Bonita Boyd (born August 1, 1949) is an American flutist, soloist and pedagogue. She has been the Professor of Flute at the

Eastman School of Music The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York. It was established in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman. It offers Bachelor of Music (B.M ...

since 1977, when she succeeded her mentor Joseph Mariano. Her primary teachers include Mariano, Maurice Sharp of the

Cleveland Orchestra The Cleveland Orchestra, based in Cleveland, is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the " Big Five". Founded in 1918 by the pianist and impresario Adella Prentiss Hughes, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at Sev ...

, and Roger Stevens of the

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at th ...

. In 1971, she became the youngest principal flutist (at age 21) of a major American orchestra after winning the positions of principal flute with the

Rochester Philharmonic The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is an American orchestra based in the city of Rochester, New York. Its primary concert venue is the Eastman Theatre at the Eastman School of Music. History George Eastman, founder of Eastman Kodak Company ...

. Following this position, her

Alice Tully Hall Alice Tully Hall is a concert hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in the Upper West Side neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The hall is named for Alice Tully, a New York performer and philanthropist whose donations assist ...

debut was received as "a great success" and subsequent tour performances harkened her comparisons to

Jean-Pierre Rampal Jean-Pierre Louis Rampal (7 January 1922 – 20 May 2000) was a French flautist. He has been personally "credited with returning to the flute the popularity as a solo classical instrument it had not held since the 18th century." Biography Ea ...

and Sir James Galway. Boyd was Principal Flutist with the Aspen Festival Orchestra, Chautauqua Symphony and Filarmonica de las Americas.

Biography

Bonita Boyd was born in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, but later moved with her family to

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

. She played piano and flute growing up, while studying privately with Maurice Sharp of the

, and Roger Stevens of the

. Occasionally, she would participate in competitions with both piano and flute pieces. before moving to study with Joseph Mariano at Eastman. She succeeded both of his positions at Eastman and the Rochester Philharmonic, making her the youngest principal flutist and the youngest person to hold both major academic and orchestral positions. She kept her position with the Philharmonic until 1984, when she pursued a more active solo career. Since that time, she has performed as a soloist with the National Gallery Orchestra, National Symphony of the Dominican Republic, Chautauqua Symphony, Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia, Denver Chamber Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic, Pusan (Korea) Symphony Orchestra, Western Australia Symphony, Queensland Symphony, Polish Radio Orchestra, and Vilnius (Lithuania) Chamber Orchestra. She was awarded the National Flute Association's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012, an organization where she had previously served as president. Additionally, she has been awarded the Eisenhart Award for Excellence in Teaching by the Eastman School of Music. Boyd is collaborating and touring with guitarist Nicholas Goluses.

Personal life

She was married to Swedish engineer Christian Soderstrom and together, the couple had three sons.

External links

New York Times Review of Boyd's recital at Alice Tully Hall in 1978

Interview with Boyd in the New York Flute Club newsletter

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyd, Bonita 1949 births Living people Musicians from Pittsburgh Eastman School of Music alumni Eastman School of Music faculty Musicians from Long Beach, California Albany Records artists