Ervin Monroe

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Ervin Monroe (b. November 25, 1942) is an American flutist, orchestral musician, composer, arranger and conductor. He also founded companies like Little Piper and Muramatsu America. He achieved a Lifetime Achievement Award in the year 2017.

Early Years

Monroe was born in the small town of Springfield, Louisiana. He was the youngest of six children. His family moved to Niceville, Florida when he was six years old, where he began playing flute at the age of ten in the elementary school band. He was selected to play in the high school band when he was in the seventh grade. By his last year in high school he was playing principal flute in the Pensacola Symphony, in Florida. He attributes his early success to the inspiration of his high school Band Director.

Education and Career

Monroe studied at the Oberlin Conservatory and the Manhattan School of Music from where he obtained his bachelor's and master's degrees in Flute Performance. He is also the disciple of a few renowned flutists like Robert Hugh Willoughby, Harold Bennett, and William Kincaid. He also received a full scholarship at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music where he studied with Robert Willoughby. After completing his sophomore year at Oberlin, he spent the summer studying with William Kincaid. He also traveled to Salzburg, Austria in his junior years, where he was hired to tour throughout Europe with Salzburg's Mozarteum Orchestra. Where he was offered a permanent position in the Orchestra, but opted to complete his studies in the United States and pursue his dream of winning a position with a major American orchestra. He earned his Master's Degree at the Manhattan School of Music. Before he completed his final semester of his master's degree, he was hired to play principal flute for the Royal English Ballet. Subsequently, he played principal flute for other renowned ballet companies including the Bolshoi and the Royal Danish Ballets. In 1966 he was selected to play in the Chamber Symphony of Philadelphia which recorded chamber music for the RCA Red Label Classics. Two years later, he was appointed principal flutist of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra where he performed for forty years until his retirement in 2008. During his tenure, Ervin performed under many legendary conductors and can be heard on recordings with Antal Doráti and Neeme Järvi. As a flute artist, Ervin performed numerous solo recitals in the United States and internationally. He also released many solo and chamber albums and has given duo performances with such renowned flutists as Jean-Pierre Rampal.

Although Monroe is primarily known as a classical and orchestral flutist, he has a diverse musical background and performed with a jazz combo in college and later a rock and roll group called Symphonic Metamorphosis that recorded for London Records. Monroe's flute playing can also be heard on a number of Motown's greatest hits. Ervin Monroe has enjoyed a multi-faceted career including many administrative roles. He served as the National Flute Association's Program Chair in 1980, served on the Board of Directors, and was also President of the Association in 1984. That year, Monroe founded The Flutist's Quarterly, a magazine published by the National Flute Association. He also served as the magazine's first editor. In 1985 Ervin Monroe was Chairman of the NFA Board of Directors.

Early in his career, Monroe founded his own publishing company called Little Piper, which specializes in flute music publications. Today it sells music worldwide and features many of Monroe's original works and arrangements. In 1995 Ervin Monroe was asked by Osamu Muramatsu, the president of Muramatsu Inc in Japan, to establish a new company, Muramatsu America. It is the sole distributor for Muramatsu flutes in North America.

As a conductor, Ervin Monroe served as Music Director for several orchestras in Michigan and was the founding Music Director for the Oakland Youth Symphony, an ensemble he conducted for 10 years. Ervin also founded the Detroit Flute Guild and served as Director until 2018.

Monroe served as a faculty member of the Wayne State University and Oakland University music departments and has been a visiting Professor of Flute at other colleges, including the University of Michigan and Michigan State University. Monroe has also lectured and taught master classes at numerous universities and colleges and has judged on panels for many competitions including the NFA Young Artist Competitions.

Ervin Monroe has written and published numerous works for solo flute, flute choir, and chamber ensembles. His piece The Amazing Symphony Orchestra is an orchestral children's piece with narrator and has been performed by many orchestras.

Achievements and Honors

Ervin Monroe received the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Flute Association in 2017. The Chicago Flute Club also honored him with an award for his Lifetime Achievements in 2019.

Monroe's book, Special Fingerings for Advanced Flutists, was selected by the National Flute Association as the number-one Newly Published Pedagogical Book in 2012. His work Variations on an Ancient Pavane for flute choir was awarded the winner of the 2015 NFA Newly Published Music competition.

Personal: Monroe lives in Detroit with his wife, Susan. They have five children and nine grandchildren. Early on, his hobbies included photography and wine-making, but gardening eventually became his primary interest. His garden was sponsored for a tour by the Detroit Hosta Society and featured in an article by The Detroit News.

Discography and Publications

Special Fingerings for Advanced Flutists Twentieth Century Flute - Album Flute Fantasy - Album The Classical Album with Alexander Zonjic Musical Treasures - Album After a Dream - Flute and Harp Album Pavane - Flute and Guitar Album Salon Music for Flute - Album Piper's Holiday - Album Detroit Symphony Woodwind Quintet - Album Variations on an Ancient Pavane for Flute Choir Sketches for Flute Alone A Night Soliloquy for Solo Flute The Flutist's Life for Solo Flute Solitude for Flute Alone Wayfaring Stranger for Flute Choir Celtic Music Collection Volume 1 Celtic Flutes at Midnight for Flute Choir Theme and Variations on Loch Lomond for Flute Choir Power Exercises for Flute A Flutist's Happy Birthday for Flute Choir A Sea Shanty Frolic for Flute Choir The Last Rose of Summer for Flute Choir The Nightingale and the Rose for Flute and Tape Musical Treasures for Flute and Piano Volumes 1-6 Musical Collections Vol 1 and Vol 2 for two flutes and piano Flute and Harp Delights Vol 1 and Vol 2

References

This article "Ervin Monroe" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Ervin Monroe. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

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