I believe cultivating joy in oneself is a prerequisite for bringing joy to others, which when replicated, has the potential to do infinite good.
The potential to impact others positively is what gets me out of bed in the morning.
I know that when I am not feeling confident, I am not in a position to project joy. I strive to always see the good in people and situations. I believe that I not only have the ability to illuminate hope through a positive mindset, but I also believe that I can teach others to see the world more positively.
*BONUS TIP: practicing flute with a metronome may improve your timing when jumping for photos.
“Good Day!”
I’m Tara and I love to travel! My journeys in music have taken me to all of the countries seen in the slideshow below. You’ve heard about the value of the journey and not just the destination, and for me half the fun of a trip comes before I leave my house (researching landmarks, learning the language, transferring all my toiletries into tiny 3 oz bottles….okay, maybe not that last one)! I believe the same is true for music. I encourage my students to adopt mindfulness and inquiry in their approach to flute playing. This approach to learning values the process over the product.
All throughout high school, my #1 goal was to become an All-State flutist. I practiced every day, memorized all of my music, and even organized mock auditions with other flutists in my band. While I improved dramatically in the process and earned many other musical accolades along the way, I fell just short of goal. I was very disappointed (for about a week), but on that journey I developed the skills and work ethic that would lead me to be successful as a college music major and eventually earn a master’s degree in flute performance.
During my first few years as a college professor, I would continually revise my course assignments, repertoire lists, and scale requirements in hopes of instilling as much flute knowledge into my students as possible (aka “the destination”). One day I was driving my weekly commute to campus (over an hour each way) and there were so many heavy news stories on the radio (MPR is my jam) that I wasn’t sure I could muster the enthusiasm to teach flute that day. I threw out the notion of a perfect lesson and set a single goal to make one student laugh, because I knew I sure needed it. I may not have brought my A-game of flute knowledge that day, but I did in fact make someone laugh and that prompted a shift in my philosophy of teaching.
While I still strive to give students all the tools to be the best flutists they can be, I recognize that most of them will not become professional musicians. But all of my students have been humans (so far) and I have seen how flute can be the vehicle (aka “the journey”) for building confidence, redefining failure, processing emotions, and connecting with others. Unfortunately for me these skills are not as easy to teach as scales (possibly easier than teaching flutter tonguing?) but I embrace the opportunity to cultivate joy through flute instruction!
"Buongiorno" - Italy, 2018
Guten Tag - Austria, 2007
こんにちは - Japan, 2005
你好 - China, 2005
Bonjour - France, 2018
Bom Dia - Brazil, 2014
The fine print.
A private flute instructor since 2003, Tara Meade teaches lessons at her home in St. Paul, Minnesota. She previously served as adjunct professor of flute at College of St. Benedict/St. John's University for five years and Luther College for four years. She began her professional career as a middle school band director in Oskaloosa, Iowa.
Tara holds a master’s degree in Flute Performance from the University of Northern Iowa, where she served as a graduate teaching assistant to Dr. Angeleita Floyd. Meade won second place in the UNI Concerto Competition and was a featured soloist with the Northern Iowa Symphony Orchestra while on tour in Caxias do Sul, Brazil. Following graduation, the university recognized her with their Outstanding Creative Master's Thesis Award.
Tara earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, summa cum laude, from Luther College, where she studied flute and music education. While at Luther, she toured extensively with the band and orchestra to 14 states and overseas, including performances in Tokyo, Beijing, and Vienna. She was a semi-finalist in the Luther College Concerto Competition and performed Griffes’ Poem as a tour soloist with the Luther College Concert Band. Tara was awarded the prestigious Theodore Presser Award for Excellence in Music at Luther College and was featured as a piccolo soloist on the encore Stars & Stripes forever in over 30 performances.
Tara has performed as a substitute flutist with the LaCrosse, WI, and Dubuque, IA symphonies. She held the principal flute position in the Oskaloosa Symphony from 2009–2014. With experience performing in diverse genres, Meade was a winner of the 2015 and 2017 NFA Jazz Flute Big Band competitions. She has also been an invited member of flute choirs at the Iowa Bandmasters Association and the National Flute Association conventions.
Active in her flute communities, Tara has been an adjudicator, clinician, guest conductor, and section coach with the University of Northern Iowa, Luther College, Iowa Flute Festivals, Iowa Ambassadors of Music and numerous high schools in Iowa and Minnesota. She served on the Executive Board of the Upper Midwest Flute Association and distributes pedagogical flute books worldwide as Assistant Director of Business Operations with Winzer Press, LLC. Tara currently works full-time as Communications Coordinator with the Minnesota Youth Symphonies.