Beyond the Masterclass

03/13/2024

Thanks to everyone who took the time to wish me Happy Birthday!! So much appreciated - onward and upward!

02/02/2024

“GOODBYE TO BEYOND THE MASTERCLASS”

After much thought and consideration, I have decided to discontinue Beyond the Masterclass. Since its founding in 2007, I had the privilege of working with so many wonderful flutists of all ages from all over the world. I was also able to collaborate with many remarkable guest artists and guest performers. I will be forever grateful for their participation and enthusiasm for my project.

My gratitude to Greg Milliren, the first executive director is profound. The concept of the class was born during several brainstorming sessions where we tried to create a concept of a flute class with more than the standard offerings. Clearly, we met that goal and I have many fond memories of that exciting first year.

Diana Morgan followed Greg as my executive director and was a crucial component of every class since she joined me in 2009. Her wisdom as a performer, teacher, and administrator is extraordinary. Her creation of the “DM Flute Studio” is evidence of her remarkable talents. I will always be grateful for her countless contributions and her dedication to me and to all the students.

Emma Neiman gets a special shout out for her work for the better part of 10 years. She was charged with keeping things running well, from website design, to the applications, to the logistics and to the day-to-day challenges of the actual week of BTMC. She proved to be the chief engineer of keeping the train on the track.

For the past few years, Sabrina Tu stepped into the role of assistant executive director and proved over and over that she is not only a truly gifted flutist/teacher, but an extraordinary organizer/administrator. Her brilliance and dedication will never be forgotten.

Those four individuals epitomize what I think today’s young musician needs to be: a dynamic flutist with great personal skills and an acute awareness of the business arena. If you had the privilege of attending any of the BMTC classes over the years, it was obvious that these individuals set the tone of what a true “role model” is!

I want to personally thank everyone who attended the past classes! Please know that each and everyone of you were part of something that gave me a tremendous amount of fulfillment. I will truly miss this week going forward, but a critical component in how I have lived my life and career has been to “know when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em.”

I send you my very heartfelt best wishes for your life paths!!

Goodbye for now! Jim Walker – founder of Beyond the Masterclass

05/13/2023

Meet Burak Besir, internationally acclaimed and award winning flutist, multi- instrumentalist and composer. We are thrilled to feature him throughout the week at BTMC!

Please join us in welcoming Besir to the stage:
-Fri, 6/28 Faculty Concert
-Sat, 6/29 Ethnic Flutes Presentation

Join us at BTMC: www.beyondthemasterclass.com/applynow
Auditor Applications open now through June 10th.

Learn more about Burak Besir: http://burakbesir.net/about

04/15/2023

We are thrilled to welcome Bryan Pezzone to the BTMC 2023 stage as guest performer, in-concert with Jim Walker!

Bryan Pezzone maintains an active freelance performing and recording career and has been based in the Los Angeles area since 1987. He holds a degree from the Eastman School of Music, and is well known as a versatile performer who is comfortable in classical, contemporary and improvisational styles.

He performs with nearly every established orchestra in Southern
California such as the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the New West Symphony, the Pasadena Symphony, the Long Beach Symphony, Muse-Ique, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, and many others. Bryan was the principal pianist with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra from its inception in 1991 through 1999. From 1987-2000 he was the chair and founder of the multi-focused Keyboard program at the California Institute of the Arts.

He has recorded on hundreds of television and motion picture soundtracks, and has been the pianist on virtually all of the cartoons released by Warner Brothers and Disney. Recently, Bryan was invited to join the faculty of the Los Angeles College of Music in 2017 on the ground level of it’s new Piano Major which is eclectic in nature and addresses the needs of the 21’st century pianist.

04/01/2023

Final Deadline *EXTENDED* for Performers and Young Performers, Due MAY 1st!
Apply now at www.beyondthemasterclass.com/applynow
Application Fees: Performers: $30 | Young Performers: $10

03/25/2023

FINAL DEADLINE for Performers and Young Performers, Due April 1st!

Apply now at www.beyondthemasterclass.com/applynow
Application Fees: Performers: $30 | Young Performers: $10

03/19/2023

Good morning! Welcome to our "Meet the Artist Series".
This Sunday, we are thrilled to introduce Collaborative Pianist Mitsuko Morikawa:

Pianist Mitsuko Morikawa has been an active soloist, coach, collaborative pianist and chamber musician in United States as well as in Asia. She has collaborated with highly acclaimed musicians from a wide variety of genres spanning instrumental music, opera, musical theater and choral ensembles. Some of the artists that Ms. Morikawa has performed with include Julia Migenes, Rodney Gilfry, Kristinn Sigmundsson, TimothyMussard, Michel Debost, James Walker, Denis Bouriakov, Leone Buyse, Carol Wincenc, Jean Ferrandis, Marianne Gedigian, Martin Chalifour, Roberto Cani, David Rejano Cantero, Megumi Kanda, Randy Hawes, and Timothy Higgins. Ms. Morikawa has also recorded music for the New World Records label and has been featured on radio programs such as KUSC, WCLV, Cleveland and NHK-FM, Japan.

Apart from her accomplishments as a performer, Ms. Morikawa has also distinguished herself as a unique and highly regarded coach/accompanist. She has served on the faculties at Occidental College, Santa Monica College, the Meadowmount School of Music, Idyllwild Arts Academy Summer Program, National Flute Association Annual Convention, National Cello Institute, Beyond the Masterclass with Jim Walker at Colburn School, Oberlin College Conservatory, the Oberlin Flute Institute, Baldwin Wallace College Conservatory and the ENCORE School of Strings. She is currently working at the California State University Los Angeles, Colburn School, UCLA and Los Angeles Children’s Chorus.

