DANA FESTIVAL Featured flutist follows her dreams in the wind

Mimi Stillman played Carnegie Hall in October 2000.
By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mimi Stillman of Philadephia knew at an early age what she wanted to be when she grew up. By the age of 6, she had set a course for herself, and now, at age 20, she has accomplished many of her goals.
Stillman, who has completed her bachelor's degree in music performance, is the featured artist at the ninth annual Dana Flute Festival Saturday at YSU.
At 12, Stillman was the youngest wind player ever admitted to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where she studied with Julius Baker and Jeffrey Khaner. That same year, she won the Young Concert Artists International Auditions, the youngest wind player ever to do so.
A natural thing: For Stillman, it was only natural that she take up a career in music. She credits her successes at such a young age to her environment as a child.
"My mom had played clarinet for years, and when I was 5, she taught me how to play recorder," she said. Her mother, Ronni Gordon Stillman, had taught her brother Alex, eight years her senior, clarinet a number of years earlier. Stillman, however, took a shine to the flute, and began practicing at age 6.
"My mom always took me to my brother's concerts, and I would sit in at the orchestra rehearsals," she continued. "I just fell in love with the sound of the flute, and less than a year later, I started playing. I loved performing, and was able to give recitals and I loved it."
Although there was some hard work involved, she explained that her love of musical performance never overshadowed the rest of her life.
"It wasn't like I was stuck in a room rehearsing and practicing for 27 hours a day," she said. "I did work hard, but I had a pretty normal childhood for the most part."
Really extraordinary: What was normal for Stillman would be considered extraordinary by most. The youngest person ever accepted into Curtis, she was one of only four flutists in the school of 160 students.
"It was a significant experience in my life," she explained. "There I was able to study with Baker and Khaner, who were wonderful teachers and truly supportive friends."
Her studies and work led to her New York debut at Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall in October 2000, and she also has given recitals in New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Washington, D.C., Texas, California, Italy and Switzerland. She has performed as soloist with The Philadelphia Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle in Durham, N.C., Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Orquesta Sinf & oacute;nica Carlos Ch & aacute;vez in Mexico City, Philadelphia Classical Symphony and other orchestras. Stillman is substitute flutist with The Philadelphia Orchestra and principal flute of the Mexico-Philadelphia Ensemble.
She has also given recitals and taught master classes for the National Flute Association, Mid-Atlantic Flute Fair (Flute Society of Washington), Arizona Flute Society, Mid-South Flute Society, Longy School of Music in Cambridge, MA, University of Maryland, University of Georgia, and Oklahoma City University. She is on the faculty of the Western Connecticut State University Summer Flute Institute and the International Clarinet and Saxophone Connection Festival at New England Conservatory.
She also teaches privately in Philadelphia, serves as a columnist for Flutewise Magazine UK and is a graduate student in history at the University of Pennsylvania.
Good advice: Her performances and teaching have put her in contact with students and performers of all ages and abilities, but she said she always seems to be able to give them the same advice.
"I think sometimes teen-agers relate to me a little more because I am so close to their age," she said. "But no matter who they are or what they want to be, I tell them the best thing to do is to expose themselves to as many subjects as possible. And then, when the time comes to pick something, they need to make sure they choose something they love to do and work very hard at it."