THOMAZ TAVARES

FLUTIST

TT

"A polished performer, Tavares offered an expressive performance that embraced the work's lyrical and virtuoso demands, his pure, direct sound never wavering from the mission at hand".

- THE VIRGINIA GAZETTE

BIO

Paris based flutist Thomaz Tavares regularly performs, records, and tours with the Orchestre de Chambre Nouvelle Europe under the baton of Nicolas Krauze and is co-founder of Ensemble IMAGO, ensemble in residence at the Fondation des Etats Unis. He was a recipient of the Harriet Hale Woolley grant during which he explored the French Belle Époque repertoire and the flute music of the composer Yuko Uebayashi. He served as flute professor at the Conservatoire de Provins and as interim professor at the Conservatoire Jean-Baptiste Lully. For the 2024–25 season, he served as guest adjunct professor at Texas A&M-Commerce and guest professor at Cal State Fullerton…

"Thomaz has an innate sense of musical aesthetics in all styles. The clarity of his playing, his precision, his elegance as an interpreter... show an astonishing maturity for his youth"

- VociHarmonie

"Thomaz Tavares's rich, expressive playing and intelligent programming are matched by his remarkable stage presence. His brief, warm introductions create immediate intimacy with the audience, transforming each performance into a true moment of connection."

-Harmonies du Perche

"[Thomaz Tavares and Rieko Tsuchida] delivered a concert with a program that was not only original, but magnificently well interpreted."

- Salle Cortot

LEARN MORE

25/26
Calendar

UPCOMING SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

Upcoming performances with Ensemble IMAGO, Orchestre Helios, and Orchestra de Chambre Nouvelle Europe,

Recitals at Les Musicales Mortagne et Perche, Festival Neuvy Sautour, the DiMenna Center, Kawai Showroom, and Louisiana Flute Society.

Masterclasses and workshops in California, Texas, Colorado, and Louisiana.

September Midwest Tour : Illinois, Indiana, Ohio

August - September Texas Masterlclass recital Tour

October 5, 6, 7, 8 Vivaldi Concerto tour with the Orchestre de Chambre de Provins.

January - June : Teaching at Cal State Fullerton, masterclass/recitals in Texas, Colorado, and California. Guest artist at Louisiana flute society and LA Flute association

Recital at Kawai Showroom June 26th

Media

LISTEN TO THOMAZ

Here you'll find videos and audio of Thomaz performing solo and alongside his colleagues in chamber music ensembles/orchestras.
There is also a dedicated gallery space for headshots and snaps of him at work.

WATCH + LISTEN

WATCH & LISTEN

Click to listen to the Uebayashi Sonata, Bach’s triple concerto, world premieres of new compositions with colleagues from Ensemble IMAGO, and more.

GALLERY

Photography by Kenneth Edward’s, Abel Esbenshade, Kadia Ouabi, Scott Pool, and Alexandre Moravcsik

Screen Shot 2021-04-15 at 10.44.00 PM.jpg

Get in

Touch

CONTACT THOMAZ

Thomaz is available for professional engagements throughout the year - please get in contact for information on availability, performances, and teaching.

C O N T A C T

Let's get social! Connect with Mr. Tavares on Facebook and Instagram. I'm not on Facebook very often but I do use Instagram to document my practice, concerts, and life. Would love to see you there!

Deceptively difficult to play implied harmonies in this acoustic, if any note is out of tune it sticks around for a while 😅

🇧🇷 Evento aberto ao público!

Estou muito feliz em voltar ao Brasil para oferecer esta masterclass nesta sexta-feira, onde trabalharei com os alunos de Sarah Hornsby na Escola de Música da @unesp_oficial . Todos são bem-vindos!

🇬🇧 Event open to the public!

Back in Brazil! Join us this Friday for a masterclass where I’ll be working with Sarah Hornsby’s students at the UNESP Music School. See you there!

#flute #flautatransversa #músicaerudita #classicalmusic #masterclass

I absolutely butchered this transition in my last recital and it was ALL MY FAULT, but here’s a good version from a rehearsal recording with a quick 👍 to pat ourselves of the back 🤣.
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#flute #piano #poulenc #classicalmusic #marchingband #orchestra

🥁
I guess we’ll never know.

#flute #bolero #orchestra #classicalmusic #marchingband #orchestra

Greenroom story🍸 ( @stradcopy face reveal)

Two reasons: 👇

1. You stop caring what other people think because you understand that everyone has theirs own life going on.
The ideas that used to paralyze you before walking on stage lose their grip and your mind starts to go quiet when you play.

