Clinician Detail

Jim Walker - Biographical Information

Few flutists in history have made such indelible marks in so many musical circles. From jazz to pop to classical (Orchestra, chamber & solo) to television to film to the concert hall to his teaching studio, Jim is grateful for the variety his professional life has provided. In 1969 Jim was named Associate Principal Flute in the Pittsburgh Symphony after a stint playing in the US Military Academy Band at West Point. In 1977 won the Principal Flute position in the Los Angeles Philharmonic. After seven successful seasons of performing, recording, and touring with the Los Angeles Philharmonic—during which time the New York Philharmonic briefly borrowed him as Principal Flute for their 1982 South American tour. In 1985 Jim left the orchestra, focusing the world of jazz, studio recording and teaching. In 1980 he organized his jazz quartet Free Flight, playing jazz-classical fusion (4 appearances on The Tonight Show and 16 recordings). In 1990 Jean-Pierre Rampal’s Biography listed “Jimmy” as his “favorite jazz flute player”. In the 1990’s, Jim was a first-call studio flutist for 25 years where and his bold, expressive playing can be heard on hundreds of soundtracks. Along the way concert collaborations with everyone from John Williams and Paul McCartney—“the thrill of a lifetime,”--to Leonard Bernstein, James Galway, and the LA Guitar Quartet. He is professor of Flute, Chamber Music and Music Technology at The Colburn Conservatory of Music, and Professor of Practice/Coordinator of Flute Studies at The USC Thornton School of Music where has was awarded the Mellon Mentoring Award and The Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. His summer masterclass, Beyond The Masterclass is now in its ninth year. He has been a faculty member of the Music Academy of the West since 2013. Jim has taught hundreds of flutists, many of them going on to successful orchestral and teaching careers, holding Principal Flute chairs in major symphonies around the world. Jim Walker Plays Burkart Flutes & Piccolos