Alyce Johnson, Flute and Piccolo
Hometown: Southboro, Massachusetts
Joined Lyric Orchestra in 2004
Education: UNC-Chapel Hill: BM with distinction; Eastman School of Music: MM & Performer's Certificate
Alyce Johnson is the piccolo player with the Chicago Lyric Opera Orchestra, the second flutist with the Grant Park Symphony and is on faculty at the DePaul School of Music. Previously she served as the principal flutist in the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra for four years. Ms. Johnson left Shanghai in 2003 to join the New World Symphony Orchestra for one season, which included tours to Rome and Carnegie Hall. She was a winner of the New World Symphony concerto competition performing Mozart's Flute and Harp Concerto. Other solo appearances have been with the Chicago Philharmonic, Bach Week Festival, Shanghai Philharmonic, Shanghai Symphony, UNC-Chapel Hill Symphony, and the New Eastman Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Johnson has also been featured in recitals at several National Flute Association conventions and has been an adjudicator for the NFA competitions.
Alyce Johnson received both her Master's Degree and a Performer's Certificate from the Eastman School of Music, her Bachelor of Music degree with distinction from UNC-Chapel Hill and has participated in various summer festivals including the Tanglewood Music Festival, Music Academy of the West and the Aspen Music Festival.
With which other orchestras have you performed, either as a member or as a soloist?
From 2000 through 2003 I played principal flute with the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra. During this time, they frequently asked me to be a soloist both in Shanghai and on our tours throughout China. This was an excellent way to get experience playing some of the major flute concertos with an orchestra which is a rare opportunity for a young musician.
What was the scariest thing that ever happened to you in the pit?
In one of my first few years at Lyric, I was playing 2nd flute/piccolo for an opera performance. In the middle of the second act, metal parts and a pad fell out of the principal flute player's instrument while she was playing. Fortunately, I only had to play piccolo from there until the end of the opera, so I gave her my flute to play. Soon thereafter, we taped her headjoint so that it would fit my flute and she continued to play on that until the end of the show.
Outside of the pit:
I enjoy teaching. Currently, I have eight flute students at the DePaul School of Music. It has been wonderful to work with such dedicated individuals who appreciate what we do as professional musicians. Helping these students achieve their goals is both rewarding and inspiring.