We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Alexandra Langley a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alexandra, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I’ve always been drawn to the arts for as long as I have been alive. I knew I wanted to do something creative with my life. Before I went into music, I was into drawing. However, I fell in love with the flute the moment I first played it at 10 years old. From then on, I put the pencil and sketchpad down and picked up the flute and lots of music permanently. After I reached high and achieved high, I knew this was what I wanted to do with my life. I got into my dream school for my undergraduate work, which I graduated in May 2020 (at the beginning of the pandemic). Unfortunately, I was drowning in heavy mental health issues and burnout by the end of my undergrad that I decided to take a gap year away from music. I worked as an 8-5 receptionist for an insurance company for that year during the pandemic. While I was making a solid living there, I was lacking much joy and drive in my life without music. I felt lost without music and my flute. In that moment, I decided to dive head first back into music and reach for graduate school in the Fall of 2021. That was one of the best decisions of my life! I worked with an incredible professor. I was performing gorgeous repertoire and ensembles again. I met the love of my life during my grad school years. I began performing in several churches in the DFW Metroplex. I’m now teaching a small studio of flute students, which I plan to expand in the very near. I began publishing my flute arrangements independently and people seem to enjoy them. I’m praising God throughout all of it with this musical gift he gave me. Overall, the driving force of pursuing a creative path professionally was to fulfill my heart by giving back to my community with my music. I have full intention on doing so for as long as I live.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

“Heartfelt.” “Emotionally driven.” “Full of spirit and soul.” These are the phrases often used when describing the work of flutist, Alexandra Langley. Her ability to engage her emotions during any performance allows the audience to connect with her heart as a performer. She began her musical journey with the flute in 2008 in San Diego, California. Over 17 years, that passion has taken her and her audience on a journey all across Southern California and Texas as a flutist, teacher, and independent arranger. Her mission is to tell personal stories to her audience through her music and inspire others to do the same.
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Alexandra attends Texas Christian University for her Artist Diploma in Flute Performance, Class of 2025. She currently studies under Dr. Shauna Thompson. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Flute Performance from the University of North Texas, Class of 2020 and a Master’s Degree in Flute Performance, Class of 2023. She was the Gold Prize Winner in the 2022 San Diego Flute Guild Piccolo Specialty Competition. She performs as flutist and piccolist in the TCU Symphony Orchestra as of August 2022. From July 2020 to March 2023, she was a residential flutist and piccolist for the international Virtual Concert Band, having been selected as a soloist multiple times. She has participated as a member of the TCU Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band from 2021-2024, including the creation of the TCU 150th Anniversary Recording Project. In addition, she has performed many chamber concerts in woodwind trios and flute quintets. Alexandra has also played as principal flutist for the Stonebriar Community Church Symphony Orchestra, Wind Symphony, and Flute Choir. She has performed as part of the TCU Flute Choir at TMEA 2022 and NFA 2024 in San Antonio, TX. Today, she performs as the Principal Flute/Piccolo musician in the Travis Avenue Baptist Church Orchestra. She has also branched out to several churches in the DFW Metroplex to share her love for Christ as she performs with her Godly gift, such as Eagle Mountain International Church, First United Methodist Church of Fort Worth, and St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Dallas. Outside of performing, she holds a small private studio of students in the Burleson ISD, where she teaches her students how to approach the flute like a helpful tool for the rest of their lives and learn to perform from the heart.
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She currently runs a successful YouTube Channel, Instagram, and TikTok Platforms sharing her experience and talents through performances and covers. Her flute arrangements have been independently published for her viewers’ performing pleasure. It brings her joy that the viewers enjoy the sheet music and learn to play it themselves. She holds herself available for performing many events (weddings, funerals, parties, etc), teaching lessons to flute players young and old. Per her students and viewers’ requests, she writes arrangements for several flute pieces and covers from classical to rock to soundtracks for a wide variety of flute instrumentation for solo to mixed flute octets. It’s her method of showcasing the flute’s versatility to all audiences.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative musician is showing the boundless capabilities of the flute to all audiences (from the musically trained to the non-musically trained at all). With my 17 years of classical training, I perform historical to contemporary flute repertoire in many settings as a soloist to an orchestral musician. Outside of that, I write my own flute arrangements for Musicals (such as EPIC, Hamilton, In The Heights, and Tick, Tick…BOOM!) and rock songs (such as Evanescence and The Cure). I utilize the different types of flutes and new extended techniques to execute new effects. After doing all this, my colleagues and clients rave about how awesome it was to hear the flute in ways they’ve never expected. To the point where they want to play it and learn how to play it themselves from me. It truly warms my heart to see how my passion for music and flute inspires them to continue their musical journeys as well.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

The biggest lesson I had to unlearn is how to stop placing so much weight on other people’s opinions on me as a musician and learning how to trust my heart as a performer. As a young flutist, I was very much a people pleaser who wanted to do everything humanly possible to impress my mentors. I thought that if I followed every single tip they gave me, then I would be perfect. Now it is important to listen to your teachers as they are helping you grow. However, I took it to an extreme to where it drove me into a heavy mental block and sucked the joy out of music for me. As I grew into my own as a performer, I had to understand that I’m the one performing the piece and I’m making the creative decisions. I must stand my ground and be confident in my choices. I still listen and appreciate constructive criticism to help me grow and adjust. However, I learn to take it with a grain of salt and not let it drag me down a path of fear. Now, I am a proud performer and I’m always growing everyday.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.alexandralangleyflutist.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alangleyflute/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alangleyflute123
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCefzvbqxoMYEOlSIG3OaBmQ