Patricia Spencer

NYFC president 1998-2001

A recent performance for Patricia Spencer was her New York premiere of Elliott Carter’s Flute Concerto, in Alice Tully Hall with the Mannes Orchestra conducted by David Hayes. She has always been a trailblazer: in a March 2011 Merkin Concert Hall recital, she gave the U.S. premiere of Karlheinz Stockhausen’s Bijou, a theatrical work for which she was joined by bass clarinetist Lisa Preimesberger, along with the world premiere (revised version) of Shirish Korde’s Lalit, written for her and tabla player Samir Chatterjee. Previous career peaks have included premieres of Karlheinz Stockhausen’s Kathinkas Gesang (U.S. premiere), Elliott Carter’s Enchanted Preludes, Harvey Sollberger’s Riding the Wind, and Shulamit Ran’s concerto, Voices. As a soloist and as a member of the Da Capo Chamber Players, she has performed in Russia, China, Mexico, Belarus, and Canada, and has made dozens of recordings on the Neuma, CRI, New World, Naxos, GM Recordings, and Innova labels. She has commissioned a veritable mountain of flute and chamber music works from today’s composers, including Thea Musgrave's Narcissus and Judith Shatin's Kairos.

A graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory, where she was a student of Robert Willoughby, Ms. Spencer continued her studies with Marcel Moyse, John Wummer, and Josef Marx. She teaches flute and chamber music at Bard College and Hofstra University. The Da Capo Chamber Players is resident ensemble with the Composition Program of the new Bard College Conservatory of Music.

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