Samantha Mitchell has been studying flute for 14 years. Originally from Naperville, Illinois, Samantha is now a senior at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC), where she studies with Ebonee Thomas, second flute and piccolo of the Dallas Opera. Samantha is pursuing a Bachelor’s of Music in flute performance and currently plays in the UMKC wind symphony and symphonic orchestra. In October 2023, Samantha will be competing in the final round of the UMKC Concerto Aria Competition and performing a solo piccolo piece at the Chicago Flute Club Festival. This past summer, Samantha studied at the Eastern Music Festival in their Young Artist Orchestra. Samantha has also gotten the opportunity to perform in many flute and piccolo masterclasses with renowned artists. Most recently, she has played in masterclasses with Demarre McGill, Jennifer Gunn, Jim Walker, Thomas Robertello, Alexa Still, and Emma Gerstein. 

In high school, Samantha played flute and piccolo in the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra (CYSO), as well as the CYSO Ambassador Program. During that time, her woodwind quintet had the opportunity to tour many inner city k-12 schools and perform and offer workshops to amazing students in undeveloped music programs. Samantha hopes she can continue to have more opportunities like this in the future, as she continues to teach privately.

After graduating, Samantha plans on pursuing a Master’s degree in flute performance as well as auditioning for professional orchestras. Aside from playing the flute, Samantha also is a former tuba player, where she played in band throughout grade school. She also currently loves playing double bass in jazz ensembles at UMKC.