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"Her playing is lovely and elegant but also aggressively declamatory, with a gorgeous dark tone."

- Flutist Quarterly

Mary Matthews is a dynamic and versatile performer with a distinguished career as an international soloist, chamber musician, orchestral flutist, recording artist, author, and educator. â€‹Mary has performed on four continents, at venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Fundação Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina, the Goethe Institut Música Nueva Festival, and the Cité Internationale des Arts. She is the second flutist of the Tallahassee Symphony and regularly performs with the Nashville and Chattanooga Symphonies. She is a flute professor at Florida State University’s College of Music, where she teaches graduate and undergraduate flute majors. 

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As a studio musician and recording artist, Mary’s work is featured in soundtracks for film, television, and video games, with credits on platforms like Netflix, HBO, and Disney. Her discography includes six albums: Flutelore (Big Blue Records), Intersections (Ravello Records), Three-Nine Line (MSR Classics), Charuhas (Naxos), Preludes & Recitations (Tonsehen Records), and Newfound Chamber Winds Live Album (Big Blue Records). Upcoming releases include Kairos (2025) with the Newfound Chamber Winds and Khemia Ensemble’s junior album.

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Mary is the flutist of Khemia Ensemble, a group committed to expanding the boundaries of contemporary music. The ensemble blends acoustic chamber works, multimedia, and influences from various genres. Khemia was awarded the 2023 Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Grant and has performed at venues such as National Sawdust, Mizzou International Composers Festival, and New Music Gathering. Khemia has also held residencies at universities across North and South America. In addition to Khemia, Mary performs with Newfound Chamber Winds, Duo Rossignol, Duo Elektra, and Aviary Quartet, with appearances at events like the ICA Festival in Dublin, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, and multiple National Flute Association conventions.

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Mary has won numerous awards, including the South Carolina Flute Society Young Artist Competition, Kathryn E. MacPhail Young Artist Competition, and Firelands Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition. She received an Honorable Mention in the Mary Graham Lasley Young Artist Competition and was a finalist in the Coeur D'Alene, William C. Byrd, and J.C. Arriaga Chamber Music Competitions. Over her career, she has received over 20 performance, research, and community outreach grants, including the Boedecker Path to Excellence Grant and the Bradley Research Grant at Florida State University.

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As an advocate for new music, Mary has premiered more than 50 new works and is known for her mastery of extended techniques and adventurous programming. In 2021, she co-authored her first method book, Beatboxing and Beyond, with Nicole Chamberlain. The book, which introduces extended flute techniques, was praised as “a revelation” and was named a finalist in the 2022 National Flute Association Newly Published Music Awards. The second volume, Into the Beyond, released in 2023, was a finalist in the 2024 NFA Newly Published Music Awards.

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Before joining FSU, Mary served as Associate Professor of Flute at Tennessee Tech University’s School of Music. She is also a faculty member at the Newfound Chamber Winds Fellowship Program and offers workshops at FSU's Summer Music Camps. Mary has presented masterclasses and workshops at institutions worldwide, including Michigan State University, Columbus State University, Bowling Green State University, and El Instituto Eduardo Laredo in Bolivia. Her academic contributions include research presented at conferences such as the Peabody Institute Career Development Series, College Music Society’s National Conference, and the International Alliance for Women in Music Congress. Her doctoral thesis, The Flute Music of Anna Bon di Venezia in the Context of Eighteenth-Century Flute Repertoire, was published in the National Flute Association's Flutist Quarterly.

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A Rochester, NY native, Mary began her formal flute studies at the Eastman School of Music's Preparatory Program. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree from The Hartt School, a Master of Music Degree from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, and a Bachelor of Music Degree from the Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music. Her primary teachers include Jan Angus, George Pope, and Janet Arms. Mary lives in Tallahassee, FL with her husband, trumpeter Brandon Norton, and their four-legged family members, Avery, Chipper, Nala, and Ariel.

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View a full repertoire list HERE

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©2025 by Mary Matthews, Flutist

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