Bettine Clemen is a world renowned classical flautist. Born in Bavaria, Bettine made her early career with such prestigious orchestras as ‘The Munich Bach Orchestra’, ‘The Prague Radio Orchestra’ and ‘The Mozarteum Orchestra of Salzburg’. In 1978 she became solo flutist of ‘The Belo Horizonte Symphony’ in Brazil. The Amazon rain forests had a great influence on her own compositions and led to her recording ‘Love Song to a Planet’. At age six , Bettine started playing violin, piano and recorder and concert flute at age 12. She gained her Master’s degree of Music at the Academy of Music in Munich, where she studied with Prof. Walther Theurer. She also studied with renowned European flutists Aurele Nicolet and Peter Lukas-Graf, and took Master Classes with James Galway and Julius Baker. Bettine was one of the first Western musicians officially invited by the Chinese government to perform concerts and teach Master Classes in Shanghai and Beijing. In 1994 Bettine recorded her popular album, ‘Forever’, with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and in 1996 recorded her album ‘Open your Ears to Love’. More recently she has recorded her albums, ‘Echoes of Life'(1998), ‘Salut d’Amour'(1998), and ‘Communion'(2000). Apart from her world-wide performances in such prestigious venues as the Festival and Royal Albert Halls in London and the Lincoln Center in New York, Bettine has performed throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, the Far East and on many different cruise ships as a cabaret artiste. In addition to playing for humans of all ages all around the globe, Bettine also shares her music with the animals she meets. She has even played for Bow!
This Friday, Julia Hanna and I had the honor of interviewing Bettine about her music and her world travels, playing for humans and non-humans all around the globe, in 176 different countries.
In this time of lockdowns and mutual mistrust, Bettine offers a ray of hope for all of us. Music can be a tool for healing and communication. Bettine amply demonstrates this with her flutes, her music and her love for animals.
