Mihoko Watanabe

Flutist Mihoko Watanabe, a native of Japan, has been Assistant Professor
of Flute and a member of Musical Arts Woodwind Quintet at Ball State
University since 2008. Prior to joining the School of Music faculty, Dr.
Watanabe taught at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, the Memorial
University of Newfoundland and the University of Windsor, Canada.

A celebrated and versatile international performer, Dr. Watanabe has won
competitions sponsored by both the Japan Flute Association and the
National flute Association, and has appeared in Japan, Israel, and Canada
as a recitalist, chamber musician, and concerto soloist.

She is a member of TRIO Piacere (flute, cello, piano), she toured Japan
In summer of 2006 and recently Trio Piacere was invited to perform at the
Fox River Music Festival (WI). As a member of Duoviva (Two Flutes Duo),
she released first CD, Doppler Effect (Little Piper), at the National
Flute Association Convention in 2006. Duo Viva was invited to perform at
the NFA in New Mexico (2007), Kansas City (2008) and Anaheim (2010).   As
a member of Flurnet, she was invited to perform at the NFA in Anaheim
(2010).  As an orchestral player, she has held principle flute positions
in orchestras in North America. She is currently the principal flutist
with the Muncie Symphony Orchestra (IN). Also, she was the winner of both
Japan Flute Association competition as well as the National Flute
Association competition in the U.S. She also enthusiastically premiers
new works for flute. As a pedagogue, Dr. Watanabe has taught numerous
master classes throughout the United States, Canada, and Japan, and has
adjudicated international music festivals and competitions. In 2005, she
joined the faculty of the Brevard Music Center summer festival, where she
played flute and piccolo with the BMC orchestra, taught in master
classes, and coached various chamber music groups.

Along with being a gifted flutist, Dr. Watanabe is also devoted to the
study of ethnomusicology, with a focus on Japanese traditional music, in
particular. As such, she studied Ethnomusicology at the University of
Michigan. She received the Faculty Development Grant to research Japanese
traditional perspectives on Kazuo Fukushima¹s Mei for solo flute in
Japan. In 2007, she was invited to give a lecture recital titled
³Essence of MEI² and to perform at the National Flute Association (NFA)
Convention. Also, it became a feature article on Spring 2008 issue of the
official journal of the National Flute Association, Flutist Quarterly. In
2010, she presented a lecture recital on ³Essence of MEI² lecture recital
at the British Flute Society 7th International Convention.  In 2011, she
Has been invited to perform and to give a lecture recital at  NFA
Convention in North Carolina, and to perform at the International
Clarinet Association in California, and the International Double Reed
Society
in Arizona.


Dr. Watanabe received her Doctorate from the University of Michigan, both
her Master of Music and Performer's Certificate from the Eastman School
of Music, and her Bachelor of Music from the Musashino Academia Musicae
in Tokyo. Her teachers have included Bonita Boyd, Leone Buyse, Fenwick
Smith, Takao Saeki and Ervin Monroe. For her additional training, she has
participated in numerous summer festivals across North America and
master-classes with Julius Baker, Jean Baxtresser, Bradley Garner,
Walfrid Kujala, Alain Marion, and Emmanuel Pahud among others.