2. You start respecting your own musical ideas because they aren’t up for debate anymore. You’ve earned your artistry and trust your instincts. You know what you want to say, and you say it.

People who judge your music harshly are usually insecure about their own. Great musicians don’t tear others down. They listen, they appreciate, they move on…So if you’re young and anxious, good!! . Use it. Let it fuel the climb. and just know that freedom is coming!!

#flute #piano #classicalmusic #conservatory #musicschool #marchingband #orchestra

Two reasons: 👇

1. You stop caring what other people think.
The ideas that used to paralyze you before walking on stage lose their grip and your mind starts to go quiet when you play.

2. You start respecting your own musical ideas because they aren’t up for debate anymore. You’ve earned your artistry and trust your instincts. You know what you want to say, and you say it.

People who judge your music harshly are usually insecure about their own. Confident musicians don’t tear others down. They listen, they appreciate, they move on…So if you’re young and anxious, good!! . Use it. Let it fuel the climb. and just know that freedom is coming!!

#flute #piano #classicalmusic #conservatory #musicschool #marchingband #orchestra

Dreaming of new musical horizons? 💭
From Paris to the American Midwest, this mini-tour begins in one week! I’m so excited to spend 10 days sharing everything I know about the French flute school, finding joy in practice, pain free playing, and building a career you love! Whether you’re joining a masterclass, attending a recital, or booking a private lesson, give me a shout! Looking forward to seeing familiar faces and meeting new artists!
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#masterclass #flute #tour #classicalmusic #conservatory #musicschool

🍔
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#flute #harpsichord #bach #classicalmusic #baroque

Summer antics in the French countryside 🌞
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#flute #piano #harrypotter #classicalmusic #johnwilliams #fauré #marchingband #orchestra

🌾“The lyrical first movement paints a luminous expanse of a field of goldenrods tossing bountifully in the late summer wind. One moment can seem to stretch to the very edges of the horizon in such solitary contemplation.” - Sato Matsui ( composer )

The Goldenrod Sonata was written for @carolwincenc_official as part of a commissioning project for her golden (50th) anniversary concert series at Merkin Concert Hall, in 2020. The piece has been orchestrated into a concerto, which Carol premiered at the 2023 @nfaflute Gala Concert at the Symphony Hall in Phoenix.

Here’s an excerpt from our last @groupmuse concert rehearsal in Paris. 💛
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#flute #piano #classicalmusic #newmusic #satomatsui #marchingband #chambermusic

🎼 PARIS friends!
Did you miss our last “BACH: Father and Sons” recital? Worry not! we have another one coming your way next week on Friday, September 12th at 19h. It’s a private residence with complimentary admission but limited seating, so if you’re interested in attending, send a DM to save your spot! 📩
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Photography by @c.lui.michel
Poster design by @emilieyunillustrations
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#flute #harpsichord #concert #recital #bach #classicalmusic

Last call chez Grégoire with some tango🪩.
Last month, our friend Greg threw a night to remember, inviting dozens of classical musicians to his beautiful Paris apartment, unearthing a box of his grandfathers wine, and even renting out, as he so affectionately put it, “The Rolls Royce of Harps” 🪉 We heard everything from medieval to jazz, and at the very end before the last metro, we caught a second wind for some of Piazzolla’s Histoire du Tango
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#classicalmusic
#flute #harp #piazzolla #tango

Sometimes, after a long recital, all we want to do is have a seat.
You know the feeling when the party is winding down, moving out of frame.
The main event is over, you’ve survived the sonatas, no major casualties,
but there’s always that perfect moment when the remaining friends gather closer,
someone brings out the good bottle.
We end up clustered around the piano until way too late,
the night refuses to die gracefully.
Old friends have run out of small talk
and finally found something good to say before exit.
You make plans for an audacious early brunch tomorrow morning
(someone has a flight)
and we all mean it
until 8 the next day,
when nobody does

🐝 Still buzzing from our Bach and Sons recital last week at Notre Dame du Travail, playing this kind of program in this kind of space was a dream come true. Merci to all who packed the hall and to Michel @c.lui.michel for bring the concert to life. 📸

Video evidence of our “sitting” encore coming soon 👀
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#flute #harpsichord #bach #church #recital

🌞 This Sunday, July 20th at 16h !
Join us at the stunning Église Notre Dame du Travail for an all-Bach program : father and sons, performed on flute & harpsichord.

