Kris Palmer is a Second Prize winner in the National Flute Association’s Young Artist Competition and a First Prize winner in the Carmel Chamber Music Society Competition. She made her Carnegie Hall recital debut as a winner in the Artists International Competition, and she holds the position of Principal Piccolo with the Golden Gate Park Band. She is the founder and director of Black Cedar Chamber Music, with multiple grant awards from InterMusic SF and the Zellerbach Family Foundation. She also performs regularly with Opera San Jose, Santa Cruz Symphony, Santa Cruz Ballet, Lamplighters Musical Theatre, California Symphony, and Monterey Symphony.

Dr. Palmer earned her Doctorate of Musical Arts from Rice University with an emphasis on Baroque and Classical performance practices. She is the published author of Ornamentation According to C.P.E. Bach and J.J. Quantz, plus multiple journal articles in MTAC’s California Music Teacher magazine. She has given masterclasses and lectures at Wichita State University, San Jose State University, Chabot College, Skyline College, the Mid-Atlantic Flute Convention, the MTAC State Convention, the San Francisco International Flute Festival, and the San Diego Flute Guild Festival. She is currently on the faculty of the San Jose State University Summer Flute Institute.