Megan Lanz (She/Her)

Biography

Miyazawa Performing Artist Megan Lanz (DMA/CMI) performs regularly as a solo artist and chamber musician. As a pedagogue, she finds great joy and fulfillment in helping students make the connection between the musical and physical components of playing an instrument. Her holistic performance and pedagogical approaches encompass all physical, mental, and emotional components of being a human musician.
She regularly finds inspiration in connecting with composers to commission and premier new works. Her most recent (2023) commissions include The Spirits That Haunt Us by Canadian composer Frank Horvat (funded by a New Music USA grant award) and Mask by Kevin Poelking. (For a more complete list of commissions and premieres, click here.) Megan’s performances have earned her second place in the 2023 American Prize Professional Instrumental Soloist Competition and a semi-finalist honor in the 2023 American Prize Ernst Bacon Memorial Award for the Performance of American Music. Her affinity for modern music began in school, and she culminated her academic traning by researching 20th Century composer Salvatore Sciarrino and his attempt to use instruments to imitate sounds we might normally disregard in our daily lives. The resulting doctoral document, a style analysis and performance companion to his collection L'opera per flauto, was published in 2010 and is available here.
Megan has had the pleasure of sharing the stage with great artists such as Andrea Bocelli, The Who, Stephen Hough, David Foster, Natalie Merchant, Time For Three, Charles Yang, Jackie Evancho, Celtic Woman, Hillary Hahn, and Edgar Meyer. She has performed with a variety of ensembles and productions, including the Colorado Symphony Orchestra (under Andrew Litton and Peter Oundjian), Colorado Music Festival Orchestra, Crested Butte Music Festival Orchestra, Opera Steamboat, Las Vegas Philharmonic, the first national tour of Wicked, Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular, and Disney’s The Lion King.

Megan maintains an active private flute studio in Northern Colorado. Her students are members of Colorado's All-State Ensemble, the University of Northern Colorado High School Honor Band, the Colorado State University High School Honor Band, and the University of Colorado High School Honor Band. Megan's students have continued on to perform with professional ensembles, including the Pershing's Own, American Youth Symphony, and Music Academy of the West. Her former students attend the Interlochen Arts Academy, The Colburn School, University of North Texas College of Music, and various other colleges and universities.
Megan is associated with a variety of professional organizations, including the National Flute Association, the American Federation of Musicians (Local 20-623, Denver), and the American Association of University Professors. Megan is also a member of the Colorado Flute Association, Golden Key Honor Society and the Alpha Lambda Delta and Phi Eta Sigma Honor Societies. She has recorded on the GIA and Klavier record labels, and plays a 14k gold Miyazawa flute, Hammig piccolo, and Trevor James alto and bass flutes.