✨ Works by J.S. Bach, C.P.E. Bach & J.C. Bach
🎼 With Iori Hayashi & Thomaz Tavares
📍 59 rue Vercingétorix, 75014 Paris
🚇 M13 Pernety | 🚌 88, 59
💙 Participation libre aux frais

#bach #concertparis #flutetraversiere #clavecin #musiquebaroque #classicalmusiclive #parisconcert #recital

The “accent” of baroque playing and the New Flute School (featuring some French Baroque at Salle Cortot in honor of Bastille Day 🇫🇷)

In the last 20 years, a new kind of inflection has graced the flute world : thanks in part to the period instrument movement, the rise of historically informed practice, and let’s be honest - to the first generation raised listening to Emmanuel Pahud, who is the first modern flutist to really get the traverso accent so convincingly in baroque repertoire and to record it at scale.

All of this has been great. It’s refreshing to hear this “baroque affect” seep into modern flute playing and I feel like the new generation is going even farther with it in brilliant ways. But, like any accent or stylistic choice, sometimes it starts to creep into other places like Mozart, Fauré, or even Nielsen. Then I start to wonder…it’s a bit like perfecting a British accent for reciting Shakespeare, but having it show up when you’re reciting Britney Spears. (As one does.)

So where does that leave us? Should the modern flute aim to play Baroque repertoire in an exclusively historically informed way? Do its own thing? Or find something in between : to play within the aesthetic and find small moments to break away and then come back- which is what I’ve tried to do in this recording with varying degrees of success...

To celebrate Bastille Day, I wanted to share a bit of my favorite Leclair, and open up the conversation. There’s no right answer, just good questions, big opinions, and a lot of fun to be had. Drop your thoughts below, I’d love to hear where you stand.
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#flute #traverso #baroque #classicalmusic #hip #earlymusic #flauta #piano

👼 🪽 ✨
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#flute #harp #classicalmusic #meditation #thais #massenet

“Jean-Pierre,’ said Poulenc, ‘you know you’ve always wanted me to write a sonata for flute and piano? Well, I’m going to,’ he said. ‘And the best thing is that the Americans will pay for it!”

Extract from our finale for the festival @musicales_mortagne_perche
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#flute #poulenc #piano #chambermusic #classicalmusic #marchingband #orchestra

Pre-performance ritual in the most inspiring setting. These final precious moments with Poulenc before I’m called to the stage at this magnificent Normandy manoir to perform for the @musicales_mortagne_perche . Every note matters, every breath counts!
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#flute #classicalmusic #poulenc #normandy #ritual

Jet lagged, under tempo, and a phone that goes on strike 🪧 how apropos 🇫🇷
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#flute #piano #classicalmusic

🌞 As Paris heats up, so does the concert season! Upcoming month :

JUNE 21 - FÊTE DE LA MUSIQUE Week:
Flute & Guitar with @powersurgeee
Place Vendôme, Paris

Flute & Piano with @pmeirelles at
Studio Gobelins, Paris @studiopianogobelins

JUNE 25 -
Flute & Piano with @rieko_tsuchida
La Mélodieuse, South of France

JUNE 26
Flute & Piano Recital with @rieko_tsuchida
Kawai Piano Showroom, Paris @kawaipianosfr

JUNE 28
Flute & Harp with @oksana_sidyagina
Festival Neuvy-Sautour, Bourgogne @nnhfestival

JUNE 29 - on the road with @ensembleimago
Flute & Piano with @rieko_tsuchida
Les Musicales Mortagne et Perche, Normandy

June 30th : @groupmuse TBD

July 2-4th : FLUTE REVERIE with @juleekimwalker and @jameshallflute

July 16th : Fauré Sonata with @__ruta for @stradcopy ‘s Trinkets and Grigri

July 20th - flute and harpsichord baroque recital with @iori.hayashi.1 at Église Notre Dame du Travail

📸: @stradcopy

No pedal? No problem! ✌🏼

Back during my student days our teacher would have an ongoing challenge that whenever he would clap 👏 while we were playing in lessons, we had to instantly switch to singing : in time, in tune, and in style! It’s a great exercise and a good safety net just in case 😅

Prokofiev sonata run through with @suse320 for @mima_works ‘ concert last month.
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#flute #piano #musicianproblems #classicalmusic #woodwind #marchingband #orchestra

🎼 Practice tip: borrow from the masters🖊️

On todays menu, Smetana’s “The Moldau” 🌊The flowing, river-like phrases in this piece create perfect templates for scale exercises. Here’s why this works:

✅ You’re still getting finger agility and evenness
✅ You’re developing phrasing, dynamics, and musical line
✅ Your brain stays active instead of going on autopilot

How to apply it :
1. Take the melodic contour from your favorite piece
2. Apply it to your daily scales
3. Focus on the groove, on the “swing” of the phrase, not just technical accuracy.

