Lisa Bost-Sandberg

Fifteen Minutes of Fame: Flutist-Composer Edition

A distinctive and eloquent voice in the music of today, Lisa Bost-Sandberg is described by renowned musician Robert Dick as “…one of the important composer-performers of her generation…[her] interpretations are infused with deep musicality, questing intelligence and a joyous spirit.” Deeply committed to contemporary music as well as its rich roots in the classical repertoire, Bost-Sandberg is known as an engaging flutist/composer/improviser, a dynamic presenter of workshops and lectures, and an impactful teacher.

In demand as a soloist and chamber musician, she has toured internationally, performing her own music and that of others at new music festivals (SEAMUS, EMM, Pixilerations, Spark, and SCI), National Flute Association conventions, International Low Flutes Festivals, and guest appearances at dozens of universities. Recent engagements include performing as a featured flutist-composer on the New York Flute Club’s “Solo Flute Spectacular” concert and serving as the guest artist for the Utah Flute Festival and the Seattle Flute Society Horsfall Competition. She is the bass flutist for the virtual film premiere of Julia Wolfe’s Oxygen for 12 flutes, presented by Carnegie Hall, and she has recorded on the Albany, Cantaloupe, GIA, and North Texas Jazz labels.

Many of her appearances involve her career as a performer-composer and contemporary music specialist, including presentations such as “In Pursuit: Creating Your Path in the Arts,” “From Performer to Composer,” and “Tackling a Contemporary Composition.” She has a long-standing duo collaboration with pianist Éva Polgár. Their programming is focused on adventurous and stunning 20th- and 21st-century repertoire from around the world, from important historical works such as Boulez’s extraordinary Sonatine to new works written for them such as Asha Srinivasan’s Utthishta. Her solo and chamber projects often span the eras, featuring traditional repertoire alongside her pieces and other recent compositions. She has appeared as a concerto soloist on several occasions and currently performs as principal flute of the Greater Grand Forks Symphony Orchestra.

Bost-Sandberg’s compositions have been performed at major conferences and festivals across the United States and abroad, including the College Music Society, Society of Composers, American Trombone Workshop, World Saxophone Congress, North American Saxophone Alliance, National Flute Association, International Low Flutes Festival, and the Music by Women Festival. Recent projects include Heron for solo bass clarinet, commissioned by Jeremy Wohletz, and Dovetail for solo piano, written for the North Dakota Music Teachers Association as she was honored to be selected as their 2023 Commissioned Composer. Chroma, a multimedia collaboration with artist and commissioner Marjorie Schlossman, is the subject of a short film by Mary Trunk and Caren McCaleb. Bost-Sandberg’s works have been recognized as prize-winners and finalists in composition competitions of the National Flute Association, the Flute New Music Consortium, and the American Trombone Workshop.

Committed to her musical community, she serves on the Schmitt Music Flute Gallery Advisory Board and is a Voting Member of the International Music Camp Corporation. She has served the National Flute Association in several capacities, most recently as the organization’s Secretary and as a member of various committees. She has also served a term on the Board of Directors and previously chaired the New Music Advisory Committee, which provided a unique opportunity to forward the commissioning projects and new music initiatives of a major organization with an impressive and deep commissioning history.

Bost-Sandberg has taught masterclasses, given presentations, and led workshops at numerous institutions and festivals. She is the Teaching Assistant Professor of flute and music entrepreneurship at the University of North Dakota, teaches at the International Music Camp, and coaches for the Northern Valley Youth Symphony. A Montana native, she received her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in flute performance with a related field in composition from the University of North Texas as a recipient of the prestigious Masters and Doctoral Fellowship. She is also a graduate of New York University (Master of Arts) and The University of Iowa (Bachelor of Music). www.lisabost.com

Concert Dates

  • National Flute Association's 53rd Annual Convention
    Hyatt Regency Atlanta - Atlanta Georgia
    Friday, August 8, 2025

Fifteen Minutes of Fame: Flutist-Composer Edition

  • inverno perduto

    Helen Bledsoe

    "inverno perduto" (lost winter) is a brief work for solo flute that portrays a quiet yearning. The writing has been kept simple in order to leave space for the performer to add elements, such as vocalizations, air sounds or special fingerings. Although unabashedly melodic, texture plays an important expressive role. Winter implies loss, loss needs time and space to be processed. My attempt is to create a short work that nevertheless creates the illusion of breadth and stillness.

    Helen Bledsoe is active as a flute soloist, ensemble player, teacher, improviser, author and creator of experimental electronic works. As a member of Cologne’s Ensemble Musikfabrik, she has collaborated and premiered works by numerous composers. Currently she is a guest professor at the Academy of Music in Riga and guest faculty for the Lucerne Festival Academy. Her research and writing has been published by Tempo and the Contemporary Music Review. Her blog on contemporary flute and composing has been a basis of research and teaching for flutists and composers. Her music has been performed in Europe and South America.

