Mimi Stillman, Artistic and Executive Director and flutist

Flutist Mimi Stillman is an internationally acclaimed solo, chamber, and recording artist hailed by the New York Times as “not only a consummate and charismatic performer, but also a scholar. Her programs tend to activate ear, heart, and brain.” Praised for her “exquisite purity of sound and depth of emotion” (Diario de Yucatán), she has appeared as a soloist with major orchestras and as recitalist and chamber musician at prestigious venues throughout the United States and internationally. Renowned for her virtuosity, insightful interpretation, and adventurous programming, she has appeared as soloist with orchestras including the Philadelphia Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle, Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Bach Collegium Stuttgart, and Orquesta Sinfónica de Yucatán; and at venues including Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Symphony Space, Philadelphia Museum of Art, National Sawdust, Roulette, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, La Jolla Music Society, Verbier Festival (Switzerland), Kol HaMusica (Israel), on Curtis On Tour’s virtual Latin American tour 2021 in Mexico, Chile, Colombia, and Peru. In May 2022, she gave the world premiere of Grammy-nominated composer Zhou Tian’s Concerto for Flute and Orchestra, written for her, with the Marine Chamber Orchestra of “The President’s Own” Marine Band with Director Col. Jason K. Fettig. The work was commissioned with a consortium of seven American orchestras, with which she will perform the concerto over the next two seasons.

Mimi Stillman is the founding Artistic Director of the popular Dolce Suono Ensemble (DSE), performing Baroque to new music in Philadelphia and on tour, in programs with high intellectual content setting music in its broadest cultural context. Some of DSE’s outstanding projects include Mahler 100 / Schoenberg 60; Women Pioneers of American Music; and A Place and a Name: Remembering the Holocaust. “All programs should have this much to say, and say it so well.” (The Philadelphia Inquirer). A Spanish speaker, Ms. Stillman created DSE’s award-winning Música en tus Manos (Music in Your Hands) project to engage Philadelphia’s Latino communities in the chamber and popular music of Latin America. DSE has been awarded grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, William Penn Foundation, Aaron Copland Fund for Music, and other prestigious institutions, and enjoys a partnership with the Washington National Opera at the invitation of Plácido Domingo.

Stillman’s artistic diversity makes a unique mark on the music world – winning the Bärenreiter Prize for Best Historical Performance, engaging Latino communities through her Música en tus Manos project, and reaching a global audience as masterclass teacher and Livestream and media host. She is the host of “Tea with Mimi,” her Livestream series initiated early in the Covid pandemic. A leader in the new music field contributing important new works to the repertoire for her instrument, Stillman has given 60 world premieres in 17 seasons with Dolce Suono Ensemble.

Mimi Stillman has won numerous competitions and awards including Young Concert Artists International Auditions, Astral Artists Auditions, and the Philadelphia Women in the Arts Award. A Yamaha Performing Artist and Clinician, she has taught masterclasses and done residencies for universities throughout the United States and internationally, including Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), École normale de Musique de Paris, Teatro Municipal de Santiago (Chile), and conservatories in Milan, Puerto Rico, Buenos Aires, and Bogotá. She is on faculty at Temple University and Music for All National Festival.

Mimi Stillman made the leap from child prodigy to inimitable artist. At age 12, she was the youngest wind player ever admitted to the Curtis Institute of Music, where she studied with the legendary Julius Baker and Jeffrey Khaner and earned her Bachelor of Music degree. She holds an MA in History from the University of Pennsylvania, and has written on music and history for publications including the Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern World and the Journal of the Mozart Society of America.‍

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www.mimistillman.com
www.dolcesuono.com

Photo by Vanessa Briceño