Music professor named principal flutist with Minnesota Sinfonia
St. Olaf College music faculty member Catherine Ramirez has been named principal flutist with the Minnesota Sinfonia, a professional orchestra and community-supported nonprofit dedicated to ensuring live, classical music for underserved and low-income communities in Minnesota.
With a special emphasis on families with young children, inner-city youth, seniors, and those with limited financial means, the ensemble is committed to reaching underserved populations and removing barriers in attending orchestra concerts.
In addition to upcoming performances with the Minnesota Sinfonia, Ramirez will be touring the Midwest with the Chione Quintet and performing several sizes of flutes at the five-week Orpheum Theatre production of Wicked: The Musical this summer.
Ramirez teaches flute and chamber music at St. Olaf. Originally from the southwestern part of the United States, she has earned three international competition prizes in Italy, a New York Recital Debut, and a McKnight Fellowship for Musicians in recognition of artistic excellence and a distinctive musical voice. She has served diverse communities through special performances with youth, nuns, cancer patients, and therapists at mental health clinics. Harnessing the power of music to bring hope, connection, and inspiration, she mentors young adults at St. Olaf, as well as through the National Flute Association, and will begin mentoring students in the POSSE Program this fall.
Ramirez earned performance degrees from Occidental College (BA), the Boccherini Music Institute in Italy (Honors Diploma), Queens College (MA), Yale University School of Music (MM), and Rice University (DMA). Her major teachers include Melissa Colgin-Abeln, Gary Woodward, Marzio Conti, Tara Helen O’Connor, Ransom Wilson, and Leone Buyse.