2027 AFS Flute Festival Featuring
Jill Felber & Claudia Anderson flute duo, ZAWA!
March 6, 2027, Austin Community College, Highland Campus

ZAWA! is the longest-standing professional flute duo of our time. Musical soulmates Jill Felber and Claudia Anderson  merged artistic forces in 1997 and, from their first commission onwards, expanded the literature, power, and expressive range of two flutes together over the next quarter century.  running the edgE by Jennifer Higdon (commissioned in 1997) burst open the expressive possibilities of two flutes together and laid the foundation for ZAWA!’s commitment to expand this repertoire and to reflect a wealth of contemporary styles.  Their arrangements of Claudio Monteverdi and Jules Mouquet exhibit sheer beauty of sound and breathtaking lyricism at the other end of the expressive spectrum.  Collectively, ZAWA!’s diverse repertoire displays the drama, versatility and humor they are known for, all delivered with high-spirited energy and impact. 

 

In 2008 ZAWA! commissioned flutist-composer Cynthia Folio to write Z3 for two flutes and piano (2008) and recorded it on Cynthia’s chamber music CD Inverno Azul in 2014 (BCM&D Records). ZAWA!’s focus on the environment resulted in a major double concerto in 2014 by Cynthia Folio, Winds for Change.  This 14-minute work, a meditation on the effects of climate change, began scored for string orchestra, percussion, and electronics. Premiered at Grinnell College in 2014, it evolved over the next years to its present form, with 9 flutes replacing the strings. ZAWA! and colleague Angeleita Floyd (as conductor) have toured with this version since 2017, involving flute studios around the country and flute festivals worldwide, that comprise the flute orchestra and often include professional and high-level amateurs in the community. This inclusive approach - perfectly suited to regional, national and international flute society festivals - has captured the essence of collaborative performance at its most rewarding for all. 

 

ZAWA! has appeared at New York's Carnegie Hall, London's Wigmore Hall, and colleges and universities nationwide. Recognized as a unique and brilliant partnership, they have been guest artists at national and international flute festivals and have enjoyed headliner performances spanning 2001 to 2024 at the National Flute Association annual conventions. In December of 2023, ZAWA! released their album ZAWA! Remix to all major streaming services.

 

ZAWA! enters its 30th season in 2026-27 with a new and eclectic program of works for two flutes and electronic media. Jennifer Higdon’s original dedication in the score of running the edgE, “to Jill and Claudia, always running the edge,” proved prophetic over the next quarter century. ZAWA!’s commissions, arrangements, and programs with  repertoire ever pushing boundaries have led to ZAWA! Reimagined. Their new program includes enticing scores from composers both known and emerging, and electronic versions of pieces from earlier repertoire. Follow their latest touring news at zawaflutes2.com 

 

https://miyazawa.com/artist/zawa/ 

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CLAUDIA ANDERSON is known for her originality and brilliance as a solo and chamber music performer across the U.S. She is a founding member of the innovative flute duo ZAWA! (with Jill Felber), the summer flute intensive Passion Flute: Foundations for Creative Performing, and is principal flute with the Waterloo-Cedar Falls (IA) Symphony. Currently flute faculty in Rocky Ridge Music’s summer 

College Intensive program, she is a member of their National Advisory Council and  Chair of the RRM Programming Innovators Circle. She has taught at the Universities of Iowa and Northern Iowa, Ithaca College and the University of California at Santa Barbara. In May 2025 she retired from a long tenure on the music faculty at Grinnell College. 

