THE LAS VEGAS FLUTE CLUB
Flute Day 2024
Featuring
Christina Castellanos,
in masterclass and recital
Sunday April 21, 2024
Admission:
$10 members | $20 student package (admission + membership) |$30 package (admission + membership)
Time & Place:
Check in at 9:30am @ UNLV Campus
Beam Music Center
Sign up to play in our Member's Recital for Flute Day by April 15th! (Solo and/or Ensemble is welcomed!):
To teach a workshop at Flute Day, please sign up here!
Masterclass Audition sign up:
We hope to see you there!
About Christina Castellanos
Christina Castellanos is the Assistant Professor of Flute at Brigham Young University. A proud native of Bountiful, Utah, Christina’s primary teacher was Nancy Toone, and she later received her Bachelors and Masters degrees, graduating Magna Cum Laude as the Outstanding Senior and Summa Cum Laude as the Outstanding Graduate, with Dr. Richard Soule at The University of Nevada, Las Vegas while also serving as president of Sigma Alpha Iota and the Las Vegas Flute Club.
Since then, Christina has enjoyed a prosperous and diverse musical career. After becoming 2nd Flutist of The Las Vegas Philharmonic at the age of 22 and later appointed to Principal Flutist, Christina quickly established herself as a top call freelance musician on the Las Vegas Strip, playing hundreds of shows over a 6 year run of Phantom – The Las Vegas Spectacular, as well as backing countless headliners – most notably: Placido Domingo, Pavarotti, Frank Sinatra Jr., Andrea Bocelli, Harry Connick Jr., Weird Al Yankovic, and Seth MacFarlane. She has had the pleasure of playing under the direction of Itzhak Perlman and Michael Giacchino, and shared the stage with artists such as STING, Ben Folds, Kristen Chenoweth, Renee Fleming, The Beach Boys, Arturo Sandoval, Il Divo, Gentri, Kansas, The Who, and Journey.
Besides her duties as Principal Flutist the Las Vegas Philharmonic, Christina can be heard as principal flutist of The Nevada Ballet Theater, Salt Lake Symphony, and solo flutist of Sinfonia Salt Lake as well as very frequent performances with the Utah Symphony, Utah Opera, Ballet West Orchestra, Boise Philharmonic, Reno Philharmonic, Reno Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra at Temple Square for the Tabernacle Choir, the TAD Wind Symphony in Japan, and many off Broadway musical productions.
While Christina enjoys immensely playing with orchestras and freelancing, one of her biggest passions is solo and chamber music work. As a soloist, not only has Christina performed many of the great “standard” classic pieces with bands and orchestras alike, but she works hard to contribute building great flute repertoire through commissions such as Stacy Garrop’s “Phoenix Rising”, which she recently performed as a soloist at the National Flute Association Convention.
As an educator, Christina has served as adjunct professor of flute at the Snow College, Horne School of Music, Utah Valley University, and assistant flute instructor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. As a clinician, Christina has been a guest artist at Utah State University, Salem Youth Symphony, Anna Maria College Music Institute, The Utah Flute Association, and The Blackbird Music Project in California to name a few. Besides her studio teaching, Christina has published hundreds of instructional videos online for Musician’s Toolkit and Connect Through Music.
Christina has also continued to make community service a priority as past President of The Utah Flute Association and as a facilitator for “The Jed Moss Collaborative Pianist Scholarship”, endowed in perpetuity at The University of Utah.
When Christina isn’t teaching or performing, she enjoys spending time with her husband, Chris, co-owner and solo horn of Boston Brass, and their two beautiful children, Lily and Orion.
About Lisa Maresch
Lisa Maresch’s journey is a harmonious blend of global experiences and unwavering dedication to music. Born in Tokyo, Japan, her musical journey began at the age of four. She was so determined to attend piano lessons that she ventured through Tokyo alone, causing her frantic parents to report her missing to the police. When she was finally found at her lesson, her family acknowledged that music was probably going to be a significant part of her life. Later, her family moved to Sydney, Australia, where she has vivid memories of her performances at the Sydney Opera House during the Eisteadford Competitions.
