Altus Artists: Frances Averitt

Currently Professor of Flute at Shenandoah Conservatory (since 1973), Frances Lapp Averitt is a versatile and accomplished performer. As Principal Flute with the Maryland Symphony, this autumn of 2003 she is scheduled (Nov. 15-16) to perform Melinda Wagner’s Pulitzer Prize winning Concerto for Flute, Strings & Percussion. Her 2003 fall schedule includes a premier performance of William Averitt’s Lacrymae for Chorus, Flute & Strings with the Bach Choir of Pittsburgh on October 25th & 26th in the Pittsburgh area. On Nov 21st, as a performing member with the Shenandoah University Wind Trio, she will perform the 2002 Commissioned Composition by William Averitt, Wind Play for Flute, Bassoon, and Piano at the Virginia Music Educators Association Conference, Norfolk, VA.

Dr. Averitt has performed in numerous music festivals and seminars such as: Aspen Music Festival, Shenandoah Valley Music Festival, Blanche Moyse’s Bach & Chamber Music Seminars, Stephen Preston’s Baroque Seminar, Italy’s Rome Festival Orchestra, Haydn Performance Seminar in Austria, the Academia Musicale Chigiana(Italy), the Yale Summer School of Music and Art, as well as 8 years as an Artist Faculty member at the Sewanee Summer Center in Tennessee. Other chamber performances have included U.S. southern tours with harpist Marjorie Tyre, Shenandoah Conservatory faculty ensemble performances abroad in Germany, Ireland, England, Scotland, and Trinidad. Local appearances also include numerous performances in the nation’s capital in Washington D.C. at the Kennedy Center and the National Gallery of Art. As a member of the National Flute Association Delegation, she has also traveled and performed overseas at the Moscow and Leningrad Conservatories. She has been Principal Flute and Soloist with the Meridian Symphony, Fairfax Symphony of Virginia and since 1983 she has served as Principal Flute and Soloist with the Maryland Symphony Orchestra. With a vast experience of recording numerous recitals, often featuring works composed by her husband she can also be heard in various other media. These include soundtracks of films by the award winning filmmaker Tom Davenport and television documentaries by Cottrell-Mangum Music, Inc. including the recent Emmy Award winning Stalking Leopards. She has also recorded with hammer dulcimer artist, Maddie MacNeil. An active member of the NFA, she has on numerous occasions been a featured soloist performing works by her husband William Averitt, as well as tribute performance to her teacher Albert Tipton in 1995 at the NFA Orlando Convention.

She received her Doctorate in Flute Performance at Florida State University where she studied with the late Albert Tipton. Her Doctoral Treatise, “An Intonation Method for Flutists (non-exclusive of other instrumentalists and singers) Based on the Use of Difference Tones as a Practical Guide to the Achievement of Perfectly Tuned Intervals” is a formidable contribution to the pedagogy of flute and the understanding of flute acoustics. Other publications have included articles on whistle tones and difference tones in Flute Talk and The Instrumentalist, with other written contributions to the Flutist Quarterly in a commemorative issue dedicated to Marcel Moyse. Ms. Averitt received extensive private study with Marcel Moyse, as well as coaching by Moyse in chamber music seminars with woodwind quintet. To support the continuing legacy of Marcel Moyse, she has served as recording secretary and treasurer to the Marcel Moyse Society.

Her continued dedication to learning and research into the fields of performance art and pedagogy led Frances to spend a previous sabbatical in France where she attended 20 flute classes at the Paris Conservatory in France. This experience was documented in the magazine, Flute Talk, with 3 separate articles. In January 2004 – June 2004, Frances will once again travel to Paris on another sabbatical! She will no doubt share her scholarly and musical experiences upon return and we hope to feature her story on www.altusflutes.com in July 2004.
To contact Frances Lapp Averitt for performances, recordings, and masterclasses, etc. please email her at faveritt@su.edu