  • A Radiator Wonders About Fish

    Tessa Brinckman

    This piece was inspired by the sounds of my 100 year old steam radiator in northern Manhattan, and the idea of water carrying its own memories of other times, places and beings. All microtones can be achieved through any method (ie. embouchure hole angle, fingerings, flutes with microtonal key systems). The degree of flat/sharpness is not exact. The desired effect is disorientation from 12 tone system. Timbral differences are welcome. Measures can be repeated or omitted to enable performance under 1 minute. Adjust tempo to suit. Add, as wanted, dynamics, articulations and rubato to realize your dramatic interpretation of a radiator wondering about fish.

    Interdisciplinary flutist/composer Tessa Brinckman has been praised for her “chameleon-like gifts” and “virtuoso elegance” (Gramophone), "an adroit creator of sound worlds” (Fanfare). Originally from Aotearoa/New Zealand (now in NYC since 2022) she has co-created, with prominent musicians and composers across the globe, work that honors synesthesia, dialect, innate meter and collaboration. Tessa co-directs the bi-coastal duo, Caballito Negro, commissioning ground-breaking work for flute and percussion. Two of her collaborative videos have won 22 film festival awards for music scoring, animation and experimental film. She released another critically acclaimed album, Take Wing, Roll Back (New Focus Recordings) in 2024.

  • Disappear

    Bonnie Cochran

    A lament in honor of those who disappear from view through suffering, loss, aging, illness—when others find it difficult to look at them for fear of what they might see—a possible window into a future they are desperately trying to avoid. Notated trills are best performed on a Kingma System.

    For me, music has always been a lens to experience the world—a way to celebrate beauty, happiness and nature. Music is so much more nuanced and real than words. Through my music, I explore the boundaries and depths of emotions, discover what I can, and then share this translated experience with others—to share in being fully human. My works have been performed at the National Flute Convention, MIT, Agnes Scott College, Harvard University, Boston Conservatory and Carnegie Hall. I’ve written solo and chamber music for friends, colleagues and ensembles. Teachers include John Heiss, Larry Bell and Marti Epstein.

  • Yo Canto

    Cynthia Folio

    My goal in Yo Canto ("I sing") was to combine singing, speaking, and playing, since these are all methods of expressing oneself musically through the breath. The singing and speaking affect the sound of the flute by bringing out its overtones. The technique dates back at least to Jethro Tull, one of my heroes when I was a young flutist. The middle section offers a more traditional sound, using three permutations of a 12-tone row.

    Cynthia Folio is a composer, music theorist, and flutist. As a young flute player and army brat, her main inspiration came from her studies at the Panama Conservatory in the 1960’s; there she studied with Eduardo Charpentier (first flutist in the Panama Symphony) and had rigorous studies in solfege. She received her Ph.D. in music theory and Performers Certificate in flute from the Eastman School of Music, where she studied composition with Joseph Schwantner and flute with Bonita Boyd; Robert D. Morris advised her dissertation on the music of Schwantner. From 1980 to 1990, she taught music theory and flute at Texas Christian University and played in the Fort Worth Symphony. She recently served as Professor and Chair of Music Studies in the Boyer College at Temple University, where she was honored with the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching in 1994, the Creative Achievement Award in 2012, and the Faculty Senate Outstanding Service Award in 2021. With her recent retirement, she is now Emeritus Professor at Temple.

  • if you could have done it again would you do it again

    Leanna Keith

    I find that if I only have a minute to say something, I often stumble and make mistakes. Perhaps it would be easier to say less, or say nothing at all, but instead I just wish I had a second chance at saying the thing I really wanted to say. This is that experience - wishing I could do it over again once I reach the end, and wondering if it would have gone better the second time.

    Leanna Keith (she/they) is a flutist, composer, improviser based out of Seattle, WA. She is the professor of flute at Cornish College of the Arts. Her works focus on timbre-shifting, the mixed-race experience, queer theory, and the breaking of genre boundaries. www.leannakeithflute.com

  • Tempest in a Teapot

    Daniel Kessner

    During its brief existence, Tempest in a Teapot brings the listener extreme moods, ranging from calm and meditative through rough and explosive. Some of the special techniques, such as color changes and glissandi, come from the composer’s interest in Japanese shakuhachi music.

