Dr. Whitney
Kelley

Biography

Flutist &
Educator

Dr. Whitney Kelley is Principal Flutist of the Denver Philharmonic Orchestra and serves as the flute instructor at Colorado Christian University. As a performer, educator, and pedagogue, her career bridges the concert stage and the classroom, shaped by a belief that artistic excellence and meaningful teaching go hand in hand. Whether performing, teaching, or speaking, she is committed to cultivating musicians who pursue their craft with curiosity, purpose, and joy.

Praised by the Winston-Salem Journal for her "considerable technique," Dr. Kelley has performed throughout the United States and Europe as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral artist. She has collaborated with renowned musicians including Sir James Galway, Academy Award-winning composer Dave Grusin, and Latin Grammy Award-winning jazz flutist Nestor Torres. Her orchestral and festival appearances include the Ravinia Summer Music Festival, Texas Music Festival, Cheyenne Symphony, Bavarian Philharmonic Choir, Denver Pops, Jefferson Symphony, and Longmont Symphony Orchestra. As a concerto soloist, she has performed both the substantial Nielsen Flute Concerto and the virtuosic Liebermann Flute Concerto, works that reflect the breadth of her artistic interests and expressive range.

Teaching lies at the heart of Dr. Kelley's work. In addition to maintaining a thriving private studio and teaching at Colorado Christian University, she teaches on the faculty of the Peaks to Plains Suzuki Institute and has served as clinician, lecturer, and adjudicator for students and educators across the country. Her research and writing on flute performance and pedagogy have been published in the National Flute Association Pedagogy Anthology Vol. 2, American Suzuki Journal, Colorado Flutist, and Flute Examiner.

Drawing from both Suzuki training and doctoral study in flute performance and pedagogy, Dr. Kelley has developed a teaching philosophy that values careful listening, artistic expression, technical excellence, and lifelong growth. She believes music is a gift to be cultivated with both excellence and humility, and that meaningful education shapes not only accomplished musicians but people of character, wisdom, and purpose. Whether teaching young beginners or collegiate performers, her desire is to equip students to steward their gifts well and use them to serve others with purpose, beauty, and joy.

Dr. Kelley earned her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Flute Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Colorado Boulder, where she studied with Christina Jennings. Additional teachers include Rebecca Paluzzi, Dr. Shelly Binder, Dr. Tadeu Coelho, and Suzuki flute founder Toshio Takahashi.