Flutist/composer John Fonville is dedicated to extending the language and technique of the flute. Toward that objective he is a master of all the recent technical developments and an explorer in their use in various musical contexts: microtonal music, improvisation, and new compositions that push the boundaries. He performs on a complete set of quarter-tone flutes from bass flute to piccolo and was instrumental in their development. His numerous premieres include works by composers such as Ben Johnston, Sal Martirano, Joji Yuasa, Roger Reynolds, Hiroyuki Itoh, Paul Koonce and numerous others. He is a member of the Tone Road Ramblers, the Eolus Quintet, and the Department of Music's Performance Lab. Widely recorded, he can be heard on CRI, New World, Neuma, OO Discs, Advance, TR2, Orion, and Opus One. A solo flute CD featuring the compositions of Ferneyhough, Fonville, Johnston, Martirano and Yuasa is on Einstein Recordings. Fonville is past chairman of the Department of Music and Professor of Flute Performance at
the University of California in San Diego.
flute, composer