Ms. Morikawa’s degrees consist of a B.M. in piano performance from the Toho School of Music, Japan, an M.M. in piano performance from the Manhattan School of Music, a Professional Studies Certificate in piano performance from The Cleveland Institute of Music and a D.M.A. in Keyboard Collaborative Arts at the University of Southern California. Some of Ms. Morikawa’s teachers include Alan Smith, Norman Krieger, Sergei Babayan, Cheng-Zong Yin, Paul Schenly, Sara Davis Buechner and Hisako Ueno.

03/12/2023

Happy Sunday! Welcome back to our "Meet the Artist Series".
Today, let's welcome Collaborative Pianist Vivian Fan:

Dr. Vivian Fan coaches chamber music and coordinates collaborative pianists at the Colburn Conservatory of Music and Music Academy. Prior to this position, she was on the piano faculty at the Idyllwild Arts Academy. She has collaborated in recitals with artists such as Arnold Steinhardt, Wen-Sinn Yang, Andrew Bain, and Sang Yoon Kim. As a duo and trio pianist, she performed at Perlman Music Program Alumni Recital Series in 2012 and at Disney Hall in Los Angeles Philharmonic’s “Brahms Unbound” concert in 2011. She recorded with renowned violist Paul Coletti on Paul Chihara’s Sonata released by Bridge Records in 2013. A new album “Bloch, Glinka, Bowen: Viola Works” with Coletti’s current and former students was released in October 2015 on Soundset Records.

Dr. Fan has served as an accompanist at the 2013 Nielsen Clarinet Competition in Denmark, the 2013 ARD Viola Competition in Münich, and the 2016 Piatogorvsky Cello Festival. In summer 2015, Dr. Fan was invited to coach at the Central Conservatory of Music Middle School in Beijing, to coordinate pianists and perform at the International Horn Symposium held at Colburn, and to perform as a workshop pianist for Jim Walker’s Beyond the Masterclass flute workshop. She has taught a masterclass at the National Taiwan Normal University. This summer, Dr .Fan will be giving a lecture as well as a masterclass on accompanying at Music Teachers’ Association of California Convention.

As a solo pianist, Dr. Fan has performed with conductors Jorge Mester, Jung Ho Pak, Mario Miragliotta, Sharon Lavery, Peter Askim, and Marc Riley. Her solo and chamber performances have been broadcasted on KTLA and KNBC television as well as KUSC, WFMT, and “Performance Today” on APM radio.

Dr. Fan has a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the USC Thornton School of Music majoring in Piano Performance. Her minor fields are Music Education, Piano Pedegogy, and Electro-Acoustic Media. She also has a M.M. and B.M. in Piano Performance from USC.

03/01/2023

I am thrilled and excited to announce a concert by FREE FLIGHT!! Mike Garson and I will be heading up our quartet (founded 1980) for a FF Rebirth Concert on Saturday, March 11. The location: THE SUN ROSE -8430 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069, Time: 7:30 pm (1 show). The Quartet will be playing many of the jazz/classical fusion pieces from our past concerts and recordings. Tickets and Info available at: https://dice.fm/event/3nlev-free-flight-rebirth-with-jim-walker-mike-garson-11th-mar-the-sun-rose-los-angeles-tickets

Student tickets (SRO) will be available also.

Get ready for a musical journey like no other! The legendary jazz classical fusion group Free Flight is reborn, and they're bringing their electrifying blend...

02/22/2023

Second Deadline incoming! Apply before March 1st to audition as a Performer or Young Performer!

Submit your audition today at www.beyondthemasterclass.com/applynow.
Application Fees: Performers $25 | Young Performers $10

02/19/2023

Welcome back to our "Meet the Artist" Series! Please welcome our Program Director and Young Performers Faculty, Diana Morgan:

Diana Morgan lives in Los Angeles and has played with Southern California’s top orchestras, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Santa Barbara Symphony, and the San Diego Symphony Orchestra.
Diana has performed with John Adams, The Beach Boys, Gustavo Dudamel, David Foster, Ben Folds, Ludwig Göransson, Diana Krall, Esperanza Spaulding, John Williams, The Who and many more.
Diana has performed at numerous festivals, including Mainly Mozart, Arizona MusicFest, the Artosphere Festival, and Spoleto Festival USA. She has played in commercials, major motion pictures, and can be heard playing piccolo on the ABC series Fresh Off the Boat.
A dedicated teacher, Diana created “DM Flute Studio” and is a flute-piccolo faculty member at the Colburn Community School. Alumni of her private studio have attended such institutions as the Colburn Conservatory, USC, UCLA, Manhattan School of Music, Dartmouth College, Brown University, Carnegie Mellon University, Yale University, and many others.
Diana has been a guest clinician at the University of Maryland, Occidental College, San Diego Flute Guild, and Idyllwild Arts Academy. Since 2010, Diana has been the program director and faculty member at Jim Walker’s Beyond the Masterclass.
Diana received a Graduate Certificate in flute performance from the University of Southern California and her master’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University. Her principal teachers were Dr. Amy Hamilton, Jeanne Baxtresser, Alberto Almarza and Jim Walker. For more information please visit www.dianamorgan.net.

02/17/2023

We are thrilled to announce Wm. S. Haynes Co. as a sponsor of BTMC 2023! Learn all about them at https://www.wmshaynes.com/