Flute
Phone: (239) 826-0817
E-Mail: blarsen@fgcu.edu
Office: Music Modular 3

William Larsen has been the principal flute of the Southwest Florida Symphony for more than twenty-four years.  Bill has acted as soloist with the symphony on such works as Vivaldi’s Concerto for Piccolo in C Major, Bach’s Suite in b Minor for Flute and Strings, Griffes’ Poem for Flute and Orchestra and a latin jazz arrangement by Jeff Tyzik of Bach’s Sicilliano from his Sonata in Eb.  Mr. Larsen in conjunction with his wife Beth Larsen, also a flutist, has performed Bach’s Brandenburg No. 4.

Bill earned his Bachelors of Music in Performance from Arizona State University and his Master of Music in Performance from the College-Conservatory of Music, associated with the University of Cincinnati.  His teachers include Jose Corral (Phoenix Symphony), Eric Hoover (ASU), Walfrid Kujala (Chicago Symphony), Kyril Magg (Cincinnati Symphony), William Bennett (International soloist) and Peter Lloyd (former principal of the London Symphony).

The flute that Mr. Larsen plays is handmade to his specifications by Chris Abell of Abell Flutes in Asheville, North Carolina.  The instrument is an entirely modern instrument in terms of scale, bore and key design, it just happens to be made of grenadilla wood, like that used for clarinets and oboes.