After Lisa’s family moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in the United States, she attended the Grammy Award-winning Las Vegas Academy of Performing Arts and had the opportunity to play for various shows on the Las Vegas Strip and recording studios. She has been performing professionally since she was 17 years old, and these once-in-a-lifetime experiences have helped shape the musician she is today: a collaborative artist, visionary, and inspirational educator.
Performance
In recent years, she has performed with The SoMa Trio at the Napa Climate NOW, and featured on the concert series at 405 Shrader, as well as performing with The Sor Ensemble at The Throckmorton Noon Concert Series, and The Opus Concert Series in Mendocino.
Lisa has also performed in the Las Vegas Philharmonic Spotlight Concert with principal flutist Christina Castellanos, and at the NAMM Convention as performer and coach with “Roomful of Pianos.” Passionate about new music, she has presented many premieres with the Nextet New Music Ensemble at UNLV and the Blackbird Music Project in Orange County, CA. She has been a guest with the Las Vegas Woodwind Quintet, Arizona MusicFest, Arrowbear Music Festival in California, and has performed concerti with the UNLV Symphony Orchestra, Henderson Civic Symphony, Las Vegas Civic Symphony, and the Las Vegas Academy Orchestras.
Festival performances include the International Keyboard Institute in New York, the Round Top International Music Festival, The Castleman String Quartet Program, the Brevard Music Festival, and the Las Vegas Music Festival.
Outreach
As a strong advocate for music education,
Lisa has been heavily involved in non-profit and educational institutions for over 25 years. Lisa founded the Scholarship Showcase Concerts for the Warne Foundation in Orange County, CA, which provided scholarships to deserving young musicians. Lisa’s passion for music education extends beyond the United States. She has served as a guest artist in American Samoa- she taught and performed in local schools, and donated string instruments to a community orchestra. She also collaborated with Arquetopia, an international arts foundation in Mexico, where she performed various concerts in the cities of Puebla and Oaxaca. In 2021, Lisa completed the Executive Program in Arts and Culture Strategy through National Arts Strategies and the University of Pennsylvania. She hopes that with the valuable skills and knowledge gained, she can further her mission of promoting music education and community outreach programs.
Teaching
Lisa Maresch is a renowned piano teacher, recognized with the “Top Teacher” Award in 2021 and 2022 by Steinway and Sons, and the “Maestro Award” by the Warne Foundation in 2010 for her dedication to music education. As a Maria Manetti Shrem Mentor with “ArtSmart,” she teaches in the San Francisco School District coaching voice, teaching piano, and music theory. She often gives masterclasses and serves as an adjudicator, motivating students in her community and throughout the United States. She has been on the faculty of The Viola Workout, a chamber music festival created by Robert Becker, former principal violist of the Pacific Symphony. She was also a collaborative pianist at MusiShare Young Artists Program in Irvine, CA, where she worked closely with violinist William Fitzpatrick, who has helped shape the way she teaches today. Lisa has been involved in many programs at The Crowden Music Center in Berkeley, including director of Piano Partners (a duo piano summer program). She has been on faculty at The University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Hall-Musco Conservatory of Music at Chapman University, Orange County School of the Arts in Santa Ana, CA and The Crowden Music Center in Berkeley, CA. She is the founder of Opus38 Studio in the South of Market neighborhood in San Francisco, California.
Her primary teachers are Mykola Suk and James Giles.
Cassie Olson
Cassie Olson began her cello studies at the University of Utah and continued them at the Manhattan School of Music in New York, earning a Masters Degree in Orchestral Cello Performance. She has studied with members of the New York Philharmonic, Utah Symphony, Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and members of the Emerson and American String Quartets.
Cassie is currently Associate Principal Cellist of the Ballet West Orchestra and often performs with the Utah Symphony and Utah Chamber Artists, as well as with various touring artists and for area recording studios. In addition to the world of classical music, Cassie has had the honor of performing with bands and artists as varied as Jon Batiste and Hugh Jackman, to Aerosmith, Michael Bublé and Andrea Boccelli.
A native of Salt Lake City, Cassie also enjoys snowshoeing, gardening and being a mom to her little zoo of beloved pets.