Currently residing in New York City, flute instructor Savannah is attending the Manhattan School of Music studying Contemporary Performance with Tara Helen O’Connor. She was drawn into New York’s music scene from attending “The Studio” with high energy chamber group Project Trio in 2018. During her time with “The Studio” she learned to beatbox flute and improvise from Greg Patillo; performing in venues such as Rockwood Music Hall. In 2019, Savannah played principal flute with The Mostly Modern Festival Orchestra in Saratoga Springs.
As cofounder of Persisting Sound; a New Music duo created to promote historically excluded composers, Savannah has been an active member of Oregon’s musical community. She has performed as a soloist with Persisting sound, the 5pm Series, and was a finalist of the University of Oregon’s Concerto Competition. Savannah has collaborated in a chamber concert with faculty members of Portland State University. She has also performed regularly with Orchestra Next and the Oregon Bach Festival Composer Symposium. Savannah previously achieved her Masters of Music studying with Thomas Robertello at Indiana University, Jacobs School of Music and also holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Oregon with Molly Barth.
For the past 10 years, Savannah has been a flute teacher for students of all levels. Her teaching philosophy is to get a student hooked on learning by showing them their full potential through listening assignments and challenging individualized repertoire. She takes great care to personally guide them through difficult skills so that they feel comfortable performing under pressure. Many of her students have succeeded in competitions and in auditions for youth orchestras. She loves watching her students grow in musicianship and nurtures them to be proud of their accomplishments. Her favorite part about having longterm flute lesson students is helping them develop their own sense of self through music.