welcome!
A snapshot:
I was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, which is probably why I am such a foodie at heart - my blood flows with blue crab gumbo and beignets! After Hurricane Katrina, my family relocated to Eureka Springs, Arkansas, a small town in the beautiful Ozark Mountains. I started playing music in 5th grade band and happened to chose the flute. The only other instrument I had heard of was the clarinet - and the flute was shinier so it made the cut!
One thing led to another, and I moved to snowy Michigan to complete my last two years of high school at Interlochen Arts Academy. From there I headed out to college in Boulder, Colorado, and then to Austin, Texas, for a graduate degree in flute performance. Two degrees in music later, I’ve combined my performing experience with my organizational and communications acumen and now work full-time as the Artistic Operations Manager at the Music Academy of the West, a classical music summer school and festival in Santa Barbara, California. My life has been filled with music making and people meeting. I love nerding out about the flute, collaborating with others on musical projects, and being the detail-oriented mover and shaker behind the scenes in arts organizations.
My values:
I strive to fuse my unique interests and talents as a performing flutist, music teacher, and arts administrator to create meaningful artistic projects that connect classical music to wider audiences and increase its relevance. By broadening the scope to highlight voices that are more representative of America — specifically, women, non-white folks, and folks in the LGBTQ+ community — we expand the canon and deepen its impact. Music is for all, and when we all can access it financially, we all thrive. I help to curate musical experiences that speak to current realities and authentically engage diverse audiences in an interactive way. This is the pathway forward.
Biography (short):
Indigo Fischer enjoys a multi-faceted career as an arts administrator and performing musician in Santa Barbara, California. She joined the Music Academy of the West in September 2021 where she is the Artistic Operations Manager and assists in the planning and execution of the annual Summer Festival and other year-round programs. An award-winning flutist and former Associate Member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Ms. Fischer co-founded the Austin-based woodwind quintet Quintessence. During her time in the ensemble, Quintessence was a two-time finalist in the Coltman Chamber Music Competition. Ms. Fischer also has extensive experience teaching, both as a private flute instructor and as the graduate Teaching Assistant for The University of Texas at Austin flute studio.
Ms. Fischer is a recent Master of Music graduate from The University of Texas at Austin, where she was one of three university-wide recipients of a 2021 Outstanding Master’s Thesis Award for her virtual degree recital. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in Flute Performance and a Certificate in Arts Administration from the University of Colorado Boulder and is an alumna of the Interlochen Arts Academy.
Biography (long):
Indigo Fischer enjoys a multi-faceted career as an arts administrator and performing musician in Santa Barbara, California. She joined the Music Academy of the West in September 2021 where she is the Artistic Operations Manager and assists in the planning and execution of the annual Summer Festival and other year-round programs. An award-winning flutist and former Associate Member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Ms. Fischer co-founded the Austin-based woodwind quintet Quintessence. During her time in the ensemble, Quintessence was a two-time finalist in the Coltman Chamber Music Competition.
Indigo has performed in many orchestras and wind ensembles and is well-versed in music written by living composers. She enjoys collaborating with her composer colleagues, including five premiers to date. Indigo has extensive experience teaching private flute lessons, with levels ranging from beginner to collegiate. During her time as the flute studio Teaching Assistant at The University of Texas at Austin’s Butler School of Music, Indigo taught advanced non-major collegiate private lessons, led freshman and sophomore flute technique class, and instructed undergraduate music education students pursuing flute as a secondary instrument.
Her interest in arts administration began with an internship at the National Repertory Orchestra in Breckenridge, Colorado where she was the Artist Liaison for their summer festival. In 2021, Indigo worked as the Artist Liaison and Artistic Program Coordinator at the Music Academy of the West. Indigo also volunteers for Through the Staff, an organization that provides free music lessons for students in need.
Indigo has attended summer music festivals and institutes as a performing flutist, including Domaine Forget International Music Festival, Eastern Music Festival, and Brevard Music Center. She has performed in masterclasses for prominent flutists such as Emmanuel Pahud, Carol Wincenc, Bonita Boyd, Paula Robison, Leone Buyse, Jeffery Zook, and Lorna McGhee, and chamber artists such as Grammy award-winning Eighth Blackbird, Grammy-nominated Imani Winds, and renowned Italian guitar duo SoloDuo. In 2019 Indigo made her solo debut with the Arapahoe Philharmonic Orchestra as the winner of their T. Gordon Parks Concerto Competition. Other awards include a 2021 Outstanding Master’s Thesis Award from the Graduate School at The University of Texas at Austin for her virtual degree recital, quarter-finalist in the 2021 National Flute Association Young Artist Competition, finalist in the 2021 Byron Hester Flute Competition, finalist in the 2018 National Society of Arts and Letters Woodwinds Competition, 2nd place in the 2018 Colorado Flute Association Young Artist Competition, and 1st prize in the 2017 Colorado Flute Association Collegiate Competition.
Ms. Fischer is a recent Master of Music graduate from The University of Texas at Austin. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in Flute Performance and a Certificate in Arts Administration from the University of Colorado Boulder and is an alumna of the Interlochen Arts Academy. Her primary flute teachers and dear, lifelong mentors are Marianne Gedigian, Christina Jennings, Nancy Stagnitta, and Erika Boysen.