Marianne Gedigian is currently Professor of Flute at Rice University's Shepherd School of Music. Previously, she was holder of the Butler Professorship in Music and a member of the Academy of Distinguished Teachers at The University of Texas at Austin.

Ms. Gedigian was a regular performer with the Boston Symphony Orchestra for over a decade, including many seasons as Acting Principal Flute under Seiji Ozawa. As Principal Flute with the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra and Acting Principal Flute with the Boston Pops, she has been heard on dozens of recordings and Evening at Pops television broadcasts as well as the nationally broadcast Fourth of July specials on public television. She has also been heard on several John Williams' movie scores, including Saving Private Ryan and Schindler's List. In the 2000 - 2001 season, Ms. Gedigian was invited by Mariss Jansons to perform as Acting Principal Flute with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

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Her solo performances have taken her around the world, including recitals in Japan, Australia, England, and Armenia, and she has appeared as concerto soloist numerous times with the Boston Pops Orchestra and with the Armenian Philharmonic performing her own transcription of the Khachaturian Violin Concerto. She was featured with Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull fame in a performance at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Ms. Gedigian has been a headliner soloist and teacher at numerous National Flute Association conventions across the country, and is a frequent recitalist and teacher across the globe.

Ms. Gedigian was first prizewinner in the National Flute Association's Young Artist Competition, and the James Pappoutsakis Memorial Flute Competition. She is a founding member of Boston-based chamber music ensemble Walden Chamber Players and was formerly a member of the Dorian Wind Quintet, one of chamber music's preeminent and longest continuously-active ensembles. Ms. Gedigian's solo recordings include Voice of the Flute and Revolution, both with pianist Rick Rowley, and she is featured on a recording of flute, strings, and piano with the Walden Chamber Players titled Finding a Voice: The Evolution of the American Sound. She is the featured soloist on the Naxos Grammy-nominated CD, Shadow of Sirius.

Ms. Gedigian has served on the faculties of Boston University's College of Fine Arts, The Boston Conservatory, the Round Top International Institute, and the Tanglewood Music Center and the Brevard Music Center. Her teachers include Leone Buyse, Doriot Anthony Dwyer, Clement Barone, and Donna Olkowski. Ms. Gedigian is a William S. Haynes Artist and performs on a handmade custom-crafted Haynes gold flute.

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Judy Washburn Kriewall has recently retired from the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, where she was a member of the flute section from 1979-2021.  During those years, she also played with the Seattle Opera and the Pacific Northwest Ballet, as well as in chamber concerts and as a soloist with the Symphony.  Mrs. Kriewall earned her Bachelor of Music (1978) and Master of Music (1979) at Northwestern University, studying flute performance with Walfrid Kujala.  She also had the opportunity as a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago to receive coaching with Donald Peck.

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Dr. Sandra Saathoff is a freelance flutist, clinician, and principal flute of the Seattle Philharmonic. She helped launch a nonprofit organization, Silver Flight Ensembles and Foundation, dedicated to helping student flutists, and currently conducts the Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestra’s flute ensemble. A published author and music arranger, Dr. Saathoff has also performed and taught throughout the United States and Europe. Sandra has served as Assistant Program Chair, Secretary, Convention Manager, and on the Long-Range Strategic Planning Committee for the National Flute Association; as well as President, Vice President, Hospitality Chair, and Newsletter Editor for the Seattle Flute Society. 

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She enjoys teaching flutists of all ages and has served as adjunct flute faculty at Cornish College of the Arts and Seattle Pacific University; taught elementary and middle-school band and orchestra, and coached at the Midsummer Musical Retreat for adult musicians. She enjoys planning large scale flute events and masterclasses, such as the Northwest Flute and Piccolo Forum. 

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Her teachers include Zart Dombourian-Eby, Rae Terpenning; Kim Pineda and Janet See (Baroque flute); and Leo Mac Namara and Conal O’Grada (Irish flute). She recently completed her doctoral studies in flute performance at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with Dr. John Bailey. 

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