About Colleen
Colleen McCracken is a graduate student at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro pursuing a Master of Music in Performance under Dr. Erika Boysen as well as a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Music Education. Originally from Edwardsville, Illinois, she studied with Dr. Shelly Monier, professor at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, for ten years.
While pursuing her Master of Music, Colleen won the Flute/Piccolo position with the Durham Symphony Orchestra, the result of her first professional orchestra audition. She has also enjoyed performing at the National Flute Association Convention and College Band Directors National Association Conference with UNCG ensembles. Her academic strength was acknowledged by Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, whose goal is to recognize and encourage superior scholarship.
Colleen spent the fall of 2022 in Lyon, France, where she studied the flute with Michel Lavignolle and the French language at l’Université Catholique de Lyon. Upon her return to the USA, she earned an Honorable Mention in the 2023 Lamont Solo Honors Competition, and won first prize in the Central Ohio Flute Association Collegiate Competition. Her success continued at the Sewanee Summer Music Festival where she advanced to the final round of the Jacqueline Avant Concerto Competition, performing Carl Nielsen’s Flute Concerto from memory for a public audience.
Colleen has attended several summer institutes including Credo Flute, WildAcres Flute Retreat, Rocky Ridge College Intensive, the Texas Summer Flute Symposium, and the Sewanee Summer Music Festival. She has performed in masterclasses instructed by Bonita Boyd, Paul Edmund-Davies, Walfrid Kujala, Demarre McGill, Silvia Carredu, and Göran Marcusson. In 2025 she attended Domaine Forget in Québec, Canada, followed by La Mélodieuse in Le Puget, France. Through the latter program, she had the honor of studying with composer Yuko Uébayashi and world-renowned flutist Carol Wincenc.
A recent graduate of the University of Denver - Lamont School of Music, Colleen has performed in the Lamont Wind Ensemble, Lamont Symphony Orchestra, Lamont Opera Orchestra, and the Denver Young Artists Orchestra. In her first year of study at DU, she served as principal flutist in the opera orchestra for Lamont’s production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute.
More than a performer, Colleen enjoys teaching flute lessons to flutists of all ages! She recently had the privilege to work with 62 flutists at the UNCG Summer Music Camp. Her passion for music education continues to show in her podcast, Lessons Unlocked, which offers free masterclasses to flutists of all ages and abilities.
Yay! Flute!
Private Lessons
Surround yourself with flute-loving energy by taking flute lessons with Colleen! All ages and playing experience welcome.