MEMBERS
Kari Boyer
Cincinnati, Ohio
Kari Boyer is an advocate of contemporary music and private flute instructor based in
Cincinnati, Ohio. She has performed with the Waco, Montclair, Richmond, and Williamsburg Symphony Orchestras, the Virginia Opera, the Richmond Choral Society, and Capitol Opera Richmond. She also served as principal flutist of the 392nd Army Band in Richmond, Virginia. Kari has performed solo and chamber recitals across Ohio, Virginia, and New York. As the Ara Duo, Kari Boyer and Ser Konvalin have commissioned and premiered works for flute and horn by Owen Eddy and Rachel Lanik Whelan. Kari has performed at the National Orchestral Institute, the Brevard Music Festival as a member of the ITCH contemporary ensemble, Eastern Music Festival, and New Music on the Point. She holds degrees from the Manhattan School of Music and Ohio State University. Primary teachers include Katherine Borst Jones, Michael Parloff, and Marianne Gedigian.
Allison Asthana
Houston, Texas
Dr. Allison Asthana is a freelance flutist and teacher based in Houston, Texas. She regularly performs with orchestras and chamber groups around Texas, including the West Texas Symphony, Central Texas Philharmonic, Monarch Chamber Players, and Houston Chamber Music Society. She has performed at the Houston Flute Fest as a featured guest artist, the National Flute Association, and the Austin Flute Festival. Allison maintains a full private studio and has presented classes at Baylor University, Austin Flute Society, and Boston University Tanglewood Institute. She is the author of a method book titled "Bansuri to Boehm", written after receiving a grant to study Hindustani classical music and bansuri with expert flutists in India. Allison's primary teachers are Marianne Gedigian, Linda Toote, and Francesca Arnone. Besides flute, her other interests include photography, piano, coffee, her houseplant collection, and spending time with her husband and puppy. (www.allisonasthana.com)
Sarah Shin
New York City, NY
Sarah Shin is an award-winning, vibrant and versatile performer, teacher, and collaborator. Sarah is the Lecturer of Flute at Princeton University, on flute faculty at Rutgers University MGSA Community Arts, and co-president of the New Jersey Flute Society. Some of the highlights for this upcoming year include recording a Mozart Concerti album at the Wiener Konzerthaus in Austria, performing in Salzburg with Budapest Symphony Orchestra, and performing in Smetana Hall in the Czech Republic. She has performed in Harvard University's Sanders Theatre, Jordan Hall and Symphony Hall in Boston, Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, The DiMenna Center, and Le Poisson Rouge in New York City, John F. Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., Gewandhaus Theatre in Leipzig, Germany, and Olympus Hall and Lotte Concert Hall in Seoul, South Korea. She has given masterclasses and workshops all over the US, such as the Mid-Atlantic Flute Convention, Boston Flute Academy, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, and more. Sarah attended high school at Walnut Hill School for the Arts and is an honorary alum of the Boston Flute Academy. She received her BFA at Carnegie Mellon University, her MM from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, as a Jacobs Scholar Fellow, and her DMA from Rutgers University. Sarah is greatly indebted to her teachers Jeanne Baxtresser, Alberto Almarza, Bart Feller, Thomas Robertello, Judy Grant, and Dr. Sonja Giles. www.sarahshinflute.com
Chelsea Tanner
Brooklyn, New York
Chelsea Tanner maintains a vibrant career as a performer and educator. She was most recently the Visiting Assistant Professor of Flute at SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of music. Prior to Potsdam, she has served on the faculty at Pennsylvania State University. Chelsea has performed with orchestras across the United States including the San Antonio Symphony, the Columbus Symphony, the Boise Philharmonic, and many others. She has performed in numerous summer festivals in including the Aspen Music Festival and the National Repertory Orchestra. Chelsea has been a Quarterfinalist in the National Flute Association Young Artist Competition, a finalist in the Mid-Atlantic Young Artist Competition, and winner of the Central Ohio Flute Association collegiate competition. She was also the winner of the 2014 National Society of Arts and Letters Pittsburgh Chapter Woodwind Competition and went on to perform as a finalist in the 2014 NSAL National Woodwind Competition.
Chelsea earned her Master of Music degree from Carnegie Mellon University, studying with Jeanne Baxtresser. Following her master’s, she received an Artist Diploma from The University of Texas at Austin studying with Marianne Gedigian. Chelsea earned her Bachelor of Music Degree at The Ohio State University studying with Katherine Borst Jones. Chelsea most recently finished her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at The University of Texas at Austin. www.chelseatanner.com