Frank and Lu Horsfall Competition
The Frank and Lu Horsfall Competition is an annual competition for flutists in grades 6-12 sponsored by the Seattle Flute Society. Applicants must be currently studying with a private flute teacher, and both the applicant and the teacher must be members of Seattle Flute Society.
2027 Rules and Application will be available in Autumn 2026.
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HORSFALL COMPETITION FINALS
Saturday, March 6, 2027 | Time TBD
Queen Anne Lutheran Church (Tentative)
THIS IS A FREE EVENT, OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Horsfall Competitors and their families are encouraged to attend
others' performances and adjudications
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BROOK FERGUSON IN RECITAL
Sunday, March 7, 2027 | Time TBD
Queen Anne Lutheran Church (Tentative)
TIC
THIS IS A TICKETED EVENT
$10 Members | $15 Non-Members
Horsfall Competitors and One (1) Guest Each FREE
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2027 Adjudicators
Upper Division: Brook Ferguson
Hailed by the Washington Post as “brilliantly virtuosic,” flutist Brook Ferguson is a versatile solo and orchestral artist. The Miami Herald praised Ferguson’s performance of Carl Nielsen’s Concerto for Flute with the New World Symphony as “soaring, fraught with emotion, possessing sterling technique with pure tone, showing herself fully in synch with Nielsen’s enigmatic world, putting across the playfulness, passing shadows and sheer strangeness of this music with strong impact.” First prize winner of the 2009 National Flute Association Young Artist Competition, Ferguson has performed as a concerto soloist with the Colorado Symphony, the New World Symphony, the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. She has appeared at the prestigious Marlboro Music Festival and Tanglewood Music Center—as both an orchestral fellow and New Fromm Player.
Ferguson was appointed Principal Flutist of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra in 2010 and has been Principal Flutist of the innovative River Oaks Chamber Orchestra since 2012. Previously, she completed a three-year fellowship with the New World Symphony, where she had the privilege of working with Michael Tilson Thomas and many other great musicians and conductors. She has made Principal appearances with the Aspen Chamber Symphony and Festival Orchestra, Grand Teton Festival Orchestra, the Seattle Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Prior to her appointment with the New World Symphony, Ferguson was the Acting Principal Flutist of the Knoxville Symphony and the Principal Flutist of the Delaware Symphony Orchestra. Ferguson is a William S. Haynes Company Artist.
In 2013, Ferguson was a featured soloist on Jacques Ibert’s Concerto for Flute with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and Douglas Boyd. An enthusiastic performer of new music, she performed Michael Gandolfi’s Geppetto’s Workshop multiple times in Jordan Hall at the composer’s invitation and gave the Tanglewood premiere of his Three Pieces for Solo Flute. Her performance of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra was commercially released on Yarlung Records and her live performance of David Amram’s Red River Valley Variations is available on the Newport Classic LTD label. Other notable solo and concerto performances were at the National Flute Convention of Japan and at festivals in Russia, Chile, Brasil, Ecuador and Qatar.
A dedicated teacher, Ferguson encourages her students to cultivate strong and imaginative interpretations, guides them toward a deeper understanding of self-reliant problem solving and helps them to develop physical and mental self-awareness. Currently, Ferguson is a Professor of Flute at the University of Northern Colorado and founded the Bel Canto Flute Academy in Arvada, Colorado- hosting community performance events for flutists of all ages and abilities: http://www.belcantoflutes.com. Brook has given master classes and performances at Carnegie Mellon University, Peabody Conservatory, CU Boulder, the Aspen Music Festival and the New World Symphony.
Ferguson received her Master of Music from Carnegie Mellon University as a student of Jeanne Baxtresser and Alberto Almarza and her Bachelor of Music and Graduate Performance Diploma from the Peabody Institute studying with the Marina Piccinini. Other important teachers and influences are Doriot Anthony Dwyer, Paula Robison and Michael Tilson Thomas.
