Arkansas Flute Festival

Praised worldwide as “The goddess of flute” (Korea Times) and “one of the best flutists in the history of music” (Sinfini Magazine), Jasmine Choi has captivated audiences with her artistry, imagination, and fearless approach to repertoire. A graduate of both the Curtis Institute of Music and The Juilliard School, she rose quickly in her career, serving as principal flute of the Vienna Symphony and associate principal of the Cincinnati Symphony before devoting herself fully to a solo career. Today, she is recognized as one of the most innovative voices in the flute world, admired for her dynamic stage presence, inventive programming, and dedication to expanding the possibilities of the instrument.

Choi has performed as soloist with major orchestras including the Vienna Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Salzburg Mozarteum, and Seoul Philharmonic, with appearances spanning Europe, Asia, and the Americas. She is also deeply committed to new music, having premiered more than 15 concertos written for her, and to reimagining the flute repertoire through her own widely published arrangements, such as the Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky violin concerti. Her discography on Sony Classical and other labels showcases both her virtuosity and versatility, ranging from Mozart and Brahms to Claude Bolling and contemporary composers.

In addition to her international career, Choi is a passionate educator, having taught masterclasses at leading institutions including Curtis, Juilliard, Indiana University, and Universität für Musik in Vienna. Her popular YouTube channel, which has garnered over 26 million views, reflects her mission to inspire and connect with flutists around the world. 

Cristina Ballatori is the newly appointed Assistant Professor of Flute at the University of Arkansas where she also serves as flutist with the Lyrique Quintet. She has performed across the United States, Europe, England, and Latin America as a recitalist, soloist, chamber and orchestral musician. Recent performance highlights include guest appearances at the Festivales Internacionales de Flautistas in Lima, Peru and World Flutes Festival in Mendoza, Argentina, concerts in venues such as the Atelier Concert Series in Paris, France, and artist residencies in Spain, Costa Rica, and Mexico.  As a chamber musician, Ballatori is a member of the Semplice Duo with pianist Kevin Chance; their debut album, Night Surrendering to Dawn, featuring works by 21st Century composers, will be released on the Centaur label in 2025. Ballatori regularly appears as a guest artist and has been a featured performer, clinician, and adjudicator at many festivals, universities, and conferences including those of the National Flute Association, Music Teachers National Association, Texas Music Educators Association, Mid-South Flute Society, and Texas Flute Festival among others. Ballatori is the recipient of numerous awards and grants including the University of Texas System’s Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award. A sought-after and dedicated teacher, Dr. Ballatori previously served as Associate Professor of Flute at both the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Her students have been named winners and finalists in local, state, regional, and national competitions, including those sponsored by the National Flute Association and Texas Association of Music Schools, and have been accepted into top summer festivals and graduate programs. Her major teachers include Alexa Still, Peter Lloyd, Katherine Kemler, Judith Lapple, and Diane Smith. Ballatori is a Burkart Artist.  Visit www.cristinaballatori.com and @uarkflutes.

Hailed as “…not only having a beautiful tone and phrasing, but the capacity to reveal the deep soul of a composition” (Martin Rokeach, composer), Christine Erlander Beard enjoys an active international career as a soloist, chamber artist and teacher throughout North and South America and Europe. Described by Flute Focus as “…having shattered any notions that the piccolo might be lacking in deep, expressive powers,” she has appeared as a concerto soloist with orchestras in Argentina, Canada, Italy, Russia, and the USA, and was awarded Second Place in the 2019 American Prize Professional Soloist Division. Engagements in 2025-26 include recitals in IA, IL, GA, NE, OK, MI, MO, and MN; serving as an artist-teacher at the World Flutes Festival in Argentina and the Costa Rica Flute Festival; and performing as a member of the International SuperFlutes Collective at the Japanese Flute Convention. Passionate about working with composers, Christie strives to showcase expressive music for piccolo, as well as promoting music by historically excluded composers and music with social justice themes. Her #flutistactivist initiative is an ongoing project to commission new works with social justice themes and present them in workshop-recital formats that aim to educate audiences about how and where to get involved rather than simply being passive listeners. Solo D-flat piccoloist with Newberry’s Victorian Cornet Band, she is the current Masterclass Performers Competition Chair for the National Flute Association and is a solo artist for Sankyo Flutes and piccolo artist for Hernandez Flutes. A native of Hot Springs, AR, she holds degrees from Arkansas State University (BM) and The University of Texas at Austin (MM/DMA). Dr.  Beard serves on the faculty at the University of Nebraska at Omaha as Professor of Flute and Coordinator of Woodwind Studies where she has won both the university’s Graduate Mentorship Award and the Award for Outstanding Research and Creativity. www.christiebeard.net

Gabriela Gimenes holds a Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) from the University of North Texas, a Master of Music (MM) from the University of Central Arkansas, and a Bachelor of Music (BM) from São Paulo State University. Her primary instructors have included Marcia Guedes, Jean Noel Sagaard, Jose Ananias, Marcus Kiehl, Carolyn Brown, and Mary Karen Clardy.
Gabriela has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Mobile, Harding University, and Brookhaven College, in addition to her role as the chair of the Online Music Department at Universidade Metropolitana de Santos. She has performed with the São Paulo Youth Wind Symphony, the Conway Symphony Orchestra, the Orquestra Acadêmica do Estado de São Paulo, and during the São Paulo production of “Fiddler on the Roof.” Additionally, she has served as a substitute flutist for the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, the USP Symphony Orchestra, and the Theatro São Pedro Symphony Orchestra. Furthermore, she has been featured as a soloist with the Cubatão Symphonic Band and the São Paulo State Wind Symphony. She has also worked as a woodwind instructor at Bravo Youth Orchestras in Portland, Oregon.

