About
Bio
Admired for her rich tone and fluid technique throughout the instrument’s range, flutist Julia Barnett is an active performer and teacher in Southern California. As a soloist she has performed with the San Diego Symphony, San Diego Chamber Orchestra, and the UCLA Symphony. She has performed with chamber ensembles such as the LA Grand Ensemble, Spirati Woodwind Quintet, and is a member of the Coastal Winds, Les Flutes des Salon flute quartet, and Duo Flautas Frescas. Her orchestral ensemble work has included the LA Dream Orchestra, the La Grange Symphony, and she is currently a member of the Midland/Odessa Symphony and Chorale as well as the Billings Symphony. In addition to her performing career, Dr. Barnett enjoys directing the Avanti Flute Choir, a performing flute choir composed of amateur through professional musicians. She completed her Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree in flute performance at the University of California at Los Angeles, where she studied with Sheridon Stokes. For her Master of Music, Dr. Barnett studied with Christina Jennings at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and attended Rice University for her Bachelors Degree under the tutelage of Leone Buyse.
She was a finalist in the 2020 American Prize Competition, received 2nd Place in the 2021 Maverick Flute Competition, has received 3rd place in the San Diego Young Artist Gold Competition, and was named an Elaine Krown Klein Scholar at UCLA. She has been a winner in the San Diego Symphony Concerto Competition, as well as the La Jolla Symphony Young Artist Competition, a two-time finalist in the Coleman Chamber Music Competition, a recipient of the Mary Ellen Hale Lovett Traveling Fellowship while at Rice University and a winner in the Musical Merit Foundation of San Diego competition. Dr. Barnett has also won scholarships to attend the Brevard Music Festival, as well as the Pierre Monteux School of Orchestra and Conducting.
Dr. Barnett's interest in new music led to the commission and premiere of Jacob Barton's ¡AY! ¡AY! ¡AY! ¡AY! in 2006, a work for flute, percussion and kalimba, based upon Mexican folk songs. She has also premiered numerous new works in ensembles and as a soloist, most recently in February of 2016 with the Los Angeles premiere of John Steinmetz's Whispers for flute, bassoon, and piano. Her desire to share a variety of cultures with her audiences resulted in the world premiere of Panagiotis Theodossiou’s “The Passage,” based upon a Greek play, which used alto flute, viola, and piano to explore the different scenes of the play. As a member of Duo Flautas Frescas, she just premiered Perfect Storm for flute, piccolo, and piano by Daniel Dorff in April of 2023. She also has a passionate interest in both studying and performing classical flute music by Mexican composers. Her doctoral dissertation, "Performing Practice in Roberto Peña's Concierto para Flauta y Orquesta: Discovering Mexico's Contemporary Classical Flute Music," focuses on the works of Roberto Peña, a flutist and composer from Chiapas, Mexico whose works for flute are a wonderful addition to the flute repertoire.