Few flutists in history have made such indelible marks in so many musical circles. From jazz to pop to classical (Orchestra, chamber & solo) to television to film to the concert hall to his teaching studio, Jim loves the variety his professional life has provided.
In 1969 Jim was named Associate Principal Flute in the Pittsburgh Symphony after a stint playing in the US Military Academy Band at West Point. He quickly gained the admiration of colleagues and audiences in Pittsburgh and set his sights on Principal Flute jobs. In 1977 won the Principal Flute position in the Los Angeles Philharmonic. After seven successful seasons of performing, recording, and touring with the Los Angeles Philharmonic—during which time the New York Philharmonic briefly borrowed him as Principal Flute for their 1982 South American tour—Jim left the orchestra, diving off the mountaintop into the world of jazz and studio recording.
In 1980 he organized his jazz quartet Free Flight, playing jazz-classical fusion ( 16 recordings). On several occasions he was joined by the legendary James Galway at "Donte's Jazz Club". In 1990 Jean-Pierre Rampal called "Jimmy" his "favorite jazz flute player". In the 1990's, Jim often requested to be guest soloist with artists such as Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter and Lee Ritenour.
Jim was been a first-call studio flutist for 25 years where and his bold, expressive playing can be heard on hundreds of soundtracks. Along the way concert collaborations with everyone from John Williams and Paul McCartney—"the thrill of a lifetime,"--to Leonard Bernstein, James Galway, and the LA Guitar Quartet.
He is Professor of Flute, Chamber Music and music technology at the Colburn Conservatory of Music, and Professor of Practice and Coordinator of Flute Studies at The USC Thornton School of Music. Jim has taught hundreds of flutists for forty years, many of them have gone on to successful orchestral careers, holding Principal Flute chairs in major symphonies around the world.
Jim Walker is a performing artist for The Burkart Flute and Piccolo company.
You can learn more about Jim Walker at his website: www.jimwalkerflute.comm
Lisa Bergman
Pianist and Arts Administrator
A passionate promoter of classical music, Bergman founder and Artistic Director of the Mostly Nordic Chamber Music Series presented at the Nordic Heritage Museum in Seattle as well as Executive Director of NOISE (Northwest Opera in Schools, Etcetera). She appears daily on Classic KING-FM 98.1 in Seattle as an on-air announcer, also streaming worldwide on the internet. Bergman served for seven years as the Executive Director and is the Classical Music Program Advisor of the Icicle Creek Center for the Arts in Leavenworth.
Lisa is also a concert pianist specializing in the fields of collaborative piano and chamber music, and is a graduate of the Juilliard School, the State University of New York at Stony Brook and the University of Washington, cum laude. She served as an Artist in Residence and member of the University of Washington Music Faculty (1989-1999) teaching in the fields of accompanying and opera coaching. As a recording artist her discography includes six chamber music CDs and one solo CD. As 1996 American Artistic Ambassadors, Bergman and violinist Ann Christensen were selected by the United States Information Agency to represent the U.S. on a seven-week tour of New Zealand, Nepal, Korea, Taiwan, Mongolia and China. She made her Carnegie Recital Hall debut in 1983.
Bergman was recently selected as a member of the Hall of Fame for the Washington State Music Teachers Association for "extraordinary service, outstanding musicianship, dedication and leadership which have significantly contributed to the development and growth of music education in the State of Washington."
"What I liked especially was her sense of authority and command...she plays the piano as if she owned it."
R. M. Campbell, The Seattle PI
| 
© 2004-2013 All Rights Reserved