Karen Gifford
Instructor of Flute
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Biography
Karen Gifford began teaching flute at Pacific University in 1993, and has more than 20 years experience performing and teaching flute professionally. Karen credits her style of playing and teaching to a wide variety of styles from the many famous teachers she studied with—Roger Stevens and Anne Giles of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Walfrid Kujala of the Chicago Symphony, Tim Day and Robin McKee of the San Francisco Symphony, Thomas Nyfenger, William Bennett, Trevor Wye, Robert Aitken, James Pellerite, and John Wion—plus many more lesser known but equally fabulous teachers. Karen earned her Bachelors degree at the University of Southern Calinfornia, where she was flutist of the USC Scholarship Quintet. She earned her Masters degree from Northwestern University. Additionally, Karen performed and studied at the Music Academy of the West, New World Festival of the Arts, Banff School of Fine Arts, and with the National Repertory Orchestra. Karen went on to doctoral studies at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where she performed with the faculty woodwind quintet, faculty chamber orchestra, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, and Madison Symphony. Since moving to Portland, Karen has performed with the Oregon Symphony, Portland Opera Orchestra, Sinfonia Concertante, and the Britt Festival Orchestra. She has continued to teach fulltime.