    Born in Los Angeles in 1946, composer-conductor-flutist Daniel Kessner received his Ph.D. with Distinction at UCLA in 1971, studying with Henri Lazarof. His more than 180 compositions have received over 1000 performances, and are published by Universal Edition in Vienna. Most important awards include the 1972 Queen Marie-José International Composition Prize in Geneva, a 2003 Fulbright Senior Scholar Award in Trossingen, Germany, and most recently a residency at Paradise AIR (Artist-in-Residence) in Matsudo, Japan. He is Professor Emeritus at California State University, Northridge, retired in 2006 after a career of 36 years teaching composition, music theory, and directing ensembles.

  • Marcescence: I will hold these, for you.

    Bonnie McAlvin

    In late Fall, foliage browns. The lovely kaleidoscope of colors that has assembled dissipates; sometimes gradually, and sometimes in a whirl of wind--as trees loosen their grip and leaves take their tumble. Sometimes though, trees hold on to their browned leaves, keeping them all winter, only letting go in Spring when new growths push their way out. This is called marcescence. This piece is written for standard open-hole flute. The piece should feel timeless; tremolos may be stretched/pushed, and melodic gestures should be performed rubato. The piece uses two extended techniques: finger slides and multiphonics. In vented fingerings, the vent hole should be open as necessary to achieve the notated pitch. Special fingerings are used in the melodic gestures in order to facilitate a portamento-like change between notes. The multiphonics that close the piece should project a vivid chord progression in the key of G minor/G locrian.

    Bonnie McAlvin is a composer from New York City, whose work has spanned the genres of film, orchestral, piano, and chamber music. Her work is included on Ultraviolet, an album produced by four-time Grammy-winning engineer Andreas Meyer, recorded by Wilmington-based Mélomanie. Her film score, "My First Kiss and the People Involved" premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival, screened and won awards in five American cities, and was picked up for distribution--the musical score receiving a critical grade of “Excellent” from The Hollywood Reporter.

  • von Bingen Variations

    Janice Misurell-Mitchell

    The von Bingen Variations were written at the request of flutist Lisa Bost-Sandberg for the Fifteen Minutes of Fame project. At the time of this request I was working on a commission from flutist Meerenai Shim: O Sapientia, for flute and electronics, a piece based on part of an Antiphon about wisdom and virtue by Hildegard von Bingen, the German Benedictine abbess and polymath of the Middle Ages. After a short introduction that uses themes from the Antiphon, there are two pairs of variations on the note series from the piece, then a fast waltz and a final, short "splash.

    Janice Misurell-Mitchell, composer, flutist and vocal artist, has taught and performed in the US, Mexico, Europe, Morocco, Palestine, India and China. Recent honors include the Pauline Oliveros New Genre Award (IAWM), and commissions from the Chicago Composers Orchestra, the Ear Taxi Festival, and flutist Meerenai Shim. She is a member of the 6Degrees Composers, and also performs with Freedom From and Freedom To, an improvisatory dance and music ensemble. Her CDs, Vanishing Points and Uncommon Time, are on Southport Records. Other music of hers is available through MMC Recordings, OPUS ONE Recordings, Capstone Records, Arizona University Recordings and meerenaishim.com. http://www.jmisurell-mitchell.com/

  • Lost Fragments

    Coreen Morsink

    Lost Fragments refers to the missing parts of the sculptures located in the Antike am Königsplatz museum in Munich housing a set of marble sculptures originally from the Temple of Aphaia (circa 500BCE) on the island of Aegina in Greece. This set, which was originally stolen from the site, was bought and set up with the missing pieces which still give an idea of the whole frieze depicting a scene from the Trojan War as written by Homer. Lost Fragments uses quarter-tones in the manner of ancient Greek music and reflects upon ancient Greek philosophy and culture. Quarter tones are to be played ½ the size of a well-tempered semitone.

    Coreen Morsink, Canadian/Greek composer, is inspired by unusual microtonal tuning systems and ancient Greek music which is a springboard for many of her compositions. Her works have been premiered by Carla Rees, Chenoa Anderson, Allison Balcetis, Karin de Fleyt, Sarah Watts, Paco Varoch and Peter Sheppard Skaerved amongst others in Canada, USA, UK, Belgium, Bulgaria, Italy, Spain, France and Greece. Her composition Eos and Tithonus was played by the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse conducted by Bruno Mantovani, 2024, and broadcast on France Musique. Coreen lives in Greece with her husband and children and enjoys the sea and nature.

  • Kyrie

    Steve Owens

    Kyrie is work entirely composed in multiphonics for unaccompanied flute. I have been doing considerable work with Bohlen Pierce tunings. I discovered the ability to play tritave (perfect 12th) multiphonics, and made these the basis for this call for scores. I was fascinated by the possibilities of tritaves on the flute which are produced by emphasizing the 3rd partial, much like a clarinet. I combine this effect with a few other simple multiphonics to create a ternary evocative of the Kyrie from the ordinary of the mass. This work is essentially a duet for solo flute. Performance notes are included with the score, including fingerings for multiphonics. I included an mp3 mockup of myself performing, I am sure Ms. Bost-Sandberg will be able to do better.

