Help me study in Europe this Summer!

Hi everybody!! My name is Gillian Derer, and I'm a young Canadian flute player currently living and studying in Pittsburgh, PA! I am an alum of Western University and the Glenn Gould School, and I am currently a student at Carnegie Mellon University where I am pursuing my Master's of Music with Alberto Almarza. You may know me as Gill, Gillian, or as @gill.flutes on social media!

This Summer, I am pursuing the opportunity to travel and study in Europe for four weeks across Germany, France, and England. It has been my dream for many, many years to pursue flute studies in Europe, but I unfortunately have not been financially able to do so. Despite working very hard, my income has gone towards my schooling and the high cost of living for the past few years and has made this trip not possible for me. However, I have taken the leap and designed a trip to study with three of my heroes in Europe this Summer (2025): Egor Egorkin, Solo Piccolo of the Berlin Philharmonic, Julien Beaudiment, Principal Flute of the Lyon Opera Orchestra, and Paul Edmund-Davies, former Principal Flute of the London Symphony Orchestra. I would be so grateful for your support in helping me pursue this trip this Summer!

My goal for this trip is to enhance my flute playing by learning more about the historical, social, and cultural contexts of Classical Music in Germany, France, and England. Many of the most important flute pieces that we have today originated in these countries, and I hope to become a much more well-rounded player by filling in some of my gaps of understanding of these pieces by being immersed in the cities in which they were written, in addition to studying with the three world-renowned flute teachers mentioned above. This education will not just supplement my flute playing, but my teaching as well- and I hope to be able to bring new perspectives and ideas to my students following this trip.

Studying in Europe will be an extremely important step in my career and I am extremely grateful for any financial support to help make this trip happen. Donations will go towards flights, accommodations, meals, lesson fees, and concert tickets. I plan to document the entire trip on my social media and share my educational findings following the trip, so be sure to follow along at @gill.flutes on Instagram and Youtube, as well as my blog on Substack called "The Practice Room!"

Thank you so much for considering supporting my project!

XOXO and #gopractice,

Gill Flutes