Biography

Claudia Montoya Hernández is a freelance flutist and educator based in the Detroit metropolitan area.

She has performed at venues including Orchestra Hall in Detroit, Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York City Center, and Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center. She has also participated in masterclasses with Karl-Heinz Schütz, Marina Piccinini, Wally Hase, and Marianne Gedigian.

Originally from Toluca, Mexico, Claudia was first introduced to music by Luis Antonio García Cuevas and María Susana León Acosta. She pursued her flute studies at Oakland University in Michigan, where she studied with Sharon Sparrow and Jeffery Zook of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. There, she received the 2021 Outstanding Student in Instrumental Performance MaTilDa Award. Most recently, she attended the Mannes School of Music at The New School in New York City, where she studied with Judith Mendenhall, principal flutist of the American Ballet Theatre.

In 2022, Claudia co-founded Tempo Öme with guitarist Nathan Kirkwood, a chamber music project dedicated to performing and promoting works by Latin American composers. Through Tempo Öme, she has presented recitals at venues across Mexico, including the Conservatorio de Música del Estado de México, Facultad de Artes Escénicas de la UAEMex, Museo Casa Grande, and Centro Cultural Elena Garro.

Claudia is passionate about music and the arts in all their forms and enjoys participating in community outreach projects that bring music to wider audiences. Outside of music, she enjoys traveling, photography, and teaching Spanish.