Prema Kesselman
Early Life
Prema Kesselman was born in Flushing, New York. Kesselman began her musical training in Valencia, California and later in Los Angeles, California, where she attended the Colburn School of Performing Arts. Since her concerto debut at the age of fifteen, she has soloed with orchestra more than a dozen times and has garnered prizes and awards from over twenty state, national and international competitions. Kesselman received a Bachelor of Music in Flute Performance, summa cum laude at Temple University-Boyer College of Music where she studied flute with David Cramer and was awarded the Max Aronoff Prize, President's Scholar Award, Presser Scholar Award and 1st prize in the Annual Soloist Competition.
She completed a Postgraduate Advanced Diploma (PGA) with distinction, sponsored by the Derek Butler Trust, and a Master of Music (MMus) in Flute Performance Studies, sponsored by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, studying flute with Wissam Boustany. Her MMus dissertation titled, "Poem by Charles Tomlinson Griffes: An Analysis and a New Version" and her final recital received a distinction from their respective juries, which included William Bennett.
Kesselman was awarded the Friends of New York Trinity Laban London Prize for her outstanding performance achievements and won the Gold Medal Prize, the College's highest award for solo performance. She was also awarded the Worshipful Company of Musicians' Silver Medal for Excellence in Performance. In addition, she took part in mentor schemes with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields and Chamber Orchestra of Europe. Previous flute teachers include Nadine Asin, Peter Lloyd, Karen Lundgren, Cathy Ransom, and Anne Diener Zentner.
career
Prema Kesselman was Principal Flute with the Orquesta Filarmónica de Santiago, Chile in the Municipal de Santiago - Opera Nacional de Chile, for nine seasons, performing opera, ballet and symphonic programs and was flute professor at the Universidad Mayor, Conservatorio de Musica. Kesselman was Principal Flute in Opera Philadelphia for the 2022-2023 season.
As first prize winner of the Malcolm Arnold Concerto Prize, Mrs. Kesselman made her professional concerto debut with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Tolga Kashif. She also presented a New York solo recital debut at Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall, which The New York Concert Review wrote "Ms. Kesselman handled it all with assurance and a cool and focused tone… rock solid and note perfect... limpid and beautiful... a fluid and tight-ensembled performance... The final chord brought a standing ovation and an encore."
Mrs. Kesselman gave the South American premiere performance of the Flute Concerto by Christopher Rouse in Valparaíso, Chile, with the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional Juvenil, Chile and conductor, José Luis Domínguez. She performed the Rouse Flute Concerto again in Chile, at the Municipal de Santiago with the Orquesta Filarmónica de Santiago and conductor, Konstantin Chudovsky to rave reviews. She had the honor of being the first flutist in the world to perform the Rouse Flute Concerto from memory. Most recently, she performed the Bach Suite in B Minor as soloist at the Municipal de Santiago and Mozart Concerto in G with the Orquesta Sinfónica de la Universidad de La Serena, Chile. In Chile, her pupils held positions in the National Youth Symphony Orchestra and regularly won top prizes in national competitions.
Mrs. Kesselman was awarded 1st Place in the Sigma Alpha Iota Graduate Performance Awards National Competition in Orlando, Florida. Her solo performances have been broadcast on Los Angeles's KUSC 91.5 FM "Sundays at Four" and on WorldSpace digital satellite radio network throughout four continents. She performed in the Aspen Music Festival, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Hampstead and Highgate Festival-Lauderdale House (England), Bath Recital Artists' Trust Series - The Pump Room (England), and in the following prestigious venues: Academy of Music and Kimmel Center - Philadelphia, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and Herbert Zipper Concert Hall - Los Angeles, Sai Kulwant Hall, Prashanti Nilayam - India, Sydney Opera House - Australia, Toronto Centre for the Arts - Canada, and St. Martin in the Fields - London.
Mrs. Kesselman was Principal Flute in the Young Janacek Philharmonic and performed with them at the Cantiere Internazionale d'Arte di Montepulciano, Italy and Festival International des Musiques D'Aujourd'Hui Strasbourg, France. She also performed in the national premiere production of Benjamin Britten's chamber opera, The Turn of the Screw, and Il Postino by Daniel Catán in Santiago, Chile with Plácido Domingo. As Principal Flute in the Metropolitan Sinfonia, she performed the World Premiere of the Concerto in Two Movements by renowned American composer, Maurice Wright, at St. George's Bristol and its London premiere at St. John's Smith Square. Her performance was broadcast on the weekly radio show, "Discoveries From The Fleisher Collection" on WRTI-FM in Philadelphia.
Mrs. Kesselman is currently Adjunct Flute Faculty, Artist-in-Residence at Temple University, Boyer College of Music and Dance.
