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Our Team
Adam Workman - President and Founder, Flutistry
Raised in Vergennes, Vermont, flutist Adam Workman moved to Boston in 1998 to pursue his love of music. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Flute Performance from the Boston University College of Fine Arts where he studied with Marianne Gedigian, Jacques Zoon, and Linda Toote. He also received considerable guidance from Jonathan Landell, Court Gettel, Louis Moyse, Steven Finley, James Walker, and Paula Robison. Adam has appeared in orchestral, chamber, and solo performances throughout the country, and can be heard with the Boston-based Commonwealth Chamber Players and the Fensgate Chamber Players. His solo CD, “Tribute: Past, Present, Future” was released under the Azadmusico label.
Sought after as a teacher and coach, Adam has had students accepted at The Peabody Conservatory, The Yale University School of Music, The Longy School of Music, and The NYU School of Music. Formerly on faculty at the Boston Flute Academy, he has also coached the flutists of the Greater Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra and has taught masterclasses at Boston University College of Fine Arts, Eastman School of Music, Yale School of Music, Peabody Conservatory of Music, New England Conservatory, Berklee College of Music, Interlochen Arts Academy, University of Georgia Athens, University of Missouri, University of Akron, Hartt School of Music, and The Kennedy School in Berlin, Germany, among others.
In addition to his artistic pursuits, Adam has held high-level roles at major companies in Boston including ViaCell, Inc, The Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center, Biogen Idec, and was also Director of Classic and Amadeus Flutes at the Wm. S. Haynes Flute Company. With this unique background in both the creative and corporate worlds, Mr. Workman founded Muddy River Creative, an Arts Consulting firm, in 2004 (which later developed into Flutistry Boston). As such, he has made various contributions to the work of Marianne Gedigian, Paula Robison, Steven P. Finley, FluteFX, Charles Villarrubia, The Wm. S. Haynes Flute Company, Yesterday Service Music, The National Flute Association, The University of Texas at Austin, and SonyBMG Records. Adam has proudly served as a member of the Board of Directors for the James Pappoutsakis Memorial Flute Competition since 2007.
Recognized for his repair skills by the Vermont Guild of Flute Making, Mr. Workman was trained in flute repair by master flutemakers Steven P. Finley (FluteFX and Wm. S. Haynes), Jonathan Landell, Muramatsu Flutes, Lillian Burkart, David and Joel Straubinger and is a Muramatsu & Straubinger Certified Repair Technician.
Taylor Irelan - Artistic Director, Tampa Flute Studio
Taylor Irelan is proving to be an exciting emerging artist, regarded as "the whole package" (Helen Spielman) with a "clear sparkling sound [and] a vibrancy in all registers" (Philippa Davies), and a sound that is "clear, solid, and bright. . . much in the style of James Galway" (Sarasota Observer). Taylor has collaborated with award winning composers to commission, premiere, and record new works for the flute, as well as write his own works and transcriptions for flute and various ensembles. He has been coached by living composers on their music, such as his performance of Thea Musgrave’s Chamber Concerto No. 2 in the Barbican Centre as part of the BBC Symphony Orchestra’s Total Immersion Project, which was recorded and broadcast live by BBC Radio 3 in London.
Taylor serves as piccolo/3rd flute with The Venice Symphony, and as a substitute flutist with several professional orchestras around the US. Previously serving as the principal piccolo for the London Graduate Orchestra, he has performed with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, Pueblo Symphony Orchestra. London Gay Symphony Orchestra, and both the Hot Springs Music Festival Symphony Orchestra and London Symphony Orchestra as part of their prestigious orchestral training programs.
As a soloist, Taylor has performed concerti with ensembles across the USA and internationally. Taylor has been a featured solo artist at music series and colleges internationally, and frequently performs in duo with Croatian pianist, Andrea Feitl. He has presented masterclasses at the University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley, University of Wisconsin - Madison, and Rollins College among others. He has performed at the National Flute Association Convention, Florida Flute Association Convention, and Mid-Atlantic Flute Convention. An activist for diversity in the music community, Taylor serves on the Diversity and Inclusion Committee for the National Flute Association.
Among his many accolades, Taylor has won the top prizes in the National Flute Association Professional Flute Choir Competition, Florida Flute Association Advanced Masterclass Competition, University of North Florida Concerto Competition, Florida Community College Activities Association's Student Artist Competition, and the Flute Fusion Young Artist Competition. He was selected as a finalist in both the Ars Flores Young Artists Concerto Competition and the Coeur d'Alene Symphony Young Artist Competition.
Taylor received a Master of Music in Performance with Merit from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, as part of the Guildhall Artist Masters in Orchestral Artistry program in association with the London Symphony Orchestra, supported by The Guildhall School Trust. He received a Bachelor of Music in Performance from the University of North Florida where he graduated summa cum laude. His primary flute teachers were Ian Clarke, Philippa Davies, Sarah Newbold, Les Roettges, Rhonda Cassano, and Katie Tomicek.
Taylor is a LefreQue Artist, and performs on Muramatsu flutes.
