Interview with Maria Kosa of The Austrian Flute Association
Maria Kósa is a young entrepreneur of Hungarian descent based in Vienna, with excellent management qualities and pedagogical skills. For almost 10 years she has been running her self founded music institute "International Music Academy INTMA" in the heart of Vienna with great success. The institute specializes in music education for adults and chamber music.
She’s a concert flute graduate of the Vienna Conservatory and has frequently attended master classes and workshops with the world's best flutists such as Auréle Nicolet, Emmanuel Pahud, Sir James Galway, Paul Edmund Davies, Wissam Boustany, Carin Levine and Ian Clarke. Maria's passion lies in advanced playing techniques and contemporary music. Together with her flute quartet "The Brunette Quartet" she gives numerous concerts, often in cooperation with composers from all over the world. Also worth mentioning is Maria's broad interest in different types of flutes. Apart from the usual equipment such as C flute, piccolo and alto flute, she owns an ever growing collection of traditional and special flutes from different countries. Being able to play on all these instruments has a significant impact on Maria's artistic diversity.
Through various events, courses and concerts, and also through her continuous work as an educator always following the latest developments in the flute world, Maria's professional life is exciting and inspiring. In recent years, Maria has also devoted her professional skills and experience to several organizations. She often travels to give masterclasses and recitals at various flute festivals and institutions. As a mentor she supports organizations that helps young entrepreneurs and self-employed artists to develop professionally. She has been elected board member of the Austrian Flute Association (ÖFG) in 2018.
The Austrian Flute Association, was founded in 1991 by Raphael Leone, acclaimed flutist and piccolo player of the Vienna Philharmonics. Together with a team of like-minded flutists, following the example of the German Flute Society, the Association has set the goal of providing a network connecting all flute enthusiasts, professional musicians as well as amateur flutists, teachers and music students. They created a platform for mutual exchange, through various events such as concerts, workshops and instrument and sheet music exhibitions around the flute.
Since the end of 2018 Matthias Schulz, flutist of the Vienna State Opera has been elected as the new president of the Austrian Flute Association. Together with a new team of board members, the established values of the Association are to be continued and expanded.
We have hosted several successful events in 2019, invited exciting and talented internationally acclaimed flutists such as Nina Assimakopoulos (USA) and Maxim Rubtsov (RU) to give masterclasses in Austria, organized several concerts for music students and given away a special ÖFG Award at the “Prima la Musica” Austrian music competition. We also renewed our close friendships and cooperations between other flute societies in and outside Europe, and are a member of the European Flute Council as well.
We are tirelessly working on redesigning and promoting the Austrian flute community, and on creating a modern platform for an inspiring exchange of experiences and information as well as to facilitate encounters between all ranges of flute enthusiasts.
Our team is built up of various members from the flute world, from orchestra musician to music school flute teacher, amateur flutist, young flute student and social media expert, event manager, university professor and instrument retailer. It is very important to us to have an open discussion about developing our events and strategies, with every board member and advisor listened to and treated as equal, to build up solid cooperations with every range among the flute world and make sure to include every segment of flute interested individuals.
Some of our upcoming events in 2020:
- Cooperating and participating at the Budapest Flute Academy on the 14.-15th of March 2020 with Denis Bouriakov, Jürgen Franz, Anna Garzuly-Wahlgren, Gareth McLearnon and Szabolcs Szilágyi, forming an Austro-Hungarian Flute Choir and performing at the Academy
- Kärntner-Flute Day with Walter Auer (Vienna Philharmonics) on the 27th of March 2020 at the Gustav Mahler private University in Klagenfurt, Kärnten County
- In cooperation with “Allegro Vivo” Festival Austria, our two ÖFG Award winners of last years music competition, Ágnes Tóth and Katarina Göbel will perform on the 2nd of April 2020 at the “Altes Rathaus” concert hall in Vienna
- Paul Edmund Davies (UK) will be teaching an amateur flute choir and giving masterclasses in a Community College in Vienna in the fall of 2020
- In cooperation with the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna and Prof. Wally Haase, Carin Levine (DE-USA) will be visiting for a two-day masterclass and recital on the 15-16th of January 2021
Our biggest task is planning the reintroduction of the biennial Austrian Flute Festival in Vienna, with the Gala Concert taking place at the Vienna Konzerthaus. The date of the Festival is set to the 22nd to 24th of May 2021. This will be a special date, since we will also be celebrating the 30th anniversary of our Association. We are excited to bring an exceptional line-up of international and Austrian flutists and offer a wide range of programs, recitals and exhibitions, making sure to include something interesting for all ranges of flute lovers.
It is particularly important to us to build up and carry out an Austria-wide activity of the Association, as well as to maintain close contact with other flute societies and actively participate in international events and cooperations. We stand for diversity and openness, therefore we invite flute lovers worldwide to become part of our flute family, follow us on our social media channels and join as a member!
Website: https://www.oefg.net/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/austriaflute/
Instagram: @austrian_flute_association