Alumni Spotlight: Making Music—from Ridgway to Carnegie Hall
By the time Amanda (Blaikie) Sparfeld was seven, she had developed a deep love for flute music—and opera. So it’s fitting that this Upper School (’02) and College (’06) alumna is today in her third season as Principal Flutist for the Michigan Theatre Opera, which performs at the Detroit Opera House. Sparfeld is also Principal Flutist with the Battle Creek Symphony, and in October, she won the 2013 Alexander & Buono International Flute Competition. For the winner’s recital, she had the privilege of performing at Carnegie Hall—accompanied by none other than Dr. Marie Jureit-Beamish, her Principia College teacher and mentor.
But to go back to the beginning . . . Thanks to many after-school evenings spent with her grandparents, Sparfeld gained an early appreciation for opera’s soaring melodies from her grandfather, who trained as an opera singer. And thanks to a Julliard-trained family friend who played the hymns in her Christian Science Sunday School on the flute, Sparfeld knew exactly what instrument she would choose when it came time for fifth-grade band! While she enjoyed growing up in Connecticut, as she entered high school, Sparfeld says, she became increasingly uncomfortable with the “peer pressure to fit in” and wanted an environment “where I felt I would grow.”
After a visit to Principia Upper School, “I just knew it was where I needed to go,” Sparfeld recalls. “It was so clear that Principia was the right place—no one could deny it.”
At the Upper School, Sparfeld competed successfully in cross country and track, served on the Girls’ Dorm Gavel Board, and relished her classes, which were much more demanding than those at her East Coast public school. During both high school and college, Sparfeld spent every summer at a music festival or “camp” for young musicians, such as the National Repertory Orchestra in Breckenridge, Colorado, where she was one of only four flutists chosen to participate.
“Amanda was in concert band and jazz band,” remembers Upper School band director Martha Stitzel fondly. “She made a great contribution to the program, earned Superior ratings for her flute playing at State Solo and Ensemble competitions, and earned a spot in the prestigious All-State Band. What a fine musician and person!” In turn, Sparfeld says that Stitzel “was a key figure” in supporting her practice of the flute, often driving her to different competitions and auditions.
Although Sparfeld considered other colleges with musical programs, she decided on Principia College, where she had already begun lessons with Dr. Jureit-Beamish during her senior year at the Upper School. After graduating from the College, Sparfeld obtained a master’s degree in flute performance at the University of Miami and also played Principal Flute with the Miami City Ballet. A one-year certificate at the Manhattan School of Music followed, giving her the opportunity to study weekly with the New York Philharmonic’s Principal Flutist, Robert Langevin.
“Amanda was always a very dedicated student, devoted to reaching her vision of being a flutist,” says Jureit-Beamish, who enjoyed not only teaching Sparfeld but performing with her, too. They have played together in many different locations, including Colorado, Florida, and Romania!
When it came time for the two of them to perform Eldin Burton’s Sonatina for Flute and Piano at Sparfeld’s winner’s recital in New York last month, their travel schedules allowed barely an hour to rehearse together. “It’s a lively, difficult piece,” says Jureit-Beamish, “but . . . there’s always been a oneness of interpretation and creative energy between us.” So, in fact, they only needed 15 minutes before they felt ready to go on stage for a performance that was extremely well received.