Norman Menzales
FLUTE
Filipino-American flutist Norman Menzales joined the Great Falls Symphony of Montana
as Principal Flute in September 2012 and holds the same position with the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra and Colorado’s Fort Collins Symphony.
Praised for his “...warm, attractive sound” by the Winston-Salem Journal, Menzales has performed with the Buffalo Philharmonic in New York, Chattanooga Symphony, and the Western Piedmont Symphony in North Carolina, among others.
He has also appeared at the Aspen, Bowdoin, Colorado College, Eastern and Sarasota Music Festivals, and shared the stage with notable conductors and performers including Marin Alsop, Joshua Bell, Renee Fleming, Alan Gilbert, Dame Evelyn Glennie, Gil Shaham, Leonard Slatkin, and David Zinman.
As a soloist, Menzales was awarded top prizes in Young Artist Competitions sponsored by the Atlanta, Central Ohio, Pittsburgh, and Rochester Flute Associations and performed concerti with the Fort Collins Symphony, North Carolina School of the Arts Solisti Symphony, the Eastman Chamber Orchestra, and Ars Nova Musicians of New York.
An enthusiastic educator, Menzales is on the music faculty at the Interlochen Flute Institute and Western Nebraska Community College. He also maintains a private studio in Montana and gives online lessons to students across the country.
Menzales is a founding member and president of the Montana Flute Association, a non-profit organization whose goal is to cultivate, promote, sponsor, and develop the appreciation of the flute and flute music among its members and the general public.
Born in Macon, Georgia, Menzales has a Bachelor of Music from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts where he studied with Dr. Tadeu Coelho and a Master of Music and Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music where he served as a teaching assistant for world-renowned flutist and pedagogue, Bonita Boyd.
When not playing the flute, Norman enjoys cooking, binge-watching tv shows, reading, and spending as much time as he can with his husband.