Amy Porter interviews Mercedes Smith, Principal Flute of the Utah Symphony and founder of Blackstrad concert attire. After decades of wearing clothes that were clearly not made with musicians in mind, she set out to change that—with concert attire designed by someone who actually lives on stage.

Alan J. Tomasetti, Co-Producer

Amy Porter, Editor

Meet Dakota, Ava, Zoe and Teya, my newest students in the Blue Flutes Studio, Class of 2029 and see the UMICH SMTD Flute Studio. Featuring the Cello Suite in D Major from my album "In Translation."

Alan J. Tomasetti is back producing this episode of PorterFlute Pod ! This time he has Amy Porter go LIVE in search of 7 people titled Grande Dames appearing in a round table discussion at the National Flute Association convention in Atlanta. Amy goes a bit astray by interviewing other women along the way that she would call Grande Dames... but in the end she finds four of the listed: Bonita Boyd, Zart Dombourian Eby, Lillian Burkart and Sheryl Cohen.

From our AOS Wellness channel, the exclusive interview with trombonist Amanda Stewart that Laura Dwyer did last year for our membership. They discuss the ideas women in the orchestral workplace have to think about moving forward in 2025 - Amanda opens up to Laura about her youth as a student, her early days of learning how to stand up and bear witness with compassion. Laura speaks to Amanda about listening, especially to other women, and being brave when you need to be. They discuss the consequences of standing up for injustice as a woman in the classical music work space. Laura asks Amanda “Do you regret losing your job over standing up for justice at the NY Philharmonic?”You can also catch Amanda on YouTube with her video regarding DEI in music from the International Trombone Festival in 2024.I

I’ll include the link here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6D4Ecj59qFA

And the article referenced: https://www.vulture.com/article/new-york-philharmonic-sexual-assault-scandal.html

We begin with Ting-Yu Yeh – a newly graduated student. Someone who leads us not only in music, but also in a journey through what it means to be a woman in male-dominated fields-both chemical engineering and classical music. Here are the questions I asked of these students-and Tingyu Yeh will be answering them a little differently than you might expect:What did you think of SMTD? Did it meet or exceed expectations?Do you feel equipped to be in the music world better than you did when you got here? What was your favorite thing about SMTD? About the studio? About the experience? What advice do you have for applicants for 2026? Where do you see yourself in 5 more years?

Buy the AOS book here: https://www.amazon.com/Anatomy-Sound-Invitation-Discover-Musician/dp/B0F674SCXH

This episode features the class of 2025 with interviews from Mia Cotton, Isabella Carucci, Lydia Wu, Joyce Wu and the commencement speech from Blue Flute and Music Education major Ella Hursh.

Join me as I remember being Program Chair for the last Atlanta convention back in 1999. Carolyn Nussbaum is my guest.

This book is the heart and soul of my teaching, performing, and healing journey; all distilled into pages I hope you’ll find inspiring, empowering, and deeply human.

Meet Olivia, Kaitlyn, Nathan, Kaliopi, Alan, Grace and Alexis. These are students who I really connected with in so many ways and I invited to be with me for their degrees at UMICH SMTD. I'm so happy to see their lives unfold. They are distinctive and very much themselves. Go Blue Flutes!

I answer these 10 questions:

How do you deal with adrenaline during performance?

Do you get sweaty hands during a performance and what are some remedies?

What are some remedies for excess spit during performance?

Do you have any pre-performance rituals?

How should I warm up before a performance - Flute warmups, mind and body work?

How do I stop overthinking or hyper-fixating on perfection?

How do you keep up momentum when you’re close to a performance but exhausted?

In what ways can you practice to feel prepared “enough” for performances?

Does positive self-talk really work and when should we use it?

What do you think we need to give a significant experience to the public through our performance?

Alison Young is The Blissful Hiker, former professional flutist "The solo, female, middle-aged, titanium-reinforced, neurological-movement-disorder-manager, cancer-thriver and long-distance-backpacker, Blissful Hiker.

With over 12,000 miles logged as a backpacker on six continents and a background as a world class professional musician and nationally syndicated radio host, Alison Young offers a unique perspective with engaging programs that connect us with the natural world and ultimately help us grapple with life’s challenges.

Alison Young is an expert at reinvention as well as tapping into creativity for success."

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