Gabriela Gimenes was an artist associated with the Sopro Novo Project at Yamaha Musical do Brasil, where she published a flute notebook through Ricordi for Yamaha in 2013. Currently, she performs with Choro da Alegria, Bossa PDX, the Peter Ziza flute-guitar duo, and the Gimenes Beaty flute-guitar duo in Portland, Oregon. Additionally, she serves as the chair of the Youth Engagement Committee for the National Flute Association and holds the position of Vice President for the Greater Portland Flute Society. Gabriela is actively involved in the Global Missions Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to sending Christian musicians around the world.

Dr. Dmytro Gnativ is a flutist and educator whose musical journey began at the age of eight at the local conservatory in Sambir, Ukraine, where he studied flute and piano under Ihor Fedorenko and Natalia Moskalenko. He continued his studies at the Lviv State Music College with Liliana Stadnyk and at the Lviv National Music Academy with Andriy Karpyak, earning a bachelor’s degree in 2015. Upon graduation, he was appointed second flute and piccolo with the Khmelnytsky Symphony Orchestra. In 2017, he pursued a master’s degree at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, under the mentorship of Dr. Jennifer Grim. Following this, he was awarded a fellowship at the University of Miami, Frost School of Music, where he earned an Artist Diploma and subsequently completed his DMA in 2023.

Dr. Gnativ is committed to promoting lesser-known classical works, with a particular focus on Ukrainian composers. He has presented lectures and recitals at various events and institutions, including the National Flute Association Convention, Mid-Atlantic Flute Convention, Florida Flute Convention, San Diego Flute Festival, Lithuania’s X International Čiurlionis Music Festival, at the University of Miami, Northwest Missouri State University, West Virginia State University, South Dakota State University, and others. Over the course of his career, Dr. Gnativ has premiered over fifteen works for flute, including solo, piano, and ensemble pieces, contributing to the expansion of the flute repertoire.

Dr. Gnativ’s articles have been published in The Flutist Quarterly, Florida Flute Association Quarterly Newsletter, Voyage MIA, and other outlets. His most recent publication, An Anthology of Flute Music by Ukrainian Composers, 1850–2022, uncovers over four hundred works by Ukrainian composers, many of which are awaiting their first performances. This publication can be found on the University of Miami – Research Portal.

He is a principal of the Florida Chamber Orchestra, and regularly performs with the Palm Beach Symphony, Palm Beach Opera, The Symphonia, and other orchestras in South Florida. Alongside his solo and orchestral career, he maintains a flourishing flute studio and serves at Musicall, Inc. as a private flute teacher, music theory teacher, and chamber music coach, while also coordinating its afterschool music program.

Dr. Gnativ is the founder of Kolos Music Publishing, the Artistic Director of the Ukrainian Classical Music Project (UCMP), and serves on the Executive Board as Vice President of the Miami Music Teachers Association in Miami, FL.

Dulce Rodriguez is in her 16th year of teaching and currently serves as Director of Bands at San Benito CISD in San Benito, Texas.. Rodriguez is the founder and creator of the RGV Flute Fiesta, an annual event that brings together more than 250 middle and high school flute students from across South Texas for a full day of clinics and master classes with nationally recognized guest artists and clinicians.

She is an active member of the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA), Texas Bandmasters Association (TBA), National Flute Association (NFA), and the Midwest Clinic community. Rodriguez has  served on the Nominating Committee and Youth Engagement Committee for the NFA and is a strong advocate for youth pedagogy. She has presented flute pedagogy clinics at the Midwest Clinic (2022) and the Texas Bandmasters Association (2023,2024, and 2025), and most recently performed with the RGV Jazz Orchestra at the Midwest Clinic (2023).  Her community ensemble has been invited to perform at the Nation Flute Association in San Antonio, Tx in 2024 bringing together over 300 young flute players and educators.

Rodriguez earned her Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Texas at Brownsville and a Master of Music in Flute Performance from Texas Tech University. Her primary teachers include Dr. Lisa Garner, Dr. Cristina Ballatori, and Ms. Celeste Canant.

Flutist, Dalcroze, and Suzuki educator Emma Shubin has been joyfully moving to and making music her whole life. Despite her parents’ best efforts to turn her into a violinist, she fell in love with the flute and never looked back. She is co-founder and Artistic Director of Integral Steps, a nonprofit dedicated to integrative, multimodal education, where she blends her love of music, movement, improvisation, and ecology to support building community and inspiring students of all ages.

A Wm. S. Haynes Flute Co. Artist and Assistant Principal Flute with the Steamboat Symphony Orchestra, Emma performs internationally and leads workshops, residencies, and masterclasses, sharing her joy for connection through music worldwide.

Currently a PhD candidate at the University of Luxembourg, she researches the integration of movement into instrumental learning. She is passionate about developing early childhood music curriculum, supporting educators through accessible platforms such as The Virtual Dalcroze Meet-Up, and supporting performers at all levels in creating embodied pathways toward artistry. She currently lives with in Luxembourg her husband, daughter, and their two silly pups, and can be found eating croissants and sampling coffee in cafés when she’s not researching, writing, or playing her flute.