Yael Acher “KAT” Modiano Award-winning flutist, composer, and educator https://modianomusic.net/

“[A] unique phenomenon on a number of accounts…realizing [Bach] in terms of what the flute does best… Kat’s solo flute pieces…sound that enrapture and illuminate our minds.” — Phil’s Review, Atlanta Audio Club

The flute is my favorite instrument. Its sound feels close to the heart. It sings, like Mozart’s Magic Flute. I am so happy to share flute teaching here, mixing fun with practice.

I was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, but I started my music education in second grade in Boston, playing the recorder at school while living there for a year with my family. Back at my school in Tel Aviv I continued studying the recorder, and at age 9 I fell in love with the flute. I began training in classical flute with private teachers and attended Thelma Yalin, a special high school for the arts. Later I earned a BA in Classical Flute Performance from the Rubin Academy in Jerusalem, where I also studied jazz and electronic music composition. I moved to Europe and lived in Copenhagen for quite a while, working as a professional flutist, composer, and educator. From there I relocated to New York City in 2005 as a Fulbright scholar, studying composition at NYU and Hunter College. I received an MA in Music for Social Change from Empire State College in New York. Since then, I have lived here in NYC.

I am what you might call a multi-genre musician. I play and compose across contemporary, classical, urban jazz, tango, improvisation, film scores, and music for choreography, working with both acoustic and electro-acoustic sound. My music has been performed and commissioned across Europe, Israel, Japan, the USA, and Canada.

Some of the venues I have performed at include Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts, United Palace for Cultural Arts, The High Line, and Blue Note in NYC, as well as the Copenhagen Jazz Festival, and many more. My live contemporary electro-acoustic film scores to silent films have taken me to screening theaters and festivals in New York City, Chicago, Berlin, Bern, Copenhagen, Venice, Tel Aviv, and beyond.

Music can bring healing. I love performing therapeutic concerts at hospices, shelters, juvenile detention centers, and benefit concerts for social causes. I teach flute, masterclasses, contemporary improvisation workshops, interactive Music Appreciation, and more. I enjoy connecting with people of all ages, locally and internationally, across a wide variety of communities and schools.

Beyond practicing, performing, and composing, I love the ocean, swimming, and paddling on the Hudson River near my home in Upper Manhattan. I also enjoy movies, shows, nature, and listening to the genius of singing birds.

I’m thrilled to bring this experience to my role at Practicing Musician and can’t wait to help you on your musical journey!