NEW: Video clips from show at Ryles Jazz Club!
Raised in Europe, Ilona Kudina resides in Cambridge, MA. She is a vibrant part of the New York — Boston jazz scene where she performs throughout the area and has regular studio gigs.
In addition to performances in Canada and the USA, she has toured extensively throughout Europe, including France, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Spain, The Netherlands, England, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Russia, Uzbekistan, and Ukraine. Ilona frequently plays throughout New England with the Greg Hopkins Jazz Orchestra.
In 2006, Ilona produced her first CD "On the Bridge," a compilation of music by Latvian composers which was awarded a Certificate of Achievement by the World Federation of Free Latvians (WFFL). Her second CD production, the "Amber Flute Quartet," was commissioned by the Baltic American Society to commemorate their 50th Anniversary in 2010. Ilona is the founder of the Amber Flute Quartet. Currently, she is composing and arranging original music for her new project, "Nothing For Nothing," a CD featuring the Ilona Kudina Jazz Quartet.
Throughout her career, Ilona has incorporated elements from artistic masters of all styles of music. Some of her favorite flutists include Denis Lupachev, Davide Formisano, Paula Robison, Jeremy Steig, and Mathieu Dufour. Ilona is fluent in recording and performing in both contemporary and classical music genres. She holds two Masters degrees in flute performance: one specializing in jazz/contemporary flute performance from Berklee College of Music, and the other in classical performance from the Latvian Academy of Music.
In addition to performing, Ilona is an active studio artist and teacher. Most of her studio work is freelance, in New York City. Most recently she has taught at Brimmer and May School in Chestnut Hill, MA, and the Boston Adult Education Center, as well as giving private lessons focusing on both jazz and classical repertoire.
"The creative mind is in constant change... there is no limit for creativity and growth. Music and the arts is a lifestyle. There is nothing more beautiful and at the same time so crazy as to live in this lifestyle."
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Website by Chris De Angelis. Photo editing by Peter Lauria and Don Hunerberg. |
Ilona plays a 9k gold Sankyo Prima flute wih a silver mechanism.