Josh Mather conductor
James Brinkmann flute
Reinecke: Flute Concerto
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5
James Brinkmann, flautist with the Northbrook Symphony Orchestra and instructor at Merit School of Music, joins Assistant Conductor Josh Mather for Reinecke’s concerto. Tchaikovsky’s epic Symphony No. 5 continues our 5th Anniversary Season Celebration.
This concert will last approximately 90 minutes, including one intermission.
James Brinkmann, the Innovative Flutist (IF), asks the question “what if...?” when searching for ways to use music to interact with and inspire people to be creative. As a teaching artist, he unites his passions for teaching and performing by creating interactive performances to strengthen audience's connection with music. He has performed three interactive concert series in Chicago, played in the Make Music Chicago Festival, and has been a featured guest artist with the Atlanta Flute Club, Madison Flute Club, and the Southwest Michigan Symphony's Casual Classics Summer Series. Always striving to create new approaches to present classical music, he and oboist, Alli Gessner, recently co-created and performed (wigs and all!) “Concerto for Frenemies: an original comedic musical production of W.A. Mozart’s C/D Concertos for Flute and/or Oboe.” Also an explorer of interdisciplinary art projects, he presented his first visual art collection, “ ‘L’-evating Art: spontaneous collaborations connecting train passengers and a musician, art and music” at the Redux Contemporary Art Center in Charleston, SC.
An enthusiastic teacher, James maintains a private studio in Chicago and is on faculty at the Merit School of Music, where he also served as woodwind department chair and presented his “Interactive Rhythm Flash Card” workshop. In the summer, he enjoys teaching as assistant faculty at the Northern California Flute Camp where students explore and develop their flute and music skills through a variety of activities, some of which include flute choirs, master classes, and chamber music. He recently published a method book, “The Scale Page,” for advancing beginner and intermediate flutists, and explored the beginner flutist’s perspective and how to be a more compassionate teacher in his Youtube series, “Left Hand Flute Project.”
An active chamber musician, he is a founding member of the Chi Flutes Quartet and a member of the CHAI Collaborative Ensemble. As an orchestral player, James has served as second flute in the Northbrook Symphony, principal flute in the Lakeview Orchestra where he also was a featured soloist on Carl Reinecke’s Concerto in D Major and J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, and has played with the New World Symphony. He has placed 2nd and 3rd in the National Flute Association Orchestral Excerpts Competition and placed 3rd in the Donald Peck International Flute Competition. He received his Bachelor of Music summa cum laude at DePaul University, and his primary teachers are Lisa Byrnes, Mary Stolper, and Christina Smith.
James takes his flute almost everywhere with him and breaks down performer-audience barriers by performing in atypical settings. He has played on over a dozen commercial airline flights, in airports, coffee shops, in the subway, on the street, has started sing alongs on long-distance trains, and practices in the park near his home on a regular basis. All these impromptu performances often lead to joyful and inspiring conversations with the local residents and passersby.
Thank you for coming to this concert. Listening to music is a wonderful opportunity ALL of us can take to dive into worlds created by sound. As you listen, I encourage you to ask yourself, “What do I hear in the music at this moment: characters, a place, a story, colors, emotions, or something else?” After the concert, I would love to hear about your experience of tonight’s performance and will be around if you are interested in sharing.