Scott Stephen Hansen’s 52 Blue for Flute and Piano:

Premiere Performance and a Performer-Composer Dialogue

Flutist Dr. Christina Guenther joined the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Music faculty in 2005. She performs actively in the greater East Texas area, throughout the United States, and has also performed in Central America, South America, Germany, and Australia. Guenther performs with the Stone Fort Wind Quintet and was principal flute of the former regional Orchestra of the Pines (2005-2008). She has performed/presented/adjudicated at the festivals/conferences of the National Flute Association, the Texas Music Educators Association, the Texas Flute Society, the Houston Flute Club, the Florida Flute Association, the Mid-South Flute Society, the Society of Composers, Inc., the Classical Music Society, and at the Flute Society of Kentucky as winner of the Young Artist and Concerto Competitions. Guenther has played as a member of the Shreveport (LA), Longview (TX), Marshall (TX), and Texarkana (TX) Symphony Orchestras. She performed Christopher Rouse's Flute Concerto in 2007 and the Bach Suite in B Minor in 2013, both with the Orchestra of the Pines. She performs regularly with her husband, pianist Ron Petti.

An enthusiastic proponent of new music, Guenther has commissioned and premiered new works for flute, including: Zodiacal Light for flute, clarinet and piano (2018) by Roger Zare; I Might Speak for flute, bassoon and piano (2015) by Kyle Hovatter and Duo Concertante for flute and percussion (2003) by Laurence Sherr. Several other composers have written works for her, which she has premiered: by a spirit of uselessness for flute and piano (2016) by Kyle Hovatter; Mountain Roads for flute, bassoon and piano (2015) by Chelsea Williamson; The Ghosts of Mesa Verde for two flutes (2013) by Stephen Lias; Duo for flute and piano (2009), 3NF for flute and marimba (2006), and Currents for two flutes (2005) by Alan Scott; CRUSH for flute and marimba (2006) by James Barry. She can be heard on Stephen Lias’s 2015 CD Encounters: music inspired by our national parks performing The Ghosts of Mesa Verde. Her talented students have been winners in regional competitions, have been accepted into advanced degree music programs, and have gone on to successful music careers in music education and arts administration upon graduating from SFA. Guenther is published in the National Flute Association’s FQ Plus, Flute Talk, The Flute View, and the Texas Bandmasters Association's Bandmaster Review.

Guenther holds degrees from Florida State University (D.M., M.M.) and Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey (B.M.); her primary teachers were Eva Amsler, Stephanie Jutt, Charles DeLaney, Bart Feller, and Laura Carnibucci. Christina Guenther plays Emanuel silver flute #117 and a Roosen ebony flute.

Born and raised in Southeast Alaska, Scott Stephen Hansen is a composer of accessible works, large and small, for the modern audience. He received his undergraduate degrees from the University of Alaska Fairbanks (B.M. ’19, B.A. ’19) in piano performance under Dr. Eduard Zilberkant and music composition under Dr. William Post. Currently, he is pursuing his master’s degree in music composition with Dr. Stephen Lias at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas.

Pianist Ron Petti joined the faculty of the School of Music at Stephen F. Austin State University in 1999. He earned the BM and MM degrees in Piano Performance from Heidelberg College and Bowling Green State University, and the DM in Piano Performance/Chamber Music and Accompanying from Florida State University. As the Director of Collaborative Piano at SFA, Petti directs the MM degree in Collaborative Piano, teaches the undergraduate course Accompanying Techniques, the graduate survey courses Vocal Literature with Piano and Chamber Music Literature with Piano, and applied lessons in piano accompanying and harpsichord. He is also the accompanist for many ongoing events in the School of Music including faculty and guest artist recitals, choral ensembles, opera productions, and student degree recitals. In addition to his duties, Petti also coaches graduate and undergraduate vocal majors at SFA. Prior to this appointment, he was the Staff Accompanist at SFA, and has served as Vocal Coach with the Florida State Opera, Coach/Accompanist for the Opera Program and Instructor of Piano in the Preparatory Department at Heidelberg College (OH), and Instructor of Piano at The Saint Francis School of Music in Tiffin (OH).

As a collaborative artist, Petti maintains a demanding concert schedule with SFA guest artists and faculty, including regular performances with his wife, flutist Christina Guenther. As a soloist, he has performed recitals and presented masterclasses in piano, served as an adjudicator in piano competitions, and has concertized throughout the US. He has been an accompanist at the MTNA National Convention in Washington DC, and Minneapolis, MN, and has served as accompanist for the SFA A Cappella Choir for several European tours. Petti recorded the CD Playing Favorites with trombonist Deb Scott and is on a CD featuring the works of composer Stephen Lias. He has been a member of the musical staff at Opera East Texas, performed at the NACUSA composition conference, The Estes Park Chamber Music Festival in Colorado, The National Association of Teachers of Singing Conventions throughout Texas and Oklahoma, the NASA Saxophone Convention, the Texas Flute Society, and the International Trombone Festival.