Jillian Reed

Flute

Primary Academic Program: Bard Conservatory of Music: Preparatory Division

Biography: Jillian Reed is an associate flutist with The Orchestra Now, and has played with the American Symphony Orchestra and the Vermont Philharmonic. In 2023, she performed Tōru Takemitsu’s “I Hear the Water Dreaming” for flute and orchestra with the Bard Conservatory Orchestra under the direction of Tan Dun. Jillian enjoys working closely with living composers, and performed with the North Country Chamber Players, Da Capo Chamber Players, Capitol City Concerts, and at the Imani Winds Chamber Music Festival.

Jillian maintains a vibrant flute studio, and has taught at Middlebury Community Music Center, the Pittsburgh Flute Academy, and El Sistema El Salvador. Her students have won awards at the International Grande Music Competition, played with Empire State Youth Orchestra, and have participated in NYSSMA festivals. Her primary goal as a teacher is to help her students express their ideas freely and fully through music making.

Jillian studied at Carnegie Mellon University and Bard College & Conservatory, completing degrees in Human Rights and Flute Performance, studying with Tara Helen O’Connor. Her thesis investigated issues of health and ableism in the music world, and her research findings were published in a feature in Flutist Quarterly. 

Alongside her work in the music world, Jillian is the co-founder of a community centered thrift store called Thrift 2 Fight, which funds local initiatives doing racial, queer, and disability justice work. Since its founding in 2020, Thrift 2 Fight has raised and donated over $95k through the sale of secondhand clothes.