Today we’d like to introduce you to Christian Lampkin.
Hi Christian, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
Where do I start!? The flute has been my compass during my life and has always pointed me in the direction that I’ve needed to go. Music has always been a part of my life. My mother is an incredible singer and my father always had a love for R&B. They always encouraged me to sing and even put me in the Arizona Boys Choir growing up.
I first started on percussion in 5th-grade band in Colorado and I hated it. I spent an entire year playing the snare drum. The movie drumline had just come out and I wanted to be like Nick Cannon! My father was a proud member of the United States Air Force, and when we moved to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates my middle school started band in 6th grade, so I got to change instruments. I wanted to play the trumpet or the saxophone like my dad, but I actually was one of the only kids that could make a sound on the flute. So naturally, I had some rough days on the playground at lunch!
I eventually found music as a way to cope with the awkward years of middle school and started attending band camps at Colorado State University and quickly realized music as my life path. To me then, it was really the only thing I was good at. I went to Metropolitan State University of Denver for a year because my high school GPA held me back from getting into other schools. I got to study with Dr. Nancy Andrew who was a gem of a flute teacher. When I got my grades up, I transferred to the University of Northern Colorado and was so lucky to be in an environment that really valued music education and performance on equal levels. The open-minded culture of that University brought not only lifelong mentors into my life but also some of my dearest friends. I really think my experience at UNCO helped me adjust to living in the United States again. Dr. Jill Burgett (Choir), Dr. Kenneth Singelton, Dr. Richard Mayne (Band), Dr. Mark Montemayor (Music Education), and Dr. James Hall (Flute) were especially big influences on my time there.
After earning two bachelor’s degrees in Music Education and Flute Performance I taught in the Holyoke Public School district in rural Northeast Colorado. I enjoyed my time there very much and I really enjoyed working as a public-school teacher. I was fortunate enough to study with Brook Ferguson (Colorado Symphony) during that time as well. However, I knew I wasn’t done feeding my inner artist and that teaching at the university level was my main career goal. Brook gave me major support in deciding to apply for graduate school to make that goal a reality.
I had always dreamed of studying with the renowned artist, Professor Nicole Esposito at the University of Iowa, and I finally got the chance to earn my Master’s degree with her in the Fall of 2018. Dr. Mary Cohen, Dr. Jeremy Manternach, and Dr. Adam Harry allowed me to earn another concurrent Master’s degree in Music Education making me the first student in the history of the University of Iowa to earn two graduate degrees at once. During this time, I became very passionate about being a musical activist and addressing social justice issues for underrepresented minorities through music. I was able to co-found one of the first institutes for flutist of African descent, the Umoja Flute Institute, which has continued to thrive! I spent three years in Iowa with another incredible faculty that nurtured me both professionally and personally, and prepared me for a career in higher education teaching and performing.
This last summer I was able to study with Sonora Slocum, Principal Flute of the Milwaukee Symphony through the amazing Curtis Institute Mentor Network program. Sonora is a true role model for me as a person of color trailblazing a career in the predominantly white sphere of classical music. She’s currently putting into motion several exciting projects that are going to continue fostering opportunities for young musicians of color. I’m excited to be a part of these ventures!
At the end of the summer, I moved here to attend the University of South Carolina as a Graduate Assistant with “The Collective”, an incredible premier contemporary music ensemble that has been a dream come true. We are led by our phenomenal Professor of Cello Claire Bryant, and she’s been so incredibly nurturing to all of us as we find ways to celebrate the wealth of arts in the city of Columbia! I’ve also had the chance to work with another one of my idols, Dr. Jennifer Parker-Harley, Professor of Flute at UofSC. Dr. Parker-Harley is a true master teacher in every sense, and she has also been my advisor for the McFadden Future African American Professors Scholars Program here at UofSC. I truly admire the dedication, time, and wisdom Dr. Parker-Harley applies to her curriculum. Her depth of understanding of her student’s needs and ability to collaborate with them sets her far beyond others in the field. It’s been a true honor to have her influence on my future career in university teaching. I still have to pinch myself to realize how truly lucky I am! It’s been a long road from Abu Dhabi, but I can confidently say that Columbia feels like a second home even after just five months of living here.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
This is a tough question for me to answer because I think that focusing on the difficulty of a situation can often cloud the focus of achieving one’s goals. The “difficulty” is a judgment, and judging takes time and energy! I definitely have had my share of privilege in my career. Unfortunately, politics play a role in everything we do in classical music. I’ve been on the right side but I’ve also been on the wrong side. The only thing I can do is trust the process of “keeping my head down and doing the work” and always be grateful. In general, I think that people of color have a difficult time in my field. There is a lack of our presence in many spaces, and there is just frankly not enough diversity in a variety of arenas. I personally am very vocal about this in the hopes that it advocates a better future for all minorities in our field (BIPOC, all genders, and LGBTQ+ youth).
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My major role at the University of South Carolina School of Music is performing in the premier graduate ensemble, “The Collective”! This group has been a great focus of mine for this school year and we are very different from most small ensembles because we have open instrumentation. We’re comprised of two flutes, a saxophone, a cello, and percussion! This is a very unique pairing when compared to traditional instrumentation of a string quartet, or a woodwindquintet! Not a lot of music has been written for our group so we have to actually write a lot of our own music or re-arrange music for our group. A lot of the time we even get living composers to write new works for us! Last semester we did a concert at the Columbia Museum of Art that celebrated pieces from the 30 Americans exhibit. We collaborated with the composition department and gave world premiers of over 30 new pieces of music dedicated to works in the exhibit. It was a truly incredible experience celebrating art pieces by Black artists through the cross-discipline of art and music!
In addition to my duties at UofSC, I teach Applied Flute and Music Appreciation at South Carolina State University! I adore my students in my studio and all of my colleagues in the Department of Performing and Visual Arts. Our campus is alive with Black excellence and I’m truly fortunate to be a part of my student’s journeys. There truly is nothing like being a part of the HBCU family!
How do you define success?
I think this differs from person to person. To me, success should come from one’s own perception and shouldn’t be polluted by the opinions of others. For me, success is achieving a sense of divinity in combining work with one’s passion. If you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life!
Contact Info:
- Email: lampkinflute@gmail.com
- Instagram: Flute_Lamp
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8b-9ERZDNIJE1nTCnnSQ1g
Image Credits
Evan Sammons
