Department of Music Faculty and Staff

Heidi Álvarez is Professor of Music at Western Kentucky University, where she has taught flute, flute chamber music, and music theory since 2002. She has been a member of the Orchestra Kentucky Bowling Green Flute Section for over 20 years and is a mother of three. Throughout her career, she has performed as a flute soloist and has taught masterclasses across the United States as well as in Europe, Central America, and Canada. Dr. Álvarez released compact disc recordings that feature commissioned flute chamber music: Flute Chamber Music by Michael Kallstrom; Volume One (CRC 2911) released in 2007 and Volume Two released in 2012, both on the Centaur Records Label; The Light Wraps You on the MSR Classics Label (MS 1217). She served as Treasurer and a board member for the Flute Society of Kentucky from 2005 to 2018 and served as the Site Host and Program Chair for five of these festivals. As an avid supporter of up-and-coming flutists and composers, Dr. Álvarez is a commissioning member of the Flute New Music Consortium, is an active member of the National Flute Association, and is a lifetime member of the Chicago Flute Club, the Flute Society of Kentucky, and the Mid-South Flute Society. She is the Chair of the National Flute Association Research Committee (2024-2028), the Coordinator of the National Flute Association Graduate Research Competition (2024-2028), as well as the Coordinator of the Mid-South Flute Society Young Artist Competition and Mid-South Flute Society Masterclass Competition. As a sponsor of Western Kentucky University’s devoted music students, she is the faculty advisor for the Western Kentucky University Omicron Omicron Chapter of Delta Omicron and the Secretary of the Theta Eta Chapter of Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honorary Society. Dr. Álvarez holds degrees in flute performance from The Oberlin Conservatory of Music (B.M.) and from The Florida State University (M.M. and D.M.). Her former flute teachers include Michel Debost, Kathleen Chastain, and Charles DeLaney. Prior to her appointment in Bowling Green, Dr. Álvarez was the Principal Flutist in the North State Symphony and taught flute and numerous courses in music theory and musicology at California State University, Chico.

heidi.alvarez@wku.edu