Chicago Flute Club History

Prior to the existence of the Chicago Flute Club, an unrelated organization known as the Chicago Flute Society (founded by Janet Bergman) acted as an amateur flute choir in the Chicagoland area. The CFS had enjoyed a long and wonderful run as a club by the time it officially closed its doors.

Following that, in the spring of 1988, Sarah Cifani, Kay Ragsdale, and Mary Stolper, flutists working together in the pit orchestra of the Nutcracker ballet then being performed at Chicago’s Arie Crown Theater, were seeking a forum where they could discuss flute issues, teaching methods, and current events outside of work. These flutists, along with Kaye Clements and Calyn Lloyd-Ford, formed the steering committee to lay the foundations for a new flute organization. They all met at least three times before deciding to go forward with its creation.

They considered various names for the new organization, including the "Chicago Flute Exchange," "Chicago Flute Crossroads," and "Chicago Flute Association." ("Chicago Flute [or Flutists’] Forum" was eliminated because the name Flute Forum was already in use; "Chicago Flute Network" was not used because Flute Network was already associated with a publication; and "Chicago Flute Society" was decided against because of its previous use.) In the end, they chose the name that we are familiar with today: the Chicago Flute Club, or CFC.

The Chicago Flute Club officially came into existence on September 12, 1989, after the office of Illinois Secretary of State Jim Edgar recognized the CFC’s status as a Not-For-Profit organization. The original founding five members also served as the initial five members of the board of directors, with Sarah Cifani serving as the first president. The first meeting of this board of directors took place on September 29, 1989. With these organizational foundations laid, the CFC was able to begin hosting events. The very first Chicago Flute Club event ever held was a recital and lecture/discussion featuring Chicago flutist Walfrid Kujala on October 1, 1989.

From that first event on, the CFC has continually journeyed and grown through the years, bringing us up to the present moment. The initial Statement of Purpose created by the steering committee established that the Chicago Flute Club was "an organization founded by area performers/teachers to provide a forum for activities of interest to flutists." In continuation of this, the Chicago Flute Club's official Mission Statement, first put on paper in the Spring of 2005, reads, "The Chicago Flute Club is a community of flutists in the greater Chicago area that fosters the highest artistic potential of all its members through teaching, listening and performing." From its inception, the Chicago Flute Club has continually striven and succeeded to bring flute-related events of interest to its membership and the general public.

For a listing of current board members and their contact information, please click here.

Chicago Flute Club Founding Members
Sarah Cifani
Kaye Clements
Carlyn Lloyd-Ford
Kay Ragsdale
Mary Stolper

Chicago Flute Club Past Presidents
1989-1990 Sarah Cifani
1990-1991 Kaye Clements
1991-1992 Diane Horban
1992-1993 Lisha McDuff
1993-1996 Susan Phelps
1996-1997 Mary Stolper
1997-1998 Victoria Jicha
1998-1999 Anita Miller Reider
1999-2000 Cynara Cima Pierzina
2000-2002 Jodi Taylor
2002-2003 Scott Metlicka
2003-2004 Susan Phelps
2004-2005 Jennifer Oh-Brown
2005-2006 Polly Hansen
2006-2007 Jessica Garcia
2007-2008 Barbara Klipp
2008-2009 Erin Murphy