Orchestra; Roger Stevens; and Joseph Mariano,
principal flute of the Rochester Philharmonic
Orchestra and legendary pedagogue at the Eastman
School. Boyd succeeded him in both posts ”"
becoming the youngest woman to hold major
academic and orchestral appointments, as noted
by Glamour magazine in its “Outstanding
Career Women”� feature.
In 1983, Boyd made her critically acclaimed
Los Angeles debut, and also made her first solo
tours of Europe and the Far East. Following
tours of Latin America, she performed with
orchestras and as recitalist throughout the
world, including the National Gallery Orchestra
(Washington, D.C.), National Symphony of the
Dominican Republic, California Chamber
Orchestra, Chautauqua Symphony, Concerto
Soloists of Philadelphia, Denver Chamber
Orchestra, Pusan Symphony (Korea), Western
Australia Symphony, Queensland Symphony, Polish
Radio Orchestra, Vilnius Chamber Orchestra, as
well as numerous performances on National Public
Radio, PBS television specials, and radio
recordings in Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne,
Frankfurt, Munich, Oslo, Amsterdam, The Hague,
Brussels, Poland, and Lithuania.
Boyd has premiered numerous works, including
Samuel Adler’s Concerto (1977); Warren Benson’s
Five Lyrics of Louise Bogan (1978) and
Concertino for Flute, Strings, and Percussion;
Solo Sonata by Miklos Rozsa; and
Eclipse Musings, Augusta Read Thomas
(1998).
Her 1980 Alice Tully/Lincoln Center concert
was highly praised, especially for her
astonishing technical tour de force”"Paganini
violin Caprices transcribed for solo
flute”"later captured on her popular recording.
Bonnie’s recording, Flute Music of Les Six,
was honored by Stereo Review in its
1983 Record of the Year awards, and cited by
High Fidelity magazine in its “Critics
Choice”� column. She has also recorded on
Spectrum, Vox, Stolat, Gasparo, Philips, Albany,
Pantheon, and Fleur de Son. Her most recent
recordings include Bernstein's Halil
and a new release of the Paganini Caprices.
She tours regularly with guitarist Nicholas
Goluses; the pair has recorded and released a
CD, Chronicles of Discovery.
Boyd served as principal flute with the
Rochester Philharmonic (1971-1984), Chautauqua
Symphony (1971-1977), and Filarmonica de las
Americas, Mexico City (1977). She was a faculty
member of the Johannesen International School of
the Arts (1987-1996). An Eastman faculty member
since 1977, Bonita Boyd is also currently a
member of the artist faculty of the Aspen Music
(1996-) and the Aria International (1997-)
festivals, and is co-principal flutist of the
Aspen Festival Orchestra. |