Blithe Duo: flute and flute

The Blithe Duo engages audiences with the brilliancy of two flutes through their dynamic exchange of colors and virtuosity. Fusing the playing styles of flutists Natalie Haworth-Liu and Meerenai Shim, the Blithe Duo performs repertoire ranging from the grace and virtuosity of Mozart and Kuhlau to the spiciness and intrigue of Christopher Caliendo and Shulamit Ran. In addition to sharing their passion for music as performers, both women are also dedicated educators, committed to enriching the lives of children and adults.

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The Blithe Duo engages audiences with the brilliancy of two flutes through their dynamic exchange of colors and virtuosity. Fusing the playing styles of flutists Natalie Haworth-Liu and Meerenai Shim, the Blithe Duo performs repertoire ranging from the grace and virtuosity of Mozart and Kuhlau to the spiciness and intrigue of Christopher Caliendo and Shulamit Ran. In addition to sharing their passion for music as performers, both women are also dedicated educators, committed to enriching the lives of children and adults.
Flutist Natalie Haworth-Liu is an active performer, instructor and clinician in the Bay Area. Recently appointed Acting Principal Flute of the Palo Alto Philharmonic, Natalie has performed in several chamber, opera, and symphony orchestras in Oregon and the Bay Area and in solo and chamber recitals. She is also one half of the Blithe Duo with flutist, Meerenai Shim. Natalie holds a Bachelor of Music Degree from the University of Oregon, where she graduated with distinction and was a scholarship and award-winning student. Her primary teachers include Dr. Richard Trombley and French flutist Isabelle Chapuis-Starr. She has performed in master class with Susan Milan, Patrick Gallois, Michel Hasel, and Robert Stallmam. A passionate advocate for arts education, Natalie has worked extensively in Arts Administration and Educational Outreach with several Bay Area arts organizations, including, Ballet San Jose, sjDanceco, and the Ives String Quartet. In addition to running a successful flute studio, Natalie is in demand as an adjudicator and clinician.
Meerenai Shim is a freelance flutist and teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area. She maintains a large studio of private flute students at the Meerenai Shim Flute School in Sunnyvale and at the Community School of Music and Arts in Mountain View. Her teaching is influenced by the principles of Body Mapping and the practical application of human anatomy to allow musicians to move freely while performing and practicing. Meerenai's flute teachers include Linda Lukas (San Francisco Symphony) and Mary Stolper (Grant Park Symphony). She has performed in master classes of Liisa Ruoho, Trevor Wye, Robert Stallman, Donald Peck and Michel Debost. She also studied orchestral conducting at the Aspen Music Festival and Eastern Music Festival. Her conducting teachers include Paul Vermel, Murry Sidlin, and Sheldon Morgenstern. Meerenai received a Bachelor of Music degree in Flute Performance from DePaul University in Chicago and a Master of Music degree in Flute Performance from San Francisco State University. She is training to become a certified Andover Educator in order to teach the Body Mapping course, What Every Musician Needs to Know About the Body.