Meet Kayla

Kayla Noelle Deming is an up-and-coming flutist known for her passionate solo playing and an unwavering dedication to a high level of musicianship. Showing an interest from a very young age, she was introduced to the flute through her mother, who is also a professional flutist. She would often wake to a house filled with beautiful music and think to herself, “I want to play like that someday.” Originally from Macomb, Michigan, Kayla was highly involved in her high-school band program while also playing in the Oakland Youth Symphony Orchestra, where she held Principal Flute in her senior year. In 2017 she performed in the wind ensemble at the Michigan Youth Arts Festival and was awarded first chair — one of the year’s top high-school flutists in the state.

Kayla received her Bachelor of Music in Flute Performance from Eastern Michigan University, graduating Summa Cum Laude in 2021. During her time at EMU she held ensemble positions including Principal Flute and Piccolo in the Wind Symphony and Symphony Orchestra. She won first prize in the School of Music’s William Stewart Concerto Competition as well as the Concerto/Aria Competition, and in 2019 she won first place in the nationally recognized Barry Manilow Scholarship Competition. She was also an active member of the professional music fraternity Mu Phi Epsilon.

She then made her way down south, graduating from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts with a Master of Music in Flute Performance in 2023, under the tutelage of Dr. Tadeu Coelho. In the studio she served as the Flute Teaching Assistant and as the Graduate Assistant for Academic and Artist Services, performing with the Symphony Orchestra and Wind Ensemble and playing Principal Flute in UNCSA’s production of The Nutcracker in 2021 and 2022. Through ArtistCorps, a community-engagement program serving Winston-Salem through the arts, she taught pre-K phonics and middle- and high-school flute students.

On a national level, Kayla has a broad range of experience performing with professional ensembles. In 2018 she was selected to perform in the United States Air Force Band Collegiate Symposium — one of only two flutists chosen by nationwide audition, and the youngest participant at the time — appearing alongside the Air Force Band and in masterclasses with their musicians. That same year she won a seat in the National Flute Association Collegiate Flute Choir, under the direction of renowned flutist Jim Walker. She has performed at the Renova Summer Music Festival and in masterclasses with musicians including Amy Porter, Marina Piccinini, Anthony McGill, Marin Alsop, and Christina Jennings.

Alongside her performing, Kayla is a full-time private teacher. She began teaching in 2016 in the metro-Detroit area and now teaches online and from her home in Taylors, South Carolina. Her studio of more than twenty students spans every level, from beginner to advanced. Her students have consistently earned Superior ratings at regional and state Solo & Ensemble festivals, won national competitions, placed in All-State band, been accepted to prestigious summer festivals, held top chairs in their local bands, and gone on to study music in college.