Erin McKibben is an active Grammy-nominated performer, educator, and conductor in Southern California, originally from Portland, Oregon. She is the Director of the Music Academy’s Sing! choral program and Director of the Santa Barbara School of Music. Erin is principal flutist for the Los Angeles-based experimental classical ensemble, Wild Up, whose performances have been listed in both the LA and New York Times "Best Of" lists.  Their album "The Pieces that Fall to Earth" was nominated for a Grammy and their latest album, “Femenine,” listed on NPR’s Top 10 albums of 2021.  She has performed at the Aspen Music Festival, Carnegie Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Hahn Hall at the Music Academy, Colburn’s Zipper Hall, Warner Brothers Studios, The Granada Theatre, Brooklyn's National Sawdust, several National Flute Association Conventions as a prize winner, as a soloist at the Ford Amphitheatre in Hollywood, and with the LA Philharmonic, the experimental LA-based Opera company, The Industry (performing in the acclaimed productions, "Hopscotch" and "Sweet Land"), and the International Contemporary Ensemble. As a chamber musician, Erin has participated in the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition and has been heard on Santa Barbara’s classical music radio station as a featured artist. Erin has also been engaged as the Keynote Speaker for the College Music Society. Erin holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Puget Sound and a master's degree from the University of Michigan, where she studied with Amy Porter as a fellow.