We recently connected with Julianna Eidle and have shared our conversation below.

Julianna, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

My journey has been shaped by lots of small risks. Classical music as an industry is steeped in tradition, a canon that doesn’t always reflect my values around art and humanity. (My training focussed almost exclusively on Western Art Music, predominately highlighting white, male, European, musical voices of the 17th-20th centuries.) From the first moment I gained autonomy around programming (choosing what music I play,) I began dipping my toes outside of the standard repertoire. I experimented with pieces inspired by jazz, works that featured electronic media, and explored unusual flute sounds. Beat boxing through the instrument? Sign me up! In these non-traditional works, I began to find my voice. Moreover, I could support composers whose identity, values, and life experiences looked more like the world around me. It’s hard to imagine where I would be without taking those small programming risks many years back. When I think of my working life now – from running new music ensembles, presenting Deep Listening pieces, and guiding children to connect with their inner self through art making – it is supremely inspired by those small risks to step off the beaten path.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m a performer, educator, and organizer currently based in Cincinnati, Ohio. My primary artistic medium is playing the flute. I come from a traditional classical music background (studying in conservatories and playing in orchestras,) but these days my work predominantly revolves around creating and organizing new art experiences and working with students throughout the Midwest. My performing and organizing work mainly focuses on new or contemporary music. You can think of this as a sub-genre of art music, defined by pieces written as early as today (or tomorrow or next week depending on how you think time works) or as late as the mid 20th century. I love to play music with experimental sounds, electronic media, interdisciplinary elements, and collaborative features. Along with some friends, I run two new music ensembles in Cincinnati: New Downbeat and Cincinnati New Music. Rooted in a foundation of intersectional feminism, New Downbeat champions gender-marginalized musicians as an act of equity and performs works written by living composers to create unique, never before heard pieces. Cincinnati New Music is a collective of artists dedicated to the performance and cultivation of contemporary music. I am also a Performing Artist with the Contemporary Art Music Project in Tampa, Florida and spend my summers in Arkansas as the Second Flutist with the Opera in the Ozarks Orchestra. If you have any ideas for collaborative art events, don’t hesitate to reach out!

One of my favorite projects has been a collaboration with composer Ábel M.G.E. In 2020, with funding through a University of Cincinnati Research Fellowship for Diverse and Interdisciplinary Study, I commissioned Ábel to write a work for flute and electronics that incorporated audio interviews of my great-grandmother, Sadie, and family discussing their immigration to the US from present-day Ukraine. The piece Ábel created, “Sadie’s Story,” artfully explores my family’s journey, how they escaped violent threats of anti-semitism, and rosy memories of optimism. I’ve been lucky to perform “Sadie’s Story” a number of times, most recently at the 2023 BMI Composer Awards, at which Ábel was recognized for this work the year before. The piece is so poignant in regards to today’s global conflicts. If you have time, give it a listen and consider how you can support those in need around the world. Civilians in Gaza and the Ukraine desperately need our support.

In addition to my performing and organizing work, I’m also a passionate educator. I teach private flute lessons to students throughout the greater Cincinnati area and work with Music Education undergraduates at the University of Cincinnati as an Instructor of Woodwind Methods. I know it’s cheesy, but I really feel like I learn as much from my students as I teach them! This year, I started to expand my teaching practice in a number of ways. This spring I completed Deep Listening certification intensive I through Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. (Deep Listening is a sounding, moving, and dreaming practice developed by late composer Pauline Oliveros to explore the conscious nature of listening.) This summer I became a My True SELF Facilitator and started teaching classes to K-3 students throughout Cincinnati. (My True SELF is a youth-focused mind-body program created by Cincinnati non-profit The Well that teaches social emotional learning concepts through art-making.) This fall I also started the two-year training process to become a certified Yoga Teacher and went back to music school! I’m currently in the Doctor of Musical Arts flute performance program at the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. These integrative approaches to being and to art making are shaping my craft as a teacher and performer. I’m excited to see where these new practices take me!

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Music making and sounding are innately human. I would even go as far as to say music making is a human right. My goal is to bring as many different voices to the stage as possible. Whether the “stage” is in a classroom, a concert hall, or a dusty neighborhood bar, we all deserve to show up authentically and speak with our truest voice.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

One of my biggest issues with the classical music industry is the frequency at which predatory voices are elevated and kept on a pedestal. Whether its music directors, teachers, or collaborators, there are an astounding number of exploitative people (very frequently men who are exploitive of gender-marginalized people) with lucrative careers and in positions of power within the music industry. Like many women today, I’m a survivor of sexual violence. After I was assaulted, it was a very dark time for me, but that experience eventually led me to my current work around diverse programming and organizing. When I couldn’t find where my voice belonged in the old boys’ club that is classical music, I put together a full recital of works by women composers. I was so humbled when this recital received the highest honors at my alma mater: the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music Performer’s Certificate. When I moved to Cincinnati, I continued looking for ways to celebrate women’s voices within the music industry, which is how I found my incredible friends and collaborators at New Downbeat! I am so proud of myself for acting with creativity and resilience in the face of adversity – an action I’m sure all creatives can relate to.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.juliannaeidle.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliannaeidle
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julianna-eidle/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzKpSxrZC7R6SHyLNYWcvfQ
• Other: https://www.newdownbeat.com/ https://www.instagram.com/cincinnatinewmusic https://contemporaryartmusicproject.org/

Image Credits
Photos by Zac Audette, Hollie Greenwood, Gyuri Kim, Noah Plake, and Axel Retif