flute

Alicia DiDonato gives a "drop-dead performance," according to The Boston Globe and The New York Times calls her rendering of Boulez "beautiful." Known for her versatility, vibrancy, and exuberantly fluent playing, Ms. DiDonato enjoys a varied career as a solo, chamber, and orchestral musician. She is consistently praised for her distinctive takes on modern classics and her command of extended technique.

Originally from Stoneham, Massachusetts, Ms. Paulsen is the Assistant Principal Flutist of the Oregon Symphony. Prior to moving to Portland, Ms. Paulsen had a long and varied freelancing career in Boston, where she was the flutist for Boston Musica Viva, Radius Ensemble, NotaRiotous (Boston Microtonal Society's chamber ensemble), and Prana (a soprano/flute duo with acclaimed singer Jennifer Ashe). She was a member of the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Opera Boston orchestra, and Firebird Ensemble, and frequently appeared with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops.

A former member of the New World Symphony, Ms. Paulsen has twice been a Tanglewood Music Center fellow and has also participated in the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, Musical Spring in St. Petersburg (Russia), Costa Rica Music, and the Rockport Chamber Music Festival. She is the former flutist for both the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble and the Remix Ensemble (Porto, Portugal), and was a 2005 New Fromm Player at Tanglewood. Ms. Paulsen's chamber music collaborations include appearances with the Emerson String Quartet and the Borromeo String Quartet. Additionally, she has appeared as concerto soloist with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the Santa Fe Symphony, the New World Symphony, and New England Conservatory's Wind Ensemble and Sinfonietta.

Ms. Paulsen was the first prize winner of the 2005 Mid-South Young Artist Competition, the 2003 Pappoutsakis Competition, and the 1999 Frank Bowen Competition. In 2006, she won third prize in the National Flute Association Young Artist Competition, was a semifinalist in the NFA Piccolo Artist and Myrna Brown competitions, and placed second in the Mid-Atlantic Flute Society Piccolo Competition. In 2007, she was again a semifinalist for the NFA's Young Artist Competition. Ms. Paulsen was awarded a 2002 St. Botolph Club Grant-in-Aid for the commission of a new piece for flute and electronics. She studied with Fenwick Smith at New England Conservatory and John Wion at the Hartt School.

Performances

Jordan Hall at New England Conservatory | March 9, 2007

News and Press

[Concert Review] Surveying the musical landscape of France

A few minutes into the Boston Modern Orchestra Project’s performance of Pascal Dusapin’s chamber-ensemble piece Coda, Gil Rose brought the music to a sudden halt. He calmly explained to the audience that he’d just encountered “every conductor’s nightmare”: He’d turned three pages in his score at once. And when that happens, he said with a small smile, there’s nothing to do but start over.

The Boston Globe Full review
[Press Release] Two nights of Après-Ski with free French music and wine

The Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) and Best Cellars join hands to host two fun-filled evenings of live contemporary classical music and the best of French wine. Flutist Alicia DiDonato will perform a selection of French works for unaccompanied flute in addition to an excerpt from Pascal Dusapin's Galim, which will be performed in full at BMOP's upcoming March 9th French Counterpoints concert at Jordan Hall.

Full review
[Press Release] The Boston Modern Orchestra Project presents French Counterpoints; an evening of all-French composers

The Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP), the nation's only orchestra dedicated to performing, commissioning, and recording new music, devotes the entire evening of Friday, March 9, 2007 at 8pm, at Boston's Jordan Hall (30 Gainsborough Street) to performing new and recent works from three contemporary French composers.

Full review
[Concert Review] A classic start for composer with BMOP

Founded a decade ago, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project has risen to the front ranks of American contemporary-music ensembles through its fire, precision, and commitment to new work. BMOP’s 10th season opened Friday at Jordan Hall with a concert including two pieces by emerging singer and composer Lisa Bielawa, 38, inaugurating her three-year residency with the orchestra. BMOP’s typically canny programming surrounded Bielawa’s works with beautifully complementary compositions - two, like hers, inspired by literary sources.

The Boston Globe Full review
[Press Release] BMOP returns to Club Cafe's Moonshine Room for its innovative Club Concert series

The Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP), under artistic director and conductor Gil Rose, returns to the Moonshine Room at Club Café this year for three cabaret-style performances of new music.

Full review