Hi There!
Every musician has a story to tell about their travels through life and the pivotal role music has played along the way, but what do you want YOUR path to look like? My own journey has twists and turns and more than a few surprises, but every step has given me something meaningful to share with you.
So Let's kick this journey off with some truths:
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I know what it’s like to sit last chair in band.
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I know what it’s like to practice to exhaustion and still not know if anything "stuck."
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I know what it's like to have no clue what type of private teacher to work with.
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I know what it's like to have overwhelming nerves ruin a performance or audition.
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I know what it’s like to have awesome, incredibly supportive parents with little to no background in music and no clue where to find the instruction I needed.
How do I know?
Because I lived it.
Interested to see how I got here?
Grab a comfy chair (and maybe a snack)
because its story time!
I grew up on Marco Island, a very small island off the coast of Florida. Even though neither of my parents had any musical training there was always music playing in my house. Most days I could be found with headphones on, shutting out the world around me or creating a soundtrack to my life with every type of music I could get my hands on.
When the music teacher at my elementary school started a small after school band, my parents signed me up immediately. I did not choose flute (yes, you read that right), but more flutists were needed in the band so a flutist I became. I WAS AWFUL. I could not get a sound and was dizzy and ready to quit by the end of the first week. There were no private instructors of any kind within a 50 mile radius of my home, but luckily my music teacher had a woodwind background and gave me some much-needed individual help.
Fast forward to middle school. I started off as last chair but through pure determination and lots of trial-and-error style practice I began moving up. Before long I was sitting first chair and participating in local and state honor bands and wind ensembles (when my nerves didn't derail me). My high school band director became an important mentor to me and I started giving serious consideration to becoming a music major in college. After struggling to be accepted into a music school because of my lack of formal flute training, I finally found college professors who were willing to take a chance on me.
I worked day and night trying to catch up to the other flutists in college who had benefited from years of private lessons in their youth. When one of my professors gave me a beginning flute student to teach, at first I panicked, then I read every book about flute playing in my college library and tried every idea on for size. Some ideas worked. Some didn't, but we were having a blast and that first teaching experience ended up being the catalyst for my career. Throughout my time in college I realized that even though I had a passion for teaching, it was also incredibly important to be an active performer and the best flutist I could be, so I took every job and audition that came my way.
I ended up finishing college with degrees in both Music Performance and Education. After graduation, I traveled all over the US and abroad as a member of several touring orchestras and chamber groups. Upon returning home to South Florida my original plan was to apply for a band director's position, but there was a hiring freeze in the Palm Beach County School District the year I returned.
I had been given a few private students from a local music store and little did I know that this was the beginning of a love affair with private teaching that would continue to this day. I discovered that LOTS of kids in local band programs had the same drive to excel that I did at their age but were lacking a flute-specific teacher to help ignite their excitement for playing.
And with that knowledge, a unique flute studio idea was born.
I began sharing all the formal training I had learned IN COLLEGE with my younger students, but in a more user friendly and entertaining format. I put together flute choirs and studio chamber ensembles and had the kids give more recitals than I had ever given in my college days. I was nudging them out of their comfort zones with the promise that extraordinary achievement was within their grasp if they mastered simple concepts in a specific, easy to understand manner. While my students happily accepted the new challenges, I had no idea if this curriculum would work or not.
BUT IT DID.
Before long I had 14 year old students playing better than some college undergraduates. My students performed for guest artists and flute conventions. They participated in competitions and masterclasses. They earned entry into prestigious music programs and universities all the while learning the importance of supporting each other both as fellow musicians, and friends. To this day my students are thriving, happy and proud of themselves. No teacher could ask for more.
Combining the lessons acquired from the humble place I started as a musician with all the experience I've gained along the way, I passionately devote my time and effort to raising the standards of what private music instruction can be.
Now I want to share all that knowledge with You!
Looking for something a little more formal?
Kimberly Calvi is an enthusiastic performer, collaborator, clinician, adjudicator and teacher with a passion for education.
As a teacher, Ms. Calvi is dedicated to the growth and development of young musicians using a style that is both engaging and inclusive of the whole person. She maintains a large and selective private studio in the Palm Beach/ Broward County, Florida area, where she specializes in pre-college flute instruction. In her studio, she creates individualized curriculum, organizes studio events such as guest artist masterclasses and summer flute camps, and encourages a strong sense of community among her musicians. Her students have consistently won competition prizes, superior ratings in Solo and Ensemble, and positions in prominent youth orchestras, summer festivals, all-state/district ensembles, and prestigious college music programs. Ms Calvi is a sought-after clinician and maintains Artist in Residence status at several of South Florida's elite music academies.
Kimberly Calvi is the founder and conductor of the Boca Raton Flute Choir, 2 popular ensembles consisting of accomplished flutists aged 12-21. The BRFC has performed in studio collaborations with flute choirs from both the University of Miami and the University of Florida. They have been invited to perform at the conventions of both the Florida Flute Association, and the National Flute Association. Additionally, the BRFC was selected twice by Sir James and Lady Jeanne Galway as the recipient of a studio masterclass and joint performance at the internationally renowned Festival of the Arts Boca.
In addition to her teaching, Ms. Calvi is the creator of Flutebuddies, a music mentorship program that seeks to unite experienced high school age flutists with younger musicians to foster meaningful bonds of friendship and help create a bright future for the next generation of music educators. She also established a Flutebuddies lesson scholarship program that offers children with special needs an opportunity to study privately at a greatly reduced cost, or free. This program was established in honor of her son, an inspirational musician with Down Syndrome.
As an orchestral and chamber musician, Kimberly Calvi has performed with the Southwest Florida Symphony, the Naples Philharmonic, the Northwestern Symphony Orchestra, the Covenant Chamber Symphony, the Edison Trio and the Florida Atlantic University Symphony. She has also performed with the touring orchestras for The Alan Parsons Project and The Moody Blues.
Ms. Calvi has competed and received recognition in competitions at the local, regional and national levels. She was a finalist in the Florida Music Guild Young Artist Showcase and a winner of the Southwest Florida Symphony's Young Artist Competition. As an educator, Kimberly has received the honor of being voted Teacher of the Year by the Youth Symphony of Palm Beach County. She has also been an adjudicator for the prestigious Pathfinder Award for music, and has judged the flute choir finalists for the Florida Flute Association high school honors choir.
Kimberly Calvi has degrees in both Music Performance and Music Education from Northwestern University and Florida Atlantic University. Her most influential teachers and mentors include Walfrid Kujala, Jane Prince, Robert Bush, Dennis Hill, Gary Schocker and Sir James and Lady Jeanne Galway.
In her free time, Kimberly loves to ride horses, teach Spin classes and explore the great outdoors. She lives in Boca Raton, Florida with her family and a plethora of rescue animals.
Fun Facts
I'm an avid equestrian and obsessive animal lover. I currently have 2 goofy and lovable flute studio dogs and two friendly yet highly judgmental studio cats (I came very close to choosing veterinary medicine over music at one point)
One of my teaching superpowers is a fervent devotion to the advancement of music education programs for children with disabilities or Special Needs.
My youngest son is an amazing baritone player and the first child with Down Syndrome to ever participate in a public school band program in South Florida. Yay Blake!