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Dr. Mandy Swaim - Flute Faculty
Dr. Mandy Swaim is an avid performer and teacher of flute currently residing in Tampa, Florida. She is the instructor of flute at Hillsborough Community College in Ybor City, Florida and is a highly sought after middle and high school flute clinician in the Tampa bay area. Additionally, a strong enthusiasm for flute instruction has led Mandy to maintain a private flute studio with students of all ages, offering both in-person and virtual lessons. She has taught numerous masterclasses in the southeastern United States. Her students have proved numerous successes in festivals, honor bands, and competitions at the county, district, and state levels as well as college auditions. Her passion for music education has sparked particular interest in researching and creating pedagogical and instructional techniques to assist the developing flutist.
With a strong passion for collaborative performance, Mandy has participated in cross-disciplinary performances in the arts and has founded various chamber ensembles. These chamber ensembles include:The Elm Street Duo (flute and horn), Euphorbia Duo (flute and clarinet), V3N Trio, and The Heights Consort (chamber ensemble). Participation in these ensembles has led to commissioning projects, unique performance opportunities, and continued inspiration in collaboration. Additonally, Mandy currently performs with professional ensembles in the Tampa Bay area including the Tampa Bay Symphony (principal flute) and Florida Wind Band (section flute and piccolo), and St. Petersburg Opera Company (flute). Her collaborative experiences across mediums have led to international performance opportunities in Italy, Austria, and Czech Republic.
Dr. Swaim completed a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree at the University of North Carolina Greensboro where her studies focused on flute performance with an emphasis in early flute pedagogy. She holds both a Master of Music degree and a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in music education from the University of North Carolina Greensboro, as well as a Bachelor of Science degree in music education from University of South Florida. Her primary instructors have included Dr. Kim McCormick, Dr. Deborah Egekvist, Dr. Carla Copeland-Burns, and Dr. Erika Boysen.
Dr. Francesca Arnone - Flute Faculty
Francesca Arnone is an active flute and piccolo soloist, chamber musician, orchestral player, and educator dedicated to connecting to people through music. An avid traveler, she has enjoyed pursuing this passion through music, appearing in Europe, Asia, and the Americas in such venues as St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Royal Northern College of Music, Royal Conservatory of Madrid, Benedetto Marcello Conservatory in Venice, Split Academy of Music in Croatia, and the Chicago Public Library. A featured guest artist at flute festivals around the country, she’s performed at numerous flute conventions and festivals, including those of the National Flute Association, British Flute Society, International Flute Festival of Costa Rica, and the Flute Society of Spain. In 2016, she performed at National Sawdust as part of the NY Phil Biennial.
An experienced orchestral musician, Francesca has served as Principal Flute of the Boise Philharmonic and the Waco Symphony; Co-Principal flute of the Missouri Chamber Orchestra and the Orquesta Sinfónica de la Universidad de Guanajuato (Mexico); and Piccolo with the Southwest Florida Symphony. She plays with a variety of orchestras and ensembles, including the Palm Beach Opera Orchestra, where she has been a member since 1997, Opera Tampa, and ensembleNEWsrq. Among the orchestras with which she has also played are the West Virginia Symphony, Florida Philharmonic, Shreveport Symphony, the Sarasota Orchestra, the Naples Philharmonic, Florida Grand Opera, the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, and the Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife in the Canary Islands. Her concerto appearances on flute, alto flute, and piccolo have ranged from works by Bach to Chen Yi.
Dr. Arnone has taught and directed flute seminars and high school camps for a variety of levels, and has also served on the faculties of Baylor, West Virginia, Boise State, and Idaho State universities. Former students hold performing and leadership positions with ensembles such as the Boston Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, and the President's Own, and as teachers and professors at numerous schools and colleges around the country. Arnone has also taught at several FlootFire camps in Texas, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Michigan, and music festivals in Italy. She teaches at the University of South Florida in Tampa, and also offers hybrid-online instruction utilizing innovative approaches. She has been an invited presenter at regional, national, and international College Music Society conferences, NafME, FMEA, TMEA, and WVMEA conventions, and has been an adjudicator for many state and national competitions, including those of the National Flute Association, Texas Flute Society, and MTNA.
Francesca released two recordings, Games of Light (December 2013) and Dedications (August 2014) on MSR Records, and a third, REACT, on Ravello (April 2016). With violinist Mikylah Myers, she established the flute and violin duo reACT in 2009 as a chamber ensemble dedicated to performing works by living composers. She collaborates regularly as a member of Amici Musicale, with oboist Amy Collins, and the Excelsa Duo, with guitarist Erol Ozsever. Arnone is a contributor and editorial board member of the Flutist Quarterly, the magazine of the National Flute Association, and recently served as program chair of the organization's 46th Annual Convention in Orlando, August 2018.
She earned flute performance degrees from Oberlin (BM), the San Francisco Conservatory (MM), and the University of Miami (DMA), where she studied with Robert Willoughby, Julia Bogorad-Kogan, Tim Day, and Christine Nield. While at San Francisco Conservatory she had the unique privilege of being a year-long participant in Bobby McFerrin’s “Creativity 101” class. She is an Altus Artist, appearing in clinics, masterclasses, workshops, and performances around the world.
When not teaching or playing flute, piccolo, or alto flute, she loves to cook, write, read (even just recipes, which she rarely follows), and travel.