Described by the Canadian journal, Flute Focus as, “...having shattered any notions that the piccolo might be lacking in deep, expressive powers," flutist Christine Erlander Beard enjoys an active international career as a soloist, chamber artist and teacher. A passionate performer noted for her "great expressive tone and range" (Christopher Caliendo, composer) and her “...capacity to reveal the deep soul of a composition” (Martin Rokeach, composer), she has performed extensively across North America, South America and Europe, including seventeen conventions of the National Flute Association and three British Flute Society International Conventions, and regularly serves as a guest artist on the international flute festival circuit, which has most recently included the International Piccolo Festival (Italy), the Adams Flute Festival (The Netherlands), and flute festivals in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Peru, Portugal, Puerto Rico, and Spain, among others.

Christine’s highlights of recent seasons include solo performances with the Orquestra Filarmonica de Mendoza (Argentina), the Orquestra Sinfonica de Porto Alegre (Brazil), the Orchestra Harmonia Mundi (Italy), the San Jose Chamber Orchestra (CA), and the Little Rock Wind Symphony (AR). Awarded Second Prize in the prestigious American Prize Competition's Professional Soloist division in 2019, Christine can be heard alongside the French piccolo legend Jean-Louis Beaumadier on his CD, Postcards: World Piccolo, Vol. 2 (SKARBO label); with Newberry's Victorian Cornet Band on two CDs released on the MSR Classics label; and with Brazilian guitarist Daniel Wolff on his newest CD, Iberoamericano (Novodisc label).

Passionate about collaborating with composers, Christine has commissioned and/or premiered dozens of new works from composers across the globe. Well known for her decade-long collaborations with British composer Matthew Smith, her most recent commissioning projects include joining consortiums for new music for flute by Reena Ismail, Amanda Harberg, Valerie Coleman, and Samuel Zyman; and new piccolo compositions by Amanda Harberg, Herman Beeftink, Jim Stephenson, and Daniel Wolff. Christie’s newest endeavor, #theflutistactivist initiative, is an ongoing project to commission new works with social justice themes and present them in lecture-recital formats that aim to educate audiences about how and where to get involved rather than simply being passive listeners.

Beard’s pedagogical articles and columns have been published in Flute Talk, The Flutist Quarterly, The Flute Examiner, Pan, Flutewise, and The Instrumentalist; she has served on the NFA’s Piccolo and Scholarship Committees and also served as a contributing editor for the NFA's The Flutist Quarterly. Christine earned her MM and DMA in flute performance from The University of Texas at Austin, and BM from Arkansas State University. She joined the faculty at the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 2002 where she teaches flute, piccolo, chamber music, and contemporary music literature. A regular substitute player with the Omaha and Sioux City Symphonies, she is a Sankyo Flutes artist and piccolo artist for Hernandez Flutes. A member of the Whole Musician faculty since 2019 and a charter member of the SuperFlutes International Collective since 2014, Christie plays on a 5K-DT Sankyo flute, and on a Burkhart Elite Deluxe multi-trill piccolo paired with a quebracho wood headjoint made by Julio Hernandez. www.christiebeard.net