FLUTIST & PROFESSIONAL TEACHING ARTIST
Natasha Loomis is an engaging and charismatic performer who is at home playing music ranging from Baroque to contemporary. An avid chamber musician and proponent of new music, Natasha has performed as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States, Europe, and South America, and enjoys meeting musicians from all over the world throughout her travels. She is passionate about seeking out overlooked gems of the repertoire as well as commissioning new works, presenting programs that are creative and captivating for audiences.
​
Natasha regularly works with emerging composers around the world. She has premiered works by composers Aaron N. Price, Kevin Zi-Xiao He, Joe Young, and Kyle Henkel at the Zodiac Festival in southern France, as well as two concerts of premieres with the HELIX! New Music Ensemble at NYC’s (le) poisson rouge. She gave the U.S. premiere of Kevin Zi-Xiao’s “Torn” for two flutes with Sergio Pallottelli at the National Flute Association Convention in San Diego, in addition to its European premiere the previous summer.
​
As flutist and Artistic Director of the Meraki Chamber Players, an ensemble dedicated to commissioning and performing contemporary works in unconventional venues, Natasha seeks to reach new audiences and change the way audiences perceive of “classical” music. The group to date has commissioned and premiered 11 new works at venues throughout New York City, including a program of premieres inspired by the art of abstract painter Wassily Kandinsky. The group’s current program, Rhapsody in Brew, is designed to bring music to breweries and premiered in 2017 in collaboration with King’s County Brewer’s Collective of Brooklyn, who also brewed a special release beer inspired by the program. The group was a 2017 Ensemble-in-Residence at Connecticut SummerFest, where they workshopped and premiered 3 new works by composer fellows.
Natasha also plays regularly as part of the Mosaic Flute Duo with flutist Mitzy Nonaka, with upcoming performances in NY, NJ, and VA at the Mid Atlantic Flute Convention 2018.
​
Chamber, solo, and orchestral performances have taken Natasha to a diverse range of New York City area venues, including Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Bryant Park stage, Merkin Concert Hall, the DiMenna Center, SOPAC, Shapeshifter Lab, the Firehouse Space, and Silvana Harlem. She has performed as a soloist on Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 with the Adelphi Orchestra, where she also serves as 2nd flutist. She was also a soloist with the Vienna International Orchestra at Vienna’s Palais Auersperg, Franklin & Marshall Orchestra, and the Teaneck Community Band as part of their Summer Concert Series. Past engagements have also included performances with Opera Lancaster, Ars Musica, Allegro Chamber Orchestra, and the Choral Art Society. She was invited to perform in the Banff Centre Masterclasses for Strings and Winds in Alberta, Canada, and was also selected to compete in the National Flute Association’s Young Artist Competition in New Orleans.
​
A passionate music educator, Natasha runs a successful private studio for students of all ages and levels in New Jersey and New York City. She is Associate Director at New Jersey Woodwind Studio, where she teaches group flute lessons, private lessons, and chamber music. Additionally, she is on the flute faculty at Rutgers University Extension Division, Montclair State University Extension Division, and a chamber coach at the NJ Youth Symphony program. Natasha has degrees in music from Franklin & Marshall College and Montclair State University and began doctoral coursework at Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts, where she studied with Bart Feller and served as Co-Principal of the Rutgers Symphony Orchestra and co-adjutant faculty as a chamber music coach.