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Erika Boysen, flute
Flutist and pedagogue, Erika Boysen, is a leading innovator within interdisciplinary performance. Particularly known for her uniquely evocative collaborations including movement, singing and acting, Boysen uses these forms of creative expression both in performance and as a method for teaching artistic concepts. For her demonstrative expertise and virtuosic performance, she has been invited to Asia, Australia, Europe, and to over a dozen US states to perform in recitals, teach master classes, and lead creative workshops.
Active on all fronts, recent highlights include: solo and chamber performances in Shanghai, China, guest artist appearances at the Flutes by the Sea Workshop in California, and Anatomy of Sound Workshop in Michigan. Additionally, Boysen recently released the video mobile app, Moving Sound, that features newly commissioned solo works for the singing, speaking, moving flutist by composers: David Biedenbender, Mark Engebretson, and Jane Rigler. The app, available for download on apple and android devices, includes a moving score, interviews with composers and behind-the-scenes footage from the recording process.
Whenever possible, Dr. Boysen believes in combining the power of music, movement, and theater to create. To this end, she has performed theatrically inclined work by composer Kate Soper, fully choreographed interpretations of existing work from composers such as Toru Takemitsu, and entirely new works from composers such as Jane Rigler. In combination with performances in multiple years of the National Flute Association Convention, these highlights have earned Boysen international recognition, including features on The Flute View and Flute Talk and requests to conduct workshops and masterclasses in universities and festivals across the world.
As a “seated” performer, Erika also takes the stage frequently as a chamber musician. Though she regularly performs in a number of chamber ensembles, most decorated has been her role in the Four Corners Ensemble (4CE), a sextet of flute, clarinet, violin, viola, cello and piano dedicated to international collaboration. Recent 4CE performances have included recitals in Carnegie Hall, Shanghai Conservatory, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, and at the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland, where Boysen premiered flute concerto The Dryad by composer Shuying Li. Other previous and forthcoming performances with chamber groups include the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, Eighth Blackbird, Seen/Heard Trio, and COLLAPSS.
In addition to her primary position as Assistant Professor of Flute at UNCG, Boysen has had other faculty positions of note. She served on the faculty of Interlochen’s Arts Camp and Arts Academy as well as the Atlantic Music Festival in Maine.
A native of Iowa, Erika Boysen is based in Greensboro, North Carolina. She received her Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Michigan, where her dissertation recitals featured collaborations with spoken word, dance, and visual art. Further education comes from the New England Conservatory and University of North Carolina School of the Arts. She is grateful to her former teachers, who include Amy Porter, Paula Robison, Dr. Tadeu Coelho, Dr. Kimberly Helton, and Mark Sparks.