Flutist
André J. Washington began to teach himself how to play the flute at age 15. Five months later he began formal private lessons with Susan Crandall at the Merit School of Music. Six months after beginning his formal studies, he received an Honorable Mention in the Society of American Musicians Flute Competition in Chicago. The following year he joined the Merit Symphony Orchestra, and the Chicago Youth Concert Orchestra. At age 17, in the spring of his senior year of high school, he made his solo debut with the Chicago Sinfonietta under the baton of Paul Freeman.
While at Eastman he studied flute with Bonita Boyd, and piccolo with Anne Harrow. He was a member of the Harambe Winds Quintet, Eastman Philharmonia, New Eastman Outreach Orchestra (NEO), and toured the United States to Chicago, and Ann Arbor with the Eastman Wind Ensemble. In 2008, He was the recipient of the Links Scholarship Award. In the summer of 2009, he was the principal flutist of the Oberlin in Italy opera festival orchestra in Arezzo, Italy. In March of 2010 he won the second place prize in the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra Instrumental Competition.
After graduating from the Eastman School of Music, André was awarded a Fulbright Grant to study French flute technique with Jean Ferrandis and Frédérique Gruszecki at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris and the Conservatoire d’Orléans. During his studies he was a resident member of the United States Foundation’s Organization for Young Musicians (Portes Ouvertes aux Nouveaux Talents). While in France, André maintained an avid performance schedule. He gave several solo recitals at the Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris, performed a piccolo concerto with the Cité Orchestra, a solo recital at the Marguérite Duras Library, appeared as a guest artist at the United States Ambassador Mansion in Paris, and performed in many chamber music concerts throughout Paris. In June 2012, André was a awarded a First Prize artist certificate by a Unanimous Jury at the Conservatoire d’Orléans.
While at Eastman he studied flute with Bonita Boyd, and piccolo with Anne Harrow. He was a member of the Harambe Winds Quintet, Eastman Philharmonia, New Eastman Outreach Orchestra (NEO), and toured the United States to Chicago, and Ann Arbor with the Eastman Wind Ensemble. In 2008, He was the recipient of the Links Scholarship Award. In the summer of 2009, he was the principal flutist of the Oberlin in Italy opera festival orchestra in Arezzo, Italy. In March of 2010 he won the second place prize in the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra Instrumental Competition.
After graduating from the Eastman School of Music, André was awarded a Fulbright Grant to study French flute technique with Jean Ferrandis and Frédérique Gruszecki at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris and the Conservatoire d’Orléans. During his studies he was a resident member of the United States Foundation’s Organization for Young Musicians (Portes Ouvertes aux Nouveaux Talents). While in France, André maintained an avid performance schedule. He gave several solo recitals at the Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris, performed a piccolo concerto with the Cité Orchestra, a solo recital at the Marguérite Duras Library, appeared as a guest artist at the United States Ambassador Mansion in Paris, and performed in many chamber music concerts throughout Paris. In June 2012, André was a awarded a First Prize artist certificate by a Unanimous Jury at the Conservatoire d’Orléans.
