Wildacres Flute Retreat will have its 48th year on June 20-27, 2026 at the beautiful Wildacres Retreat near Little Switzerland, North Carolina. The Retreat is on 1,600 acres of land just off mile post 336 of the Blue Ridge Parkway and sits atop Pompei’s knob. The facilities include two lodges, a concert hall, a library, a dining hall, and various other buildings especially designed for artistic activities.
This flute course is meant for adults 18+. Enthusiastic flutists younger than 18 may attend if they bring an adult to supervise them or their parent or guardian signs a release saying they are to be treated as an adult. The course is strictly non-competitive. There are no prizes for the best performance or lesson, in order to encourage respect for everyone’s journey in becoming better flute players and musicians.
Masterclasses are in the mornings and evenings. Two masterclasses are happening simultaneously: the modern flute class taught by Göran Marcusson and the baroque class taught by Kathie Stewart in the mornings, and Amara Guitry in the evenings. Tim Carey plays piano for Göran Marcusson’s class and Lillian Buss Pearson plays harpsichord for the baroque class, and we will have Jaap ter Linden as an “Artist-in-Residence” on viola da gamba and baroque cello. Flutists receive a program with a schedule of who is playing what and when. They are able to go back and forth between the masterclasses as they wish.
Realizing that some flutists are not comfortable with having a public lesson, our definition of a masterclass, we also offer private lessons with Gitte Marcusson, Rhonda Cassano, Amara Guitry, and Kathie Stewart.
We also offer add-on afternoon classes: Flute Repair with Joy Sears, Body Mapping with Rhonda Cassano, Traverso Chamber Music with Amara Guitry, Traverso Test Drive and Introduction to the Baroque Recorder with Kathie Stewart, Flute Pedagogy and Mock Orchestral Auditions with Gitte Marcusson, and Flute Choir with Nora Kile. More detailed information about these classes is in each faculty member’s page.
We share the week with the James Houlik Saxophone Retreat which also features the New Century Sax Quartet. The flutes and saxophones share meal times, late afternoon recitals, and social time. Flute/saxophone friends or couples can room with each other. Each room accommodates two people and has a private bathroom.
Each flutist is encouraged to build a program that suits his or her individual needs. Wildacres is such a beautiful place, we encourage flutists to build some time in their schedule to be able to absorb the beauty of the surroundings and the joy of meeting new friends who share their love of music.
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