The Lifelong Flutist

Alicia McQuerrey joined the SPCO as a flute and piccolo player in 2001. A native of Charleston, West Virginia, McQuerrey began studying the Suzuki flute method at the age of seven with Mrs. June Warhoftig, then principal flutist with the West Virginia Symphony. Alicia earned the distinction of becoming the first American student to complete the Suzuki flute method. Prior to joining the SPCO, she earned a bachelor’s degree in performance from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of Dr. Bradley Garner, flute and Jack Wellbaum, piccolo. McQuerrey earned her master’s degree and professional studies certificate from the Manhattan School of Music, studying with Michael Parloff, then principal flutist with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Linda Chesis, soloist and chamber musician. She lives in St. Paul with her daughter and their pets Cole and KitKat. He has appeared as a recitalist and chamber musician at Weill Recital hall at Carnegie Hall, MoMa's Summer Garden Series, Noonday Concerts at Trinity Church, and the “Meet the Virtuoso” series at the 92nd St Y. Orchestral work has included performances with the Minnesota Orchestra, Oregon Symphony, Riverside Symphony, Hudson Valley Philharmonic, Jupiter Symphony, and Buffalo Philharmonic and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. Mr. Davis has also played on Broadway in Fiddler on the Roof, Show Boat and Ragtime, among others. In 2005, Immanuel was a recipient of a Fulbright Grant for study of baroque flute and performance practice with Wilbert Hazelzet at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague. Since then he has performed as soloist and chamber player with such early music ensembles as Early Music New York, ARTEK, Lyra Baroque and the Bach Society of Minnesota, Mercury Orchestra, and Rebel. He has also been heard on NPR’s “Performance Today” and in numerous recitals with Barthold Kuijken and Wilbert Hazelzet. A popular guest teacher, he has been invited to teach classes at Yale University, New England Conservatory, Grinell College, the North Carolina School of the Arts and Seattle Pacific University and several times for the National Flute Association Conventions. He has made multiple trips to Mexico, where he has served as woodwind clinician for the Guanajuato Symphony Orchestra. He has also given several classes for the U.S. Air Force Bands in Sacramento and Colorado Springs, and has performed and given clinics for the National Flute Convention. Educated at the Juilliard School, Mr. Davis received both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees as a student of Julius Baker. Immanuel Davis has been the flute professor at the University of Minnesota since 2001. In June 2013, Immanuel completed the 3-year training to become an AmSat Certified teacher of the Alexander Technique.