 

Claudia’s solo project, Glass Ceilings, commissioned several high-profile women composers and flutists to write pieces for flute(s) solo and electronic media, with its originating theme of gender inequality expanded to embrace the effects of Covid-19 and racial tensions of 2020. Anderson’s own work Glass Ceilings won the NFA’s Newly Published Music Competition in 2023. She has recorded for Centaur Records, CRI, Zawa!music, and cdbaby.  Claudia and Jill Felber’s duo ZAWA! is the longest-standing professional flute duo of our time. From their first commission by Jennifer Higdon onwards, they expanded the literature, power, and expressive range of two flutes together over more than two decades.  running the edgE by Jennifer Higdon (commissioned in 1996) laid the foundation for ZAWA!’s commitment to expand this repertoire and to reflect a wealth of contemporary styles. ZAWA!’s commissions, arrangements, and programs with repertoire ever pushing boundaries have led to ZAWA! Reimagined in 2025, a new program of works for two flutes and electronic soundtracks. Follow their latest touring news at zawaflutes2.com (http://zawaflutes2.com/)

 

Claudia is a Miyazawa Artist, performing on their 50th anniversary model. She is also a member of the Pettry Piccolo Artist family, performing on a Pettry Prestige piccolo.

 

 

JILL FELBER is an internationally acclaimed recording artist, dynamic flute recitalist, innovative chamber musician, legendary contemporary music specialist, and a distinguished flute teacher who inspires and motivates students worldwide. Jill Felber has been hailed for her "beautifully finished performances" by The Detroit News and has been praised by Musical America for her "handsome performance.”  The British journal PAN writes, “Felber was stunning…not only refined but also full of fun.”  "The incredible flutist…the dazzling flutist…the radiant flutist Jill Felber" (The Independent, Santa Barbara), is known to excite audiences everywhere in concerts and recitals “played with flair" (The Los Angeles Times). “The outstanding American flutist Jill Felber” (Gazeta Rybnicka, Poland) is acclaimed worldwide for her “consummate musicianship” (Fanfare).

 

Ms. Felber has performed solo recitals, chamber music, and concertos in thirteen countries on five continents and has held residencies in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia, Mexico, France, Switzerland, Great Britain, Italy, Canada, Brazil, Ecuador, Costa Rica and the United States. Also a tireless promoter of new music, Ms. Felber has inspired many composers to write solo and chamber works for her and for her flute duo ZAWA!, and is currently engaged in several commissioning projects. She has premiered over six hundred works for the flute and has released world premiere recordings for Centaur Records, CRI, Neuma Records, BCM+D Records, Albany Records and ZAWA!MUSIC.

A founding member of ZAWA!, the longest-standing professional flute duo of our time, musical soulmates Jill Felber and Claudia Anderson merged artistic forces in 1997, and from their first commission onwards, expanded the literature, power, and expressive range of two flutes together for over 25 years.  running the edgE by Jennifer Higdon (commissioned in 1996) burst open the expressive possibilities of two flutes together and laid the foundation for ZAWA!’s commitment to expand this repertoire and to reflect a wealth of contemporary styles.  Their arrangements of Claudio Monteverdi and Jules Mouquet exhibit sheer beauty of sound and breathtaking lyricism at the other end of the expressive spectrum.  Collectively, ZAWA!’s diverse repertoire displays the drama, versatility and humor they are known for, all delivered with high-spirited energy and impact. 

In demand as a guest clinician because of her extraordinary motivational teaching style, Ms. Felber taught for 44 years at the collegiate level and was Professor of Flute at the University of California, Santa Barbara from 1989-2024, where she earned the Distinguished Teaching Award. Ms. Felber was inducted into the Port Clinton High (OH) School Hall of Fame in 2025. Highly regarded by her peers around the world, Ms. Felber currently presents her popular EXTREME MAKEOVER: FLUTE EDITION and WHOLE FLUTES® seminars throughout the country and frequently tours with pianist Dianne Frazer, showcasing their arranged “Fusions” at conventions, flute societies and universities. Holding degrees from University of Michigan and Bowling Green State University, Ms. Felber has taught on the faculties of Ohio University, Capital University, and Wright State University. Her teachers include Keith Bryan, Judith Bentley, Samuel Baron, and James Galway.