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Lower Division: Ayça Çetin
Flutist and Pedagogue Dr. Ayça Çetin currently serves as the Assistant Professor of Flute at the University of Idaho Lionel Hampton School of Music. Previously, she held positions as Principal Flutist of the Panama City Symphony Orchestra, Visiting Lecturer at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and Adjunct Professor of Flute at Curry College. Praised for her excellent intonation, fine timbral blend, impeccable articulation, and brilliant technical command, Dr. Çetin continues to share her passion in performing, commissioning new music, and teaching.
Having performed in Europe, United States and Asia, Dr. Çetin has made appearances at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, Boston Symphony Hall, Kyoto Cultural Center and Istanbul Fulya Sanat Hall. The national and international festivals and conventions she has performed include the International Eskisehir Music Festival, International Mersin Music Festival, The National Flute Association, Kosovo Flute Sounds Festival, British Flute Society, Italy Falaut Festival, Chicago Flute Club, New York Flute Club, and Hot Springs Music Festival.
Dr. Çetin is a founding member of Duo Esplanade (flute, clarinet) and Cosmos New Music (flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano). She recently took Duo Esplanade to Japan, Germany, and Turkey to perform and give flute and clarinet masterclasses. The workshop on new music and improvisation at Carnegie Hall at Resnick Education Wing was one of the highlights in Duo Esplanade’s previous seasons. Along with the ensemble she was broadcasted live on New York Public Radio WQXR, Boston Public Radio WGBH, and Florida’s WFSQ 91.5-FM. California, Florida, New York, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minneapolis, and Ohio are some of the states she toured as part of the Duo. Her quintet Cosmos New Music performed at Carnegie Weill Hall, Boston New Music Gathering, National Flute Association, Central Florida University, Stetson University and Florida A&M University.
Shortly after coming to US with an interest towards American culture and musical scene, she has received several awards and prizes, among them: 2015 Boston Woodwind Society Doriot Dwyer Flute Merit Award Competition, 2012 NFA Convention Performers Competition, 2014 NFA Masterclass Performers Competition, and honorable mention award at the Nixon Woodwind
Competition in 2012. She was also chosen as one of the finalists of 2015 New York Flute Club Competition.
A strong advocate of contemporary and world music, she has worked with Louis Andriessen, Gunther Schuller, David Gillingham, and Libby Larsen, commissioned and premiered several solo and chamber works by Valerie Coleman, Kenji Bunch, Gregory Wanamaker, Roee Ben Sira, David Lipton, Matthew Weaver, Kevin Wilson, Nathan Brown, and Yunus Gencer, among many.
Taking part in the Refik’i Rebab Ensemble’s “Ruhnuvaz” concert series for four years, she recorded and released a Turkish music album titled “Subh-u Seher” in 2011. In addition to playing Turkish and Eastern European music in various chamber groups, she was hand-selected to perform alongside the famous Greek singer Mario Frangoulis during his 2014 concert season.
Presently she is touring as a soloist and a chamber musician, performing with orchestras including Panama City Symphony Orchestra, Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra, New Manhattan Sinfonietta, Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra, Ocala Symphony Orchestra and Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra while maintaining her online flute studio. A native of Istanbul,
Turkey, Dr. Çetin received her degrees from Florida State University, The Boston Conservatory at Berklee, Central Michigan University, and Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University State Conservatory in Istanbul. She had the privilege to serve as a teaching assistant of Eva Amsler and Joana White during her graduate degrees. Her other primary teachers and mentors are Linda Toote and Vieri Bottazzini. Ayça Çetin is sponsored by Miyazawa Flutes.
Horsfall History
Frank H. Horsfall (1883-1968) was a prominent Pacific Northwest musician who directly or indirectly influenced a great many flutists locally and nationally. He was in the Seattle Symphony for 46 continuous seasons (35 of those as Principal), a member of the University of Washington faculty for 20 years, and a friend and colleague of many renowned artists. He was a sought-after obbligatist for stars such as Lily Pons, Lauritz Melchior, Patrice Munzel and Martha Graham. He also enjoyed playing in the Western Washington Fair Band every September for 25 years and marching with the Nile Temple Band at conventions and parades whenever his busy schedule would allow it. He had many offers to join major eastern symphonies, but chose to stay with the students and musical associations in his beloved Northwest. His greatest pleasure was in teaching. He taught for nearly 60 years and many of his students gained prominence of their own in famous orchestras across the country.
