Great Flute Players

There have been a number of great flute players throughout history. Some of the famous flutists from the past include Marcel Moyse, William Kincaid, Julius Baker, and Jean-Pierre Rampal. There continues to be a number of great flute players, such as James Galway, Robert Aitken, William Bennett, Mathieu Dufour, Michele McGovern, Rhonda Larson, Trevor Wye, Paula Robison, Jasmine Choi, and Emmanuel Pahud. This list is often referred to as the ten best flute players in the world today. Each of these individuals has proven themselves to be the best flutist in one way or another.

Great flute players have been around for centuries. Flutes date back over 5,000 years, while it is not known when the instrument was first invented. Archeologists have found a variety of ways that early peoples made flutes. Some of the earliest flutes were made from bone, while later examples were carved out of wood and bamboo. The first metal flute was invented by Theobald Boehm. Although great flute players of today use much more refined instruments, the basic design has remained intact.

Most great flute players, like Michele McGovern, use the famous Nagahara flute. Kanichi Nagahara invented a special patented gold alloy that allowed him to create instruments that have unbelievable quality and sound. They are also exquisite items to behold with up to 20K gold versions available. A Nagahara flutist Illinois musician that is a professional will choose one of these amazing instruments that are made from gold, because the tone is unlike any other flute on the market. All of the great flute players and many amateurs use this coveted instrument. Ms. McGovern highlights her Nagahara flute in many of her crossover classical videos.

Our list of great flute players, such as Michele McGovern has performed with renowned orchestras and symphonies. They combine individuals known for their classical performances, as well as crossover classical. You can hear great flute players in almost every genre of music. The flute has been an essential part of music since it was first introduced. The ability to easily carry it with you made it popular with the traveling players popular in the medieval period.

There are many classical music pieces that were designed specifically for the flute, while great flute players have also created new arrangements of existing work to highlight their instruments. An example of this would be Michele McGovern and Melody Lord (a great piano player, teacher, composer, and arranger). Together they worked on an arrangement of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata (Mvt. #1) into a piece designed for the flute and piano. As one of the great flute players, Michele and extraordinary pianist Melody played all 6 of their arrangements at New York City's Carnegie Hall in the Weil recital hall.

As a tribute to the late Ms. Lord, Michele created a video for YouTube and Vimeo called Moonlight that has won her numerous awards. This video highlights Ms. McGovern’s talents as one of the great flute players of our time. It also illustrates her breadth of skill as a successful writer, actress, and director.