The result? Scales that sound like music, not finger exercises. Your technique improves AND you’re (secretly) working on musicianship.

Try it: What piece could we borrow patterns from for tomorrow’s warm-up?

🎥: @nicholasflute

#flutelife #scalepractice #smetana #themoldau #musicalwarmup #flutepractice #classicalmusic #practicetips #musicianlife #flutelessons

❤️‍🔥The moment you can feel the energy in the room shift

This particular passage is where Mendelssohn shows his real genius, the way he builds tension, the interweaving voices, and the way everything just explodes into pure musical ecstasy. It’s chamber music in its most raw form, the kind of moment that reminds you why you fell in love with music in the first place.

🎥 : @kadiaouabi
🏛️ : @fondationusa
🎙️: @legatosato
🎻: @andrewbriggscello

#classicalmusic #mendelssohn #marchingband #orchestra #chambermusic

POV : You just had your espresso ☕️ before teaching lessons.
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#flute #piano #mozart #classicalmusic #marchingband #orchestra

The hard hitting journalism your mother warned you about.

Trills tutorial Part 3 : left hand pinky trills without cheating 😆 another extract from lessons at @csuf_flutestudio

🎥: @nicholasflute
#flute #marchingband #orchestra #classicalmusic #musicschool

Fun fact: Syrinx was meant for alto flute, sunglasses, and unresolved feelings. 🌞

Some fun from last semester with the @csuf_flutestudio
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POV : You’ve taught them all year, but can you recognize them blind ?
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#flute #musicschool #orchestra #classicalmusic #marchingband

📍 going to leave this pinned here

1: Putting it all together at Palais Royale.
My setup has been shaped by instinct, a bit of luck, and a lot of listening, not necessarily to sound, but to what I wanted to learn from the instrument.

2: Kissing Mermaids 🧜‍♀️ .
This is a Faulisi Salvatore headjoint from the early 90s ( like me 😆) back when the company still had a craftsman engraving each one by hand. It’s the same model Sophie Cherrier plays, and I stumbled across it completely by accident. It was buried in a used shop’s inventory in Paris. Tarnished, mismatched, and too thick to even try properly on my gold body. But something about it called to me. I gave it a blow on a borrowed silver body, and bought it on the spot. Later, I had it re-fitted to the gold body, and since then its taught me everything I wanted to learn from it.

3 : The body from Indianapolis 🏎️
( the French always incredulously remark “the pad guy!?!”) This is my Straubinger 14-k body. I was lucky enough to meet David Straubinger himself and discover that not only he made fabulous pads, but a select few flutes per year as well! I chose this for the reliability of the scale, the natural resonance, and yes, the half-offset G is as charming to play as it is to look at.
Fun fact: it’s the same model Jasmine Choi plays!

📸 All photos shot by the fabulous @stradcopy
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#flute #flutelyfe #flûtiste #faulisi #straubingerflutes

Summer antics in the French countryside with @lesharmoniesduperche
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#faure #flute #piano #harrypotter #johnwilliams #classicalmusic #marchingband #orchestra

🎻 Violin trills and a guilty confession towards the end of the video…
🎶Vivaldi “La Notte”
🪈 Flute lessons at @csuf_flutestudio
🎥 and editing : @nicholasflute
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#flute #concerto #classicalmusic #marchingband #orchestra #trills

What goes on during flute lessons at @csuf_flutestudio ?
🎶: Vivaldi “La Notte” Concerto in G minor
🎥 : @nicholasflute

#flute #concerto #trills #classicalmusic #calstatefullerton

✨ Exciting news! The new limited edition Thomaz action figure is now available and comes with a mini-flute, impeccable style, and a penchant for Negronis🍸

( Louie the Dachsund sold separately. )

🏔️ “Play without pain, and actually get good while you do it? What a bargain” beautiful notes from my student @daniflutie on my Lecture/Workshop yesterday featuring THE MOUNTAIN MAN ( le montagnard )

🐊 Louisiana Flute Society Festival + Mini Masterclass Tour 🪈

Huge thanks to Jiweon Ryu and Brianne Little for having me as a clinician and performer—congratulations on an amazing festival! It was an honor to lead a French flute music clinic and connect with the fantastic Louisiana flute community.

