Abigail Walsh

Photo of Abigail
Photo of Abigail

A versatile and passionate performer and educator, Dr. Abigail Walsh joined the faculty of Grand Valley State University in 2020. She serves as the Vice President of the West Michigan Flute Association and is co-founder and program director for the Great Lakes Flute Festival. She is the author of “Plugged In: Practice and Performance Method for Flutists” available from Conway Publications. She has most recently performed with the West Michigan Symphony, Holland Symphony, Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra and the Illinois Symphony Orchestra.

A dedicated teacher and performer, Abigail teaches the flute studio at Grand Valley State University and gives master classes, performances, and presentations regularly at music conferences, universities, and high schools. Highlights include National Flute Association conventions, and Florida, Wisconsin, Mid-Atlantic, Chicago, Iowa, Great Lakes and Flute New Music Consortium flute festivals. She has been a featured soloist at the Engelbach-Hart Music Festival, the Illinois Symphony Orchestra’s “Around the Town” Chamber Music Festival, Illinois College’s Fine Arts Series, with the Cedar Rapids, Decatur and Taylorville Municipal Bands and with orchestras at the University of Iowa, the Hartt School, and the University of Illinois Springfield.

As an ambassador of new music, Abigail has premiered over 50 new works for flute. She is a member and performer in the Flute New Music Consortium, an organization dedicated to commissioning and premiering new works for flute. With Music Wall Duo partner, Pei-I Wang, Abigail performed 10 new works for flute and piano virtually and on tour with the Composers Alliance of San Antonio during 2021 and 2022. Of her performance of “Wild Riot of the Shaman’s Dreams” composer Michael Colgrass writes “An insightful interpreter, Walsh gave a surpassing performance of my piece, capturing the drama of the work as only few have.”

First prize winner of the CanAmerican Flute Symposium Solo Artist Competition in 2021, Abigail has been a prizewinner or finalist in the NFA Piccolo Artist Competition, the Washington Society Young Artist Competition, the University of Iowa’s Concerto Competition, and the Emeritus Recording Competition. She was a 2023 finalist of the American Prize in the professional instrumental soloist division and Ernst Bacon Memorial Award for the performance of American music..

Prior to her current position, Abigail served as a full-time Applied Music Specialist at the University of Illinois Springfield where she taught flute, coached chamber music ensembles, directed the wind ensemble, and taught several courses. She has been an adjunct flute faculty member at Illinois College, the Hartt School, the Hartt School Community Division and the Ethel Walker School, as well as the flute teaching assistant at the University of Iowa. She is the former Principal Flutist of Hartford Opera Theater, the Ottumwa Symphony Orchestra and the Oskaloosa Symphony and has performed with the Grand Rapids Civic Theatre, the Whiting Park Festival Orchestra, as well as the Peoria, Millikin -Decatur, and Dubuque Symphony Orchestras. She has been the flute faculty artist at the Flute by the Sea Masterclass (RI), Five Seasons Chamber Music Festival (IA), Hartt High School Intensive Instrumental Workshop (CT), the UIS Flute Festival (IL) and the Western Illinois University’s Summer Music Institute (IL).

Abigail holds Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees from the University of Hartford, the Hartt School, where she studied with Janet Arms and John Wion. She received her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Iowa while studying with Tamara Thweatt, Robert Dick, and Tadeu Coelho. Other primary teachers include Betty Bang Mather, Trevor Wye, and her late step-mother, first flute teacher and mentor, Margaret Linnan Kegel. Abigail performs on a 14K gold Miyazawa Boston Classic flute and Keefe piccolo.

On teaching the flute:

“My passion for performance is matched only by my love of teaching.Every individual is unique, and I adapt my teaching style to each student so they can succeed in playing the flute and being a fine musician. My pedagogical approach to teaching flute emphasizes physical awareness to eliminate tension and fatigue, and create a polished performance. I aim to inspire students to master great control of their instrument. By mastering breathing and finger technique, perfecting air-stream control, paying attention to details in a phrase, and developing sound production the student learns to sing through their flute, learn pieces quickly, and perform with ease and artistry.” - Abigail Walsh