Frank Horsfall with students
Frank was born in Tacoma of English parents who had emigrated from Yorkshire in 1867. When Washington became a state in 1889 his father was a Tacoma Councilman. After the 8th grade, Frank left school and entered into a four-year apprenticeship to become a machinist. On the side, he learned to play a fife, talked his way into a fife-and-drum corps, bought a $2 piccolo and a $10 flute and began his musical career. He set aside one third of his wages for lessons and would search out any appropriate music professional who came within reach, for good teachers were hard to find. He also took several off-hours business courses in order to manage his future financial affairs. All his life, he looked for ways to learn, improve and expand his knowledge.
In 1901 he became a journeyman machinist and worked at that trade with music as an avocation. At age 22, having also learned to play the saxophone, he put aside machinist tools to play flute and sax in local dance orchestras. The big break came in 1909 - an invitation to be a member of the original Seattle Symphony Orchestra. To augment his symphony income he taught a few lessons and played in park bands, dance bands and pit orchestras for vaudeville, ballets and musical comedies. He and two other flutists even formed an act, "The Three Magic Flutes", and toured for a short time on the Orpheum vaudeville circuit. During World War I he was a machinist at the shipyard by day and a musician by night, but when the war ended he again devoted his full attention to music.
Lulu C. Smith (1889-1983) was born in Minneapolis of Norwegian and German parents who moved to Tacoma when she was a toddler. She became an expert pianist and Frank's favorite dancing partner. They were married in 1913 and she shared his life for 55 years thereafter, creating a loving home for their two sons and a supportive atmosphere for her musician husband. She was continuously active in school and university organizations and in music circles. Lu was a talented artist, seamstress and cook. The students who sat in her warm kitchen waiting for their lessons appreciated her cheery ways.
Frank's long career encompassed many activities and interests. He was a business manager, real estate entrepreneur, artistic photographer and lifelong adventurer. In 1920 he and Lu went up the inside coast of British Columbia in a small outboard boat, camping on the wild beaches each night. He climbed Mt. Rainier in 1925, starting from the Longmire's residence, where Lu helped attend to those waiting for the return of the hiking party. One summer he and three other musicians hiked 300 miles through Glacier National Park. Each evening they would haul out their instruments to entertain fellow campers. When over 80 years old, he photographed Kauai's Waimea Canyon leaning out of an open helicopter.
An outgoing man, with effervescence and enthusiasm, he was never one to hold back if the opportunity came along to make new friends. After a concert by the touring London Philharmonic Orchestra, for example, he went backstage to meet the flute section. That evening, after taking them on a tour of Seattle, they all ended up in his basement studio playing music from his library and enjoying Lu's gracious hospitality.
In the mid-30's, he joined with the principal clarinet and oboe players of the symphony, both teachers interested in youth, to form the Seattle Symphony Woodwind Trio. They are still remembered for the humorous and educational music-appreciation programs they put on at countless school assemblies.
Certainly he was proud of what he was able to achieve in his lifetime, but he took the most pride in the accomplishments of his students. As their lives progressed, he would follow their advancements with the interest of a parent. Julius Baker, during one visit to the Seattle Flute Society, mentioned his long acquaintance with Frank and commented, "Bill Kincaid and I envied Frank's natural rapport and easy way with young people -- he loved his students and they loved him."
His last private lesson was given just three months before his death in March 1968, at the age of 84. Lu, blessed with good health and a bright-side philosophy, continued to lead an active life until her death in November 1983, at 94.
The Seattle Flute Society's Frank and Lu Horsfall Competition helps perpetuate their memory and the influence they had on the musical history of the Pacific Northwest.
-- Contributed by John Horsfall
Past Winners
Have names to add to this list? Contact publicity@seattleflutesociety.org