I had a blast playing the “rigatoni” with Stephen Clark, soaring up to high E’s with Brianne, and working with their wonderful students in masterclasses. Such a joy to reconnect with Carol Wincenc and Ethan Lynn. Grateful for the warm welcome—can’t wait to come back!

#flute #flutefestival #masterclasstour #louisianaflute

✨ Rigoletto from the wings at the Louisiana Flute Society Festival! 🪈
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#flute #classicalmusic #doppler #rigoletto #rigatoni

Souvenirs of a golden Provençal dusk, the scent of lavender thick in the air, and Uebayashi’s Sonata Flore amongst the birds. Music in full bloom at the enchanted @lepavillondegalon . 🌾

#flute #harp #classicalmusic #beautifulmelodiesproject

🌬️ YOU DONT NEED CIRCULAR BREATHING
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Here’s a short excerpt from my masterclass at Cal State Fullerton @ csufmusic a few months ago - we were discussing the need of having a go to exercise for practicing your long phrases with a very small thin airstream, and this is my personal favorite!
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OF COURSE you can learn circular breathing, but make it a plus, not a necessity 😁
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#flute #flauta #circularbreathing #masterclass #flutelessons #flutelife #reichert #breathing

🎈 The eternal flute party anthem.
#flute #flauta #doppler #classicalmusic #recital

🕵🏻‍♂️ Covert Operation: Surprise Dr. Walker’s Students!

Last fall, I had the unique pleasure of teaching @juleekimwalker ‘s students at @etamumusic and I just fell in love with Texas 🤠

So when she reached out a few months ago with a top-secret plan: a surprise return for a joint recital, studio party, and a weekend of masterclasses and teaching with the incredible @etamuflutes crew, I could not refuse. The Pattons dressed me up as a building inspector and we were able to sneak past the students to get to me to the green room, the rest was history.

Thank you to my Texas family for the adventure and shenanigans. Maybe I’ll see you soon 👀

🥁Beatbox 101 with Thomaz.
Last week my students asked me ( while teaching PROKOFIEV) if I could teach them how to beatbox on the flute 🪈 . I’m sure @pattillostyle or @_annie_wu_ would have done the subject more justice, but I think we got the fundamentals down. I also forgot the word for SNARE and called it open high hat. Thank you to @camera.voyage who was sitting in on my lessons and caught this moment and to @cribble_lee for being a good sport. Stay tuned for beatbox 201.
#flute #masterclass #beatboxing #musicschool

🔊 A good diminuendo al niente feels like throwing yourself into the abyss. Faure’s “Chanson d’amour” with @oksana_sidyagina ( blocked by someone’s head) at @conservatoiresr_paris
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#flute #harp #chambermusic #classicalmusic

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@thomaz_flute

TT

THOMAZ TAVARES

FLUTIST

TT

"A polished performer, Tavares offered an expressive performance that embraced the work's lyrical and virtuoso demands, his pure, direct sound never wavering from the mission at hand".

- THE VIRGINIA GAZETTE

BIO

LEARN MORE

25/26 Calendar

UPCOMING SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

Media

LISTEN TO THOMAZ

Here you'll find videos and audio of Thomaz performing solo and alongside his colleagues in chamber music ensembles/orchestras. There is also a dedicated gallery space for headshots and snaps of him at work.

WATCH + LISTEN

Click to listen to the Uebayashi Sonata, Bach’s triple concerto, world premieres of new compositions with colleagues from Ensemble IMAGO, and more.

GALLERY

Photography by Kenneth Edward’s, Abel Esbenshade, Kadia Ouabi, Scott Pool, and Alexandre Moravcsik

Get in

Touch

CONTACT THOMAZ

Thomaz is available for professional engagements throughout the year - please get in contact for information on availability, performances, and teaching.

Let's get social! Connect with Mr. Tavares on Facebook and Instagram. I'm not on Facebook very often but I do use Instagram to document my practice, concerts, and life. Would love to see you there!

​

Follow me on Instagram

THOMAZ TAVARES

To be in touch about professional inquiries, contact Mr Tavares HERE (link to contact page).

25/26
Calendar

Here you'll find videos and audio of Thomaz performing solo and alongside his colleagues in chamber music ensembles/orchestras.
There is also a dedicated gallery space for headshots and snaps of him at work.