Biography
Kelly Watson Woelffer is a flutist, composer, and educator whose work exists at the intersection of performance, creation, and collaboration. After nearly two decades in Berlin, Germany, she has recently returned to the United States and is now based in Boston, Massachusetts.
As flutist and founder of hear now berlin., a contemporary chamber ensemble active at the forefront of Europe’s new music scene, she has been deeply engaged in shaping performances and recordings of music by living composers. The ensemble’s critically acclaimed debut album Music in Circles (Backlash Music, 2023) received international recognition for its inventive and expansive sound world.
Her work as both composer and performer is rooted in collaboration with living artists, where genre boundaries are fluid and interpretive voice is shared between composer and performer. As a bandleader, she has released two albums of her original music: From the Shelf (CD Baby, 2006) and dear and bare (Phonector, 2008). Her composition the (un)raveling is featured on Music in Circles.
Kelly’s performance career spans a wide range of genres and artistic contexts. She has worked with artists including Becca Stevens, Jacob Collier, Kurt Elling, Barry Manilow, Greg Osby, and Reggie Workman, and has contributed flute and alto flute to numerous film recordings with the Deutsche Filmorchester Babelsberg. She also performs regularly in chamber music projects and ensembles including Darkhorse Musik Ensemble and Ensemble Menajiri.
She studied under the artistry and mentorship of Jim Walker at the University of Southern California and later privately with international soloist Göran Marcusson in Stockholm. After completing her Bachelor’s degree, she continued her studies at The New School for Jazz & Contemporary Music in New York City, where she focused on composition and improvisation under the tutelage of saxophonist Greg Osby.
A devoted educator, Kelly has joined the Artist Faculty of the Longy School of Music of Bard College and also serves as faculty at the Rivers School Conservatory, where she works in both the Conservatory Program and the Suzuki Department. In all of these contexts, she mentors students in cultivating technical mastery alongside their individual artistic voices. She has extensive Suzuki teacher training through both the Suzuki Association of the Americas and the European Suzuki Association, and has been a guest teacher at Suzuki institutes in the United States and Europe, as well as a guest clinician at colleges and conservatories nationwide.
In performance, Kelly is guided by the act of giving; seeking to offer audiences the beauty, power, and fragile vulnerability that shape our shared human experience.
In 2024, Kelly was named a Wm. S. Haynes Artist and plays a 14K custom gold flute which she discovered with Adam Workman at Flutistry Boston.
Teaching Statement
At the center of my teaching philosophy is the cultivation of trust, connection, curiosity, and sustained listening. I believe that when students feel both supported and challenged within a consistent framework, they develop the confidence necessary for meaningful artistic growth. My goal is to help each student discover the individual path that enables them to believe in themselves, connect deeply with others, and develop the resilience required for artistic mastery. I believe that when we listen carefully and do the work of finding our own artistic true north, we create space not only for our own voices, but also for the diverse artistic voices the world needs.
My own multifaceted career spanning performance, composition, and entrepreneurship enables me to mentor students as they consider how their artistry can engage with the broader world. Alongside rigorous technical training, I encourage them to ask deeper questions: What calls you? What do you want to say? How can your work contribute to the world? Technical mastery is essential, but it is most powerful when paired with an authentic artistic identity and a clear sense of purpose.
My aim is for students to leave my studio with more than refined technical skills. I want them to possess the confidence, artistic self awareness, and practical tools to build sustainable creative lives. I want them to build careers grounded not only in excellence, but also in purpose, curiosity, and an enduring commitment to their own artistic voice.