Incandescent
in·can·des·cent
/ˌinkənˈdes(ə)nt/
A. Full of strong emotion; passionate
B. A flute and percussion duo founded by Claire Noelle James and Dana LeVan. The two met in graduate school and found they have a shared passion for excellence, innovation, and social change through music.
Claire Noelle James
Claire Noelle James is a flutist and teacher who is passionate about music’s ability to positively impact individual and collective stories. She uses her skills as a creative to find unique ways to foster meaningful connections with music by teaching and performing in her local community. This includes collaboration with musicians and other artists to create innovative and accessible projects, usually hosted in non-traditional and local spaces; and flute education. Claire holds a Master of Music from the University of Nebraska at Omaha where she studied under the instruction of Dr. Christine Beard. Claire loves working on collaborative and cross-disciplinary projects, and frequently works with creatives from many backgrounds, including fellow musicians, composers, visual artists, and chefs. You can learn more about these projects and follow along on her social media, @ClaireJamesFlute. Claire holds an undergraduate diploma from Longy School of Music where she studied with Sergio Pallottelli.
Dana LeVan
Dana LeVan is percussionist, pianist, and teacher who is passionate about music used as a medium for social transformation and social justice. LeVan accomplishes this through projects working with underrepresented composers, performers, and artists that bring to light important social issues. LeVan is based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and performs with the Omