Vanessa Wilkinson
At age 14, Vanessa began flute studies with Dr. Bertil Herman van Boer, Sr., an accomplished conductor, American composer, concert flutist and music educator. As a teenager, Vanessa was first flutist for the Napa Valley and the San Francisco Ensembles. She later moved to New York City and spent 15 years as a singer and keyboardist. There, she wrote, performed and recorded popular music and MTV videos.
Her love for Alaska brought her back in 1992. Vanessa founded Fireweed Flutes in Anchorage in 2009. She has managed and performed with the group for over 10 years. Recently, Vanessa studied with Chris Potter, a low flute specialist, international soloist, and composer. She also traveled to Switzerland and attended the Galway Academy where she took master classes with Sir James Galway and Lady Galway. She regularly plays with the Anchorage Community Concert Band, the Fairweather Flute Choir, and as a guest artist in Sinfonia, a string ensemble at the University of Anchorage. She plays the piccolo, the C flute, the alto flute and the bass flute.
SARAH HODGES SHERBAN
Sarah is a musician, educator and program administrator based in Anchorage, Alaska. She is involved in a variety of creative arts projects both as a flutist and as a facilitator. As a performer, Sarah is well versed in Western flutes as well as the North Indian bansuri, the Japanese shakuhachi and the Ghanaian atenteben. She specializes in solo and chamber music projects that cross musical genres and incorporate various multimedia.
Sarah teaches private and group classes in flute, free improvisation, composition, music theory, music appreciation, and history and beginning piano. She has worked for several non-profits, including serving as Director of Education and Community Engagement for the New West Symphony in Thousand Oaks, California from 2011-2014, and as Louise Endel Community Engagement Manager for the International Festival of Arts & Ideas in New Haven, Conneticut from 2014-2018.
Sarah received a Master of Fine Arts in multi-focus flute performance from the California Institute of the Arts, and a Bachelor of Music in flute performance from the University of Colorado at Boulder, College of Music. Sarah moved with her husband, Tyler, to Anchorage in Fall of 2018 so he could work as a full-scope family medicine doctor. She enjoys hiking, cooking, traveling and playing with her three beloved rescue pooches—one of whom, Charlie, is a certified therapy dog.
Dr. Corinna Muller
Corinna was born and raised in Eagle River, Alaska. She attended the University of Alaska, Fairbanks (UAF) earning a Bachelor of Arts in Music and a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences in 1999. After graduating from the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2003, she became board certified in both Obstetrics and Gynecology and Maternal Fetal Medicine. She practices in Anchorage, AK at Aurora Maternal-Fetal Medicine.
Corinna studied under flutist Dorli McWayne for five years while at UAF. Her previous positions include: principal flutist of the UAF Wind Symphony (1997–1999), principal piccolo player with the CBDNA Western/Northwestern Intercollegiate Honor Band (1998), and a performer with the Fairbanks Flutists Ensemble (1994–1999 and 2015). She performed at the 2015 Curtis Institute Summerfest in Philadelphia, directed by flutists Jeffery Khaner, principal flutist of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and Mimi Stillman. In February 2016, Corinna won the Mid-Atlantic Flute Festival Adult Amateur Flute Competition held by the Flute Society of Washington in D.C. From 2016 to 2018, she played with the Northern Tier Symphony Orchestra. In the summer of 2017, she won a position in the 2017 National Flute Association Professional Flute Choir and made her Italian performance debut in Sarteano with the Summer Music in Tuscany Program.
Corinna has studied privately with Lish Lindsey at the Wilkes Conservatory, and Robert Dick. She also performed with the Wilkes University Flute Ensemble from 2013 -2018. Her newest music endeavors include playing with the Fairweather Flutes and the Fireweed Flutes in Alaska!
Marissa Welsh
Marissa began playing the flute at age nine. She played in the Minnesota High School All-State Band and the University of St. Thomas, Minnesota Wind Ensemble. At St. Thomas, she performed as a soloist with members of the Minnesota and St. Paul Chamber Orchestras. Marissa was selected to play in master classes with Adam Kuenzel, principal flutist of the Minestota Orchestra, and Walfrid Kujala, former principal flutist of the Chicago Symphony. Marissa joined Fireweed Flutes upon moving to Alaska four years ago.
