Meghan Bennett will begin as Music Assistant Professor and Director of Woodwind Studies at New York University in Fall 2023. She was awarded top prizes in the South Carolina Flute Society Young Artist Competition, Morning, Afternoon and Eau Claire Music Club Competition, Atlanta Flute Club Young Artist Competition, Flute Society of Kentucky Young Artist Competition and Greater Philadelphia Flute Society Collegiate Young Artist Competition. Bennett has also competed in the National Flute Association Young Artist Competition and the Fischoff Competition.
Passionate about collaborating with communities of color through classical music, Bennett traveled to Chile and Ghana in 2019 for residencies at Centro Cultural San Antonio and the Matic Music Club where she taught flute, music theory and pedagogy classes. She curated Honesty of Voice, a five-part conversation series targeting a dynamic and diverse set of flutists who shared their professional journeys and insight into balancing life and the profession. As an artist mentor, Dr. Bennett embraces the opportunity to speak publicly about social issues. In 2020 she developed a four-part Facebook conversation series –– Let’s Talk–– amplifying the Black experience through the lens of classical music. The episodes gave in-depth analyses of Black experiences, explored systemic racism and generated steps for change.
Dr. Bennett was awarded a Creator Development Fund grant from New Music USA. She will work with Daniel Green, a creative director and audiovisual artist based in Charleston, SC in 2022 to record a set of works for flute and electronics. As part of Peabody Premiere Recordings, Bennett will record Fantasy by Lauren McCall at The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University in Fall 2023.
In her quest to expand the framework of classical study, Bennett curated a lecture-discussion — Fused: Pop Ideas + Classical Sounds. It is designed as a deep dive into the world of pop artists and their music, analyzing the ways in which popular music culture can influence our work as classical artists. This multi-dimensional fusion of verbal content, videos and performances focuses on an array of artists, including Nina Simone, Ella Fitzgerald, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Drake and Céline Dion. Recent presentations include The Peabody Institute, New York Flute Fair, Oberlin Conservatory, The University of Texas at Austin, Baylor University, University of Virginia Flute Forum and the New Jersey Flute Fair.
Dr. Bennett has been a guest soloist with Chamber Music International in Dallas, TX, joined the New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players on tour and was principal flutist with Spotlight on Opera in Austin, TX. In addition, she has performed with the New York Pops, Little Orchestra Society, Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra, Richmond Symphony Orchestra, Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, Waco Symphony Orchestra, Round Rock Symphony and the Palmetto Opera Orchestra. She has been a recipient of fellowships to attend the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Brevard Music Center, Marrowstone Music Festival, National Music Festival and Spoleto Festival USA.
Bennett is on faculty at the YOLA National Festival, a program of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. She previously served on the faculties of California State University - Fresno, Northern Kentucky University, Prairie View A&M University, OrchKids and the Carolina Summer Music Conservatory. Selected highlights from solo recitals and master classes include the University of Miami, University of South Florida, Florida State University, UNC Greensboro, Baylor University, Pennsylvania State University and The University of Texas at Austin.
Bennett received her Doctor of Musical Arts from The University of Texas at Austin, Master of Music from the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University, and Bachelor of Music from the University of South Carolina. Her primary teachers include Marianne Gedigian, Marina Piccinini and Jennifer Parker-Harley.
Dr. Bennett is a William S. Haynes Artist and performs on a handmade custom Haynes flute.