Marco Granados
About
Marco Granados epitomizes the 21st century musician, having maintained an international career as an innovative chamber and orchestral musician, a concerto and recital soloist, and a master teacher and educator. He is one of the world’s leading flutists on Latin American music, and his diverse repertoire spans from folk to classical music.
Since his New York City debut recital at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall in 1991, Mr. Granados has gone on to perform in Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium for “Sonidos Latinos”, a celebratory festival of Latin American music. He has performed the Jacques Ibert Flute Concerto and the Mozart Concerto for Flute and Harp with the New York City Symphony at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall and Merkin Concert Hall, and has been a featured soloist at Wigmore Hall in London. Mr. Granados has performed with many of the leading symphony orchestras in Venezuela, his native country, premiering both the Jacques Ibert and Aram Khachaturian flute concerti with the Maracaibo and Venezuelan Symphony Orchestras. In Peru, he gave the South American premiere of the Concerto for Flute and Orchestra by Mexican composer Samuel Zyman with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Lima. As an international soloist, his performances have taken him all over the world, including South Africa, Slovenia, Scotland, Japan, and China to name a few.
In the United States, Mr. Granados has frequently been a featured artist at the National Flute Convention, flute associations, and multiple artist series. Highlights of his 2016 and 2017 season include solo recitals at the New Jersey Flute Society, the Colorado Flute Association, the Arizona Flute Society, and the Utah Flute Association. Other solo recitals this season include performances at the Wilson Center in Milwaukee, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Suzuki Association of the Americas Biannual Conference, Four Seasons Arts in Oakland, and the Chamber Music Society of Detroit.
Mr. Granados has served as principal flute with The New York City Symphony Orchestra, Opera Northeast, and L’Orchestra in the Berkshires, and as associate principal flute with the Venezuelan Symphony Orchestra. In New York City, he performed with the Mostly Mozart Festival, and on Broadway for the musicals Miss Saigon, Annie, Showboat, and The Sound of Music.
An avid chamber musician, Mr. Granados has performed at The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Chamber Music Society of Detroit, and with such distinguished artists as clarinetist Paquito D’Rivera, flutist William Bennett, flutist Ransom Wilson, harpist Nancy Allen, and oboist Heinz Holliger. He is a founding member of the chamber ensemble Classical Jam and has been a member of many critically acclaimed ensembles, among which are Triangulo, a Latin American Chamber Trio, and Quintet of the Americas. While with Quintet of the Americas, he performed at Carnegie Hall, The Bermuda International Music Festival, Chamber Music Northwest, Alice Tully Hall and Merkin Concert Hall.
On radio broadcasts, Mr. Granados has been featured nationwide as both a host and performer on NPR’s “Performance Today”. With host Fred Child, he was the featured artist for the program “Around New York” on WNYC. Other radio appearances include live performances on WQXR in New York City with Classical Jam. Mr. Granados can be heard on such recording labels as CRI, Chesky Records, MMC Records, Koch World, XLNT Records and Soundbrush Records. His solo recording are: “Music of Venezuela”, virtuoso flute music by living Venezuelan composers; “Luna”, a romantic serenade of songs from Venezuela and South America for flute and guitar; “Tango Dreams”, a compilation of works by Astor Piazzolla; and “Amanecer”, a collection of Venezuelan flute favorites.
A devoted educator, Mr. Granados is a professional teaching artist, having hosted, presented and developed programs for Lincoln Center Education, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, The New York Philharmonic, and Carnegie Hall to name a few. Mr. Granados has been on faculty at the Longy School of Music of Bard College in Boston. Most recently, he is the founder of The Granados Music Institute, an intensive training program for aspiring professional flutists.
Teaching Style
For my students, I have developed a simple and easy to understand methodology that helps students sound great right away, giving them tangible tools for playing better and making progress.
My focus is to give my students what they need to enjoy the art of making music and play with confidence and ease.
Curriculum
TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
My aim as a teacher is to create an environment of collaboration and free exploration of knowledge both aesthetic and scientific, so as to encourage students to be independent thinkers and problem solvers through all challenges technical, musical and artistic. I believe that everyone has the right and the potential to participate and excel in the art of making music, and that each student can strive to achieve excellence and mastery in the art of flute playing. Therefore I am ultimately interested in fostering the curiosity and potential of each student to blossom into the best version of themselves, not only for their own goals, but also for their communities.
CONCEPT BASED LEARNING
My teaching philosophy is grounded on the fundamental tenet that students can learn to become musically and artistically independent through the acquisition of concrete knowledge regarding the nature of the flute and its technique. I use concept based learning to lead my students through this process. In a concept based learning environment, the students learn fundamental principles about the use of the air on the instrument and then get to test, assess and evaluate tangible results with regards to specific aesthetic goals in the music.
METHODOLOGY & TECHNIQUE:
FLOW BASED APPROACH TO FLUTE PLAYING
For the past twenty years of my professional career, I have researched and developed a comprehensive flute methodology, whereby students learn specific techniques about the proper use of the air through a flow based technique. This flow based technique outlines the fundamental truth that the flute, being a low impedance instrument needs to receive consistent and even air flow in order to achieve resonance, proper intonation, wide dynamic range and beautiful phrasing. Students using this technique learn what it takes to develop beautiful, warm sounds, virtuosic techniques and free unrestricted ways of making music applicable to all styles and genres.
ASSESSMENT
Because concept based learning requires thorough and continual assessment of the concepts learned and the integration of said concepts into a usable technique, I require that my students keep the following materials:
1- Lesson Reviews: Student record all private lessons in audio/video format and write weekly lesson reviews. This encourages them to really hear the changes that take place during their lessons, and teaches them how to listen.
2- Practice Journals: Student need to maintain an ongoing practice journal recording their noticing of concepts learned and questions that arise thereby fostering awareness and self agency.
In addition to the personal assessments the students make in their lesson reviews and practice journals, my students are also required participate “Assessment Lessons” once a month. In this assessment lesson, each student teaches a fellow student in the studio the same concepts they are learning in their private lessons. By teaching others what they are learning, the students then learn to internalize key concepts they are striving to master through helping others. They also become aware of their own questions and aspects in their learning that still require attention and understanding.
REPERTOIRE - GENRE INDEPENDANCE
It is my belief and part of my teaching philosophy that the students need to be well versed in a wide range of pieces and excerpts from the classical repertoire as well as different genres of music and improvisation. I firmly believe that students can achieve fundamental mastery of the instrument and go on to become confident, masterful musicians by encouraging repertoire each student is intrinsically motivated to play, and projects they would like to develop. I also encourage and often require my students to memorize their music so they move away from “reading” the notes and internalize sound and phrasing.
SUMMARY
I am dedicated to helping my students improve and have their goals realized. I am encouraged and confident that the tools I have to offer allow me to do this, and students can notice and track real growth in their playing at every level. It is equally important to me to create a supportive, hopeful environment where students aren’t competing amongst each other, but rather are all striving to achieve excellence and explore their musical potential.
Credentials & Affiliations
National Flute Association
Chamber Music America