    Steve Owens grew up in upstate New York, graduating from RIT with a degree in Musicology, and a master’s in Music Education from Central Connecticut State University. He developed parallel careers as a concert flutist and as an educator in Vermont public schools. He has published band, choral, and chamber compositions with Hal Leonard and Alry Publications. Steve has since left academics to pursue composition full time. Recent performances include a woodwind quintet played by the renowned ensemble City of Tomorrow, and an electro-acoustic quintet for flute, clarinet, violin, viola and cello, played by The Playground Ensemble of Colorado.

  • Segmento

    Luca Pellegrini

    This piece is called “Segmento,” which means “segment.” The performance focus on maintaining interest in the piece’s linearity, aiming for precise adherence to the metronome. It’s crucial to convey an ever-present sense of connection that transitions into each new segment of music. The techniques I used are traditional, so I believed an explanation page wasn’t necessary. The only suggestion I have is to be as precise as possible. There is no need to use any specific staging engagement.

    I’m Luca Pellegrini, i’m 28 and I studied flute in Pesaro, Italy, at the G. Rossini Conservatoire. After that, I tried playing in orchestras but didn’t like the environment, so I decided to become a teacher. Now, I teach in the public school. I continued to play and study the flute, and now I teach it to people who like and need to express themselves through music. Three years ago, I got into composition and started to study it by myself.

  • Oriens

    Grigoris Polyzos

    I wrote oriēns for Lisa Bost-Sandberg in 2024. It is an image of the middle east as I have it in mind, although I have never been there. It is the first time for me as a composer to experiment with microtones.

    Grigoris Polyzos was born in Athens in 1986. He studied music theory, piano, harmony, counterpoint, fugue and composition with professor I. Augerinos. He also has a master in composition ("Composition for Instrumental and Vocal Ensembles") from the Department of Music Studies of Ionian University. He has been teaching Piano, Theory and Harmony at music schools since 2004. He has composed many works in two fields. Contemporary music and pop-folk Greek songs, some of which have achieved great popularity and have received outstanding reviews recognition from music critics. His works have been performed all over Greece

  • O me! O you! (ensō #178)

    Ricardo Martínez Ramos

    O me! O you! (ensō #178) is a tribute to Walt Whitman's O Me! O Life!, where existence is seen as an act of creation. In this solo flute piece, the notes and their timing are provided, but the interpreter, through their own life and experience, shapes the rhythms, nuances, and articulations. The work is designed to reveal the creation of something new each time it is performed, highlighting the dynamic relationship between two existences—the composer and the performer—in the act of musical creation.

    Ricardo Martínez Ramos, a graduate of the Instituto Superior de Arte de La Habana (Cuba), is a multidisciplinary artist focused on sound as his primary material. His work explores creative processes to foster new connections between people and their environment. He has exhibited in prestigious institutions, including Havana's Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes and Paris' Galerie Cécilia. Awards include the First National Prize for Musical Composition (ISA) and the Antonia Eiriz National Creation Scholarship. Based in Nantes, France, he continues his artistic practice while teaching flute and chamber music.

  • Daemons Dream I

    John C. Savage

    Composer, performer, flutist, and saxophonist John C. Savage has been compared to Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Herbie Mann, Ian Anderson, and Colin Stetson. Savage has performed and recorded with, among many others, Andrew Hill (A Beautiful Day Revisited), Billy Fox and Mark Dresser (The Uncle Wiggly Suite), and releases on PJCE Records (Black Heron and the Spoonbill, Ekta, Demolition Duo, Senses Sharpened, and Nova Pangaea). He performs on composer Mark Orton’s original score for the 2023 Oscar contender The Holdovers. Savage holds a Ph.D. from New York University. He teaches music at Mount Hood Community College.

  • . . . melts into air

    Harvey Sollberger

    ". . . melts into air" is the second half of a sentence from Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels's Communist Manifesto of 1848: "All that is solid melts into air." In my one-minute piece I propose to fleetingly profile that "melting into air" that we perceive all around us as various certainties mutate, and we see in their crumbling and destruction the creation of the new. And as always, it is a pleasure to compose music for Lisa Bost!

    Harvey Sollberger is a composer, conductor, and flutist who has been active in various musical centers since the 1960s. Early 2025 will see the release of two CDs of his work on the Arabesque Recordings label. One of them will feature five of his compositions and the other will feature his work as a flutist.