Education
Master’s degree in Flute Performance, The Hartt School
Bachelor’s degree in Flute Performance, The Hartt School
“As agile a flutist as one could wish for” (Fanfare), award-winning flutist Allison Hughes enjoys a diverse and exciting career of solo, chamber, and orchestral performances. She is currently Principal Flutist of the Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra.
She gave her Carnegie Hall debut in 2016 as a founding member of Duo Alterity with classical guitarist Joseph Van Doran. With the Duo, she was an Artist-in-Residence for the 2018 and 2019 seasons of Connecticut Summerfest Contemporary Music Festival, where she presented six world premieres. Duo Alterity has garnered first prizes including the 2020 CMFONE International Chamber Music Ensemble Competition, 2016 Vivo International Music Competition, and 2016 Hartt Chamber Music Competition. Performance highlights include The DiMenna Center for Classical Music, The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, and the Connecticut Governor’s Residence.
A highly sought-after teacher, Allison is currently on faculty at The Hotchkiss School and The Ethel Walker School, and was previously on faculty at The Loomis Chaffee School, The Westminster School, and Bay Path University. At HCD, in addition to serving on the flute faculty, she is Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Summer Flute Intensive. She holds Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Flute Performance from The Hartt School, where she studied with Janet Arms. She began her Hartt journey in the Community Division studying with Greig Shearer. Greatly indebted to all who have illuminated her musical path, she is most vibrantly alive when sharing her love for music and life with students, collaborators, and audiences alike.
My primary goal as a teacher is to inspire a life-long love for music and learning in my students. I believe in an individualized approach tailored to each student, based on a strong foundation of sound, rhythm, and technique. I encourage my students to perform as much as possible - in large ensembles, chamber ensembles, and solo.
I believe that studying music improves every aspect of our lives. It teaches us how to diligently work at something and that consistent, thoughtful practice will make a difficult passage feel easy. It shows us that it is normal to make mistakes and work to correct them, gives us a vital means to express ourselves, and cultivates empathetic people who are able and willing to listen to different perspectives.