Ellen Huntington, flute
Lillian Lau, harp

They were invited to present a lecture-recital on “The Golden Age of Flute and Harp Repertoire” at the American Harp Society National Conference in Tacoma, Washington. Recent performances by the Lyrebird Ensemble include a live broadcast on the 98.7WFMT radio network, National Flute Association Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, Wisconsin Flute Festival, Illinois Flute Society, Chicago Flute Club, the American Harp Society chapter’s inaugural recital in Davenport, Iowa, North Park University, Augustana College, and the Fourth Presbyterian Church Noonday Concerts in Chicago. 

Ellen Huntington enjoys an active career as a soloist, chamber musician teacher, and orchestral musician. A Miyazawa Artist, she is second flutist with the Quad City Symphony Orchestra and has also performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra. She is a frequent recitalist and has been a featured artist at the Kennedy Center, Chicago Cultural Center, Augustana College, and the University of Chicago and performed at the National Flute Association Convention in New York City. Dr. Huntington is on the faculty of Loyola University Chicago and North Park University. Her summer teaching appointments include the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Flute Camp and the Annual Summer Flute Retreat at Illinois Valley Community College.

As the recipient of a Fulbright Grant, Ellen Huntington studied with Jean-Claude Gérard at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Stuttgart, Germany. Dr. Huntington received her Bachelor of Music degree from Northwestern University where she studied with Walfrid Kujala and Richard Graef.  She was awarded a University Fellowship to pursue her Master of Music degree with Katherine Borst Jones at The Ohio State University. She completed the Doctor of Music degree at Northwestern University with the dissertation, “The Flute and Harp Duo in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries.”

Dr. Huntington is a winner of the Northwestern University Concerto Competition and the Union League Civic and Arts Foundation Award. She serves on the editorial board of the Flutist Quarterly and as Treasurer of the Chicago Flute Club. Visit her website at www.ellenhuntington.com.

Lillian Lau is in demand as an orchestral musician, educator, solo harpist and chamber music recitalist in Chicago and the Midwest. Her extensive orchestral engagements include performing as guest principal harpist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and MusicNOW, Grant Park Music Festival, Ravinia Festival, National Repertory Orchestra (Colorado), Elgin Symphony Orchestra, in major concert halls throughout Europe, and as a soloist at the World Harp Congress in Switzerland. Lillian Lau is currently the Principal Harpist of the Quad City Symphony Orchestra.  She has participated in critically acclaimed performances with Placido Domingo, Samuel Ramey, John Williams, and popular touring artists in major venues.

Lillian Lau is actively involved in the harp community, serving on the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee for the American Harp Society and as a national summer institute co-chair. She is the assistant editor of the best-selling orchestral excerpt guide, Principal Harp Book 2 by Sarah Bullen of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. She maintains a full teaching studio in the Chicago area and the University of Chicago.

Lillian Lau holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees, graduate assistantship, as well as the prestigious Performer's Certificate, from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and a Professional Diploma in Orchestral Studies from the Chicago College of Performing Arts. Her principal teachers are Sarah Bullen and Distinguished Professor Susann McDonald.