My Story
My story is a long one, so for the sake of brevity I’ll shorten it here.If you’d like to know my full story, head over to my blog page where you’ll learn a lot more about me!
I started playing the flute in 5th grade when I was 10 years old. (So I’ve now been playing this instrument for roughly 30 years!) When I was in high school, I became really serious about playing this instrument and decided to go to college and study flute performance. Life often has other plans however, and I got injured my freshman year and ended up having to change my major to History. I have zero regrets about this change because I adore all of my history professors and classes, and I ended up completing so many music course requirements that I look like I have a BA in Music and a BA in History on paper.
I spent many years trying to figure out what to do as an injured flutist. I eventually found relief for my injury and hesitantly dipped my toe back into being a working musician. During this time, I applied for, and was accepted, into Rhonda Larson’s flute masterclass in Italy. It was a life-altering experience for me and made me realize that I would not be happy doing anything else except playing or teaching the flute. So I went back to school. I got my Master of Music in Flute Performance from Colorado State University and my Doctor of Musical Arts in Flute Performance, Pedagogy, and Literature from James Madison University. Since then I’ve worked at a variety of institutions of higher education teaching many different classes like music theory, ear training, music technology, and, my absolute favorite, applied flute lessons.
The bottom line of this story is that I love teaching and playing the flute! It is my absolute favorite thing in the world! I love watching a student have the mind-blowing experience of realizing that they sound FANTASTIC! I love watching them grow into confident and highly capable musicians, and I especially love when they take this love of music with them throughout their whole lives!
Meet Penny!
This is Penelope Sue Little-Ahlhorn, better known as Penny. She is the studio mascot because the only instrument she tolerates is the flute! (I forced it on her and have zero regrets.)
Penny loves napping in patches of sunshine, running as fast as she can at big yards, and playing “sniffy games” (K9 Nose Work). She also requires 110% of Mom’s attentions at all times, please and thank you
Super Official Bio
Playing the flute has taken Dr. Brianne Little to four different continents, seven different countries, and many states within the USA. Brianne is a First Prize winner of the 2018 Vienna, 2019 Paris, and 2019 London Grand Prize Virtuoso competitions and the 2018 Golden Classic Music Awards International Competition. She was a 3rd Prize Winner in the Colorado State University Concerto Competition 2012. She has performed nationally and internationally in Italy, France, and England and in such venues as Carnegie Hall in New York City, the Royal Albert Hall in London, the Amphithéâtre - Cité de la Musique, in Paris, St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, and the Haydnsall in Eisenstadt, Austria. In July 2019, she performed as Guest Principal Flutist with the Orquesta Filarmonica de Santa Cruz de La Sierra in Bolivia. Since 2019, Dr. Little has made Conway, Arkansas her home where she has recruited a large and very active flute studio.
Dr. Little specializes in preparing students for state ensemble auditions, solo and ensemble, and for acceptance into excellent college music programs. Her previous students have gone on to schools such as the University of Arkansas, Otterbein University (Ohio), the University of Central Arkansas, North Carolina School of the Arts, Grove City College (Pennsylvania), James Madison University (Virginia), and Harvard University. Dr. Little believes in providing her students with a solid foundation in the fundamentals of playing the flute, so that they can be prepared for any opportunity that could appear. Whether this is a student entering a college music program, improving their standing in their school band, being selected for a regional or state ensemble, becoming a music entrepreneur, or performing in community ensembles for their own enjoyment, Dr. Little’s students are prepared for any musical occasion.
Brianne has performed or presented at regional and national conferences such as the Mid-South Flute Festival, the Mid-Atlantic Flute Convention, the Music by Women Conference, and the National Flute Association Convention where she has led flute choirs, introduced group practice concepts, and performed new works by women composers. Brianne is currently the Treasurer of the Mid-South Flute Society and has also served on the Board of the Flute Society of Washington as Secretary 2018-2020. Brianne holds degrees from James Madison University (DMA), Colorado State University (MM), and Capital University (BA). Brianne is an alumni member of Sigma Alpha Iota, Pi Kappa Lambda, and Phi Alpha Theta. In 2022, Brianne received the Distinguished Alumni Award from her high school and was placed in the Woodmore Academic Boosters Hall of Fame.
