SECOND STAGE: [sound]:becoming:[soul] | Maria Bustos, flute

Chant de Linos (1944) – André Jolivet (1905–1974)

Jolivet’s Chant de Linos draws its power from the ancient Greek “Linos” a ritual lament sung in honor of the fallen. The piece moves between fierce incantation and tender mourning, giving the flute a vocal, mythic presence. Jolivet believed that music should reclaim its primal, spiritual force, and here the flute becomes both storyteller and ritual guide — shouting, weeping, whispering, and invoking. It is a work of extremes: rhythmic fire, lyrical intensity, and a sense of drama that feels both ancient and urgently alive.

Piccolo Italiano (2008): II. Ricordarsi – Gary Shocker (b. 1959)

Ricordarsi — “to remember” — is a short, intimate reflection. Shocker writes with a melodic simplicity that feels like a memory unfolding in soft focus. The piece sings gently, tinged with nostalgia, warmth, and a quiet sincerity. It invites the listener to pause, breathe, and enter a space of personal reflection, where even a brief moment can become deeply meaningful.

Souffleé (1992) – Alonso Toro (b. 1963)

In Souffleé, Venezuelan composer Alonso Toro explores breath as the origin of sound and expression. The flute becomes an extension of the body — sighing, pulsing, whispering — while the electronics surround it like an echo that blurs the line between the real and the imagined. Toro builds an atmosphere that feels suspended in time, where gestures emerge, dissolve, and return transformed. The piece captures something elemental: the intimate connection between breath, body, and sound.

A Night Piece (1922) – Arthur Foote (1853–1937)

Arthur Foote, one of the prominent figures of the American “Second New England School,” wrote A Night Piece as a gentle nocturne filled with warmth and serenity. The opening flute solo feels like a voice rising out of stillness, soon embraced by the string quartet’s glowing harmonies. Foote paints a night landscape not with shadows, but with calm radiance — a peaceful, introspective moment that glows from within. It is music that invites the listener to slow down and inhabit the quiet beauty of the night.

Sonata for Flute and Piano (2023) – Samuel Durand (b. 2002)

This sonata by young American composer Samuel Durand combines contemporary clarity with lyrical expressiveness. Across its movements, the piece shifts between energetic brilliance and inward reflection, showcasing the flute’s wide range of colors and emotional capabilities. Durand’s writing balances intensity with vulnerability, shaping a narrative that feels both modern and deeply human. As a new addition to the flute repertoire, the sonata represents a living, evolving musical voice, one rooted in today’s creative landscape.

Echoes of Narcissus (2010) – Melvin Lauf Jr. (b. 1971)

This vibrant trio reimagines the myth of Narcissus through the bright, intertwining voices of two piccolos. Lauf uses imitation, reflection, and rapid dialog to evoke the shifting images of water and self-image. The piccolos chase each other through brilliant runs, echoing phrases, and moments of dazzling clarity, while the piano grounds the texture with rhythmic drive. Playful, dramatic, and virtuosic, the piece captures both the beauty and the tension of a story built around reflection and pursuit

Maria Estefania Bustos is a Flutist and Piccolist based on Massachusetts, United States. She started her musical studies in her hometown at the age of 9 years old in El Sistema, Merida; Venezuela. Her higher-level music education began in the Los Andes University, in Merida, Venezuela, studying with Prof. Orlando Duque. She Graduated from the Undergraduate Performance Diploma under the studio of Sooyun Kim at Longy School of Music of Bard College, in Cambridge, MA. Currently , she is cursing her Master in Music Performance at the same institution with the tutelage of Vanessa Mulvey.

Maria received a Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation Scholarship in 2020, becoming an Ambassador of the Foundation later on. She is also an Altus Flutes artist since 2021. She was named the Robert and Esta Epstein Equity Scholar In 2024.