A native of Conway, Arkansas, Mary Hales is an avid performer, studio instructor, and writer.

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Passionate about new music, she has participated in many world premieres for solo flute, flute and electronic accompaniment, and woodwind quintet. In addition, in the spring of 2014, Ms. Hales performed in the world premiere of “Crossover” by David Gillingham as a member of the University of Central Arkansas Wind Ensemble.

 

She has served as principal and co-principal flute of the University of Missouri Wind Ensemble, and as rotating principal flute in the MU Philharmonic Orchestra, both in Columbia, MO. Prior to her time at Mizzou, she served as rotating principal flute of the Conway Symphony Orchestra, while also a member of the Symphony’s board. Additionally, Ms. Hales performed for four years with the University of Central Arkansas Wind Ensemble, and served as principal player in the fall of 2016. While a member of the UCA Wind Ensemble, she had the honor to perform in the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Hall in Dallas, Texas. Under the batons of Dr. Ricky Brooks, Dr. Barry Ford, Maestro Israel Getzov, and Maestro Thiago Tiberio, Ms. Hales has performed a vast range of large ensemble pieces, including works by Percy Grainger, Ottorino Respighi, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Franz Schubert, and Danny Elfman’s music from the films of Tim Burton, among others. She has also performed in masterclass for Chris James, Viviana Guzmán, and Andrea “Fluterscooter” Fisher.

 

Ms. Hales has cultivated a private studio through UCA’s Community School of Music, where she taught beginners through advanced students. Her students have climbed the ranks of Dixie Band Camp, the most competitive summer band camp in the southern United States, and have been selected as alternates for Arkansas Region bands. Since September of 2018, she has also begun teaching privately through the University of Missouri’s Community Music Project.

 

Since September of 2017, Ms. Hales has maintained a WordPress blog called #FluteFridays, where each Friday, she discusses practice tips and career development techniques, and also analyzes flute technique and literature. She has also interviewed flutists such as Viviana Guzmán of UC-Santa Cruz, Dr. Julee Kim Walker of Texas A&M University-Commerce, and Ágnes-Klára Sándor, co-principal flutist of the State Philharmonic Orchestra Târgu-Mureş in Romania. In June of 2018, Ms. Hales began writing a regular column entitled The Caffeinated Flutist for The Flute View, which can be seen each month on the publication’s website. She discusses entrepreneurship, graduate school, and how the two coalesce.

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Ms. Hales holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Flute Performance from the University of Central Arkansas, and is currently working towards her Master of Music in Flute Performance at the University of Missouri. Her primary teachers are Carolyn Brown and Alice K. Dade. In her free time, she can be found writing, or enjoying the various works of her favorite composer, Gustav Mahler. She is also an advocate for epilepsy awareness and education. She currently resides in Columbia, MO.

 

 

Ms. Hales performs on a solid silver Muramatsu GX flute, and a wooden Yamaha piccolo.