The Flute Examiner is an online publication & newsletter about the flute & flute pedagogy.
Laura Zabanal, editor
Laura Zabanal is based in Arlington, VA, where she serves as a Fife Instrumentalist in the U.S. Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps. Prior to the Army, she taught music theory at VanderCook College of Music and flute at The People’s Music School in Chicago and has maintained a private studio for over a decade. She was also editor of the Chicago Flute Club Pipeline magazine in 2020. Laura worked with Katherine Emeneth as part of the KE Creative team for over two years as both a copy editor for the company and a career coach for music professionals. She enjoys working with people of all backgrounds and ability levels and is passionate about empowering others and building community.
As a music history enthusiast, Laura is a subject matter expert in her unit’s library, the Center for Martial Music, and she plays traverso in the Historical Flute Ensemble. She previously led the Collegium Musicum early music ensembles at Florida State University, where she aspired to instill an unwavering love of the crumhorn in peers and students alike.
Dr. Zabanal earned degrees from Penn State University (BM Flute, BA French, MM Flute) and Florida State University (DM Flute, MM Historical Musicology). She is continually grateful for her mentors, including Eva Amsler, Naomi Seidman, Eleanor D. Armstrong, and Sarah Eyerly.
When she’s not playing a stick with holes while wearing a tricorn, she is likely at the park with her family being her favorite version of herself of all time—a mom.
Contact Laura at editor[at]thefluteexaminer.com
Keith Hanlon,
co-founder, website and newsletter manager, 9mm Piccolo, Deep Thoughts
Keith has always been creative and is equally at home in the concert hall as he is in his wood shop. He loves organizing things although he can sometimes obsess about putting labels on everything in sight.
Keith was born in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania but lives in Iowa City, Iowa with his fiancé and their cats, Harper and Jester, and their dog, Ginger. He enjoys woodworking and makes flute stands and custom pens out of exotic woods.
Keith earned his doctorate from West Virginia University and is an Army veteran. He enjoys teaching flute and co-founded the Queen City Flute Workshops, the Queen City Flute Choir, and the Iowa City Flute Choir. He previously taught applied flute and aural skills at Frostburg State University and Fairmont State University and has previously held positions at Virginia Commonwealth University and John Tyler Community College. He has recorded with the Keystone Winds and performed with Mountainside Baroque, the Richmond Symphony, The Richmond Philharmonic, Allegany Symphony Orchestra, Maryland Winds, and is currently the principal flute of the Ottumwa Symphony and flutist for the Derecho Winds Quintet. Keith works for Flute Authority as an Educational Consultant and Flute and Piccolo Technician, is on the Low Flutes Committee for the NFA, and is an artist and clinician for Trevor James Flutes.
Contact Keith at 9mmpiccolo[at]thefluteexaminer.com
Amanda Hoke,
co-founder, website & newsletter manager
Amanda is incessant tinkerer who loves the flute. Her love for the flute was sparked as a young child upon hearing a friend play “Yankee Doodle” in the open fields of her hometown in rural Kentucky. Her eclectic interests led her to start The Flute Examiner: the online publication and newsletter about flute. It combines her love for graphic design and music pedagogy.
Amanda earned her doctorate from the Florida State University where she studied with Eva Amsler. She has studied with Dr. Shelley Binder, Kathy Karr, and Dr. Stephanie Rea. She plays professionally with the flute/guitar duo, the Cypress Duo and the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra (NC).
As a public school educator, she is passionate about creating life-long musicians. She is a Kodály-inspired teacher. In the Spring of 2019, she was awarded the North Carolina Governor’s Discovery Award and the OAKE (Organization of American Kodaly Educators) Denise Beacon Scholarship to complete full Kodály certification.
Contact Amanda at info[at]thefluteexaminer.com
Rebecca Peterson,
communications coordinator
Rebecca has been an arts advocate for her entire life. Being a dancer, musician, and writer, she never misses an opportunity to create. Originally from Des Moines, Iowa, she graduated from the University of Iowa in 2019 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism, a minor in music, and a certificate in writing. During her time on campus, she was very active in the School of Music and School of Journalism and Mass Communication. She was a piccolo section leader and a four-year member of the Hawkeye Marching Band, Iowa Pep Band, and Iowa Concert Band. Rebecca was vice president of Ed on Campus, an organization geared toward individuals interested in the magazine and editorial industry. Her love for the Iowa City community grew after a two-year internship with Summer of the Arts, a nonprofit organization that brings art, music, and cultural events to the heart of the city. She actively wrote, created, and managed content for these organizations, as well as her independent projects.
Rebecca is currently the Marketing Strategist for Flute Authority in Coralville, Iowa. She works daily to bring an authentic and welcoming approach to the brand. She is grateful for the daily opportunity to combine her passions for the flute world and strategic communication. She is also an active member of the Iowa City Flute Choir.
Rebecca currently lives in North Liberty, Iowa with her boyfriend, Daniel, and cat, Missy. When she isn’t working with or playing the flute, she enjoys spending time with her friends and family, cheering for the Hawkeyes, listening to Adele on repeat, and enjoying the little things in life!
Kelly Wilson,
health and wellness
Kelly Mollnow Wilson loves all things related to flutes, teaching and learning, anatomy, and whole body movement! She teaches musicians to move with ease and comfort, which allows them to deliver musically convincing, effective performances. She teaches Body Mapping for Musicians at Oberlin Conservatory as a Licensed Body Mapping Educator and has presented workshops throughout the United States. Kelly teaches private flute lessons at the Oberlin Community Music School and her private home studio, and performs in Northeast Ohio. As the owner of Precision Performance and Therapy, she uses her skills as a Neurokinetic Therapy practitioner and Licensed Massage Therapist to help musicians with pain and discomfort. Kelly earned a Master of Music degree in Flute Performance from The Ohio State University and a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Baldwin-Wallace University. Her teachers include Katherine Borst Jones, Mary Kay Fink and Liisa Ruoho.She has nine years of teaching experience in the instrumental music department of the Wooster City Schools in Wooster, OH. She is the lead author/flute author of Teaching Woodwinds: A Guide for Students and Teachers (http://teachingww.com/) and serves on the NFA Performance Healthcare Committee. In her free time (is that a thing?), Kelly loves to read, run, hike, spend time outdoors doing anything, work out in the gym, listen to her favorite artists (Great Big Sea, Home Free, P!nk, and Van Halen) loudly and spend time with her husband and two children.
See www.precisionperformanceandtherapy.com.
Contact Kelly at wellness[at]thefluteexaminer.com
Daniel Shineberg,
music therapist
Dr. Daniel Shineberg, MT-BC is an active freelance flutist, teacher, and board-certified music therapist in Austin, Texas. As a performer, Dr. Shineberg currently travels, performs, and lectures frequently across the United States, having been invited to numerous universities and conservatories to provide outreach presentations, recitals, and masterclasses. His presentations, “The Mindful Flutist: Adapted Techniques in Trauma Informed Care for Studio Teaching,” and “From Les Six to Sobibor: Cultural Confluence in Leo Smit’s Sonata for Flute and Piano,” have garnered great acclaim.
As a board-certified music therapist and specialist in behavioral health, Dr. Shineberg specializes in trauma informed care, PTSD, neurodivergence, treating teenagers at risk, and substance abuse. His current research also includes the effects of utilizing Hip Hop and Rap in clinical sessions to decrease PTSD, and the social and emotional impacts of music in children’s television programming. He has presented his research at several national music therapy conferences, regional educational conferences, community outreach centers and non-profit organizations across the country.
