Allison DeFrancesco is the current piccoloist of the Sarasota Orchestra and Principal Flute of the Sarasota Opera, where she previously served for two seasons on the piccolo.
As an orchestral musician, Allison has appeared as a guest on both flute and piccolo with several orchestras across the U.S. including the Houston Symphony, Grand Rapids Symphony, The Florida Orchestra, Jacksonville Symphony, Orlando Philharmonic, Houston Ballet, River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, and San Antonio Symphony among others. She played for two seasons in long-term engagements with the New World Symphony where her playing was praised in multiple reviews by the South Florida Classical Review as both “vibrant” and “a tower of strength.”
As a soloist, Allison has been the top prize winner in several national competitions including the Young Artist Competitions of the San Diego Flute Guild, Houston Flute Club, Florida Flute Association, and the Flute Society of Washington. She has also placed in competitions for the Seattle Flute Society, South Carolina Flute Society, Austin Flute Society, Arizona Flute Society, Flute Society of Kentucky, and Flute Society of Greater Philadelphia. Additionally, she and her ensemble the Houston Trio received 3rd prize in the 19th International Friedrich Kuhlau Flute Competition.
Allison has toured twice internationally with the Orchestra of the Americas in both Europe and Mexico, and can be heard playing piccolo on two albums recorded with Carlos Miguel Prieto and Linn Records, which include Copland’s Third Symphony and Manuel de Falla’s Three Cornered Hat. She has also spent summers at the Aspen Music Festival, Brevard Music Center, National Orchestral Institute, and the Eastern Music Festival. She holds Master’s degrees from Rice University and the University of Texas at Austin and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Allison is grateful for the guidance and mentorship of her teachers Leone Buyse, Marianne Gedigian, Jonathan Keeble, Hideko Amano, Shanna Pranaitis, and Marica Rudin.
Allison plays on a Muramatsu DS flute and a custom Keefe piccolo.