Ottawa University

Flute and Piano Recital at Ottawa University

OTTAWA, Kansas - Renowned flutist Annie Gnojek is scheduled to perform at Ottawa University on March 8 at 7:30 p.m. in the University Chapel, 1001 S. Cedar Street, Ottawa, Kansas.  Annie will be accompanied on the piano by Ellen Bottorff.  Selections from Bach, Reinecke, Martin, and Borne will be performed. This event is free and open to the public.

Annie Gnojek is in high demand as a free-lance musician, flute educator, and clinician in the Lawrence and Kansas City area.  She is a founding member of the flute, oboe, and piano trio Allegresse and performs extensively throughout Kansas and the United States. She can also be heard as the principal flutist on the Naxos recording Redline Tango with the KU Wind Ensemble.  In addition, Annie was a winner of the first annual University of Kansas Concerto Competition in 2005 and a national finalist in the Music Teacher's National Association woodwind competition in both 2003 and 2004.  She will compete in this same national competition in Toronto, Ontario at the end of this month playing the music from tonight's concert.

Annie holds both a bachelor and masters degree from the University of Kansas where she studied with Dr. John Boulton and Professor David Fedele.  She currently maintains a successful flute studio out of her home in Lawrence, KS, and is the Adjunct Professor of Flute at Ottawa University.   

Accompanist Ellen R. Bottorff has toured extensively throughout the United States and Canada, performing on live radio broadcasts, regional and national conventions, competitions, recital series, and cruise ships.  In addition, Ellen can be heard on four professional recordings, Stepping Stones; and Just for Fun, with euphoniumist Pat Stuckemeyer;  Rare Breeds and Dog-Eared Classics, with the Kansas Brass Quintet; and Arrows of Time, with trombonist David Vining.  She has been a featured soloist with the Saint Joseph Symphony, having recently performed Rachmaninoff's Second Concerto.  Ellen is also a founding member of the Allegresse trio.

Mrs. Bottorff was on the keyboard and voice faculty at Missouri Western University from 1994-2004, with her students receiving high honors in state and regional competitions.  She has also taught at the Institute for Young Musicians, Midwestern Music Camp, and has served as a staff accompanist at the University of Kansas. 

A graduate of the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Missouri Western University, Ellen has studied with Richard Cass, Jerry L. Anderson, and Rita Sloan.  Currently, she is completing a Doctorate of Music in piano performance and chamber music at the University of Kansas with Robert Koenig as her primary teacher. 

Founded in 1865, Ottawa University is a comprehensive, not-for-profit educational institution affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. Ottawa University's educational mission brings together a residential campus in Ottawa, Kansas, and adult campuses in Kansas City, Missouri; Phoenix, Mesa and Tempe, Arizona; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Jeffersonville, Indiana; as well as multiple international instructional sites.  For more information, visit http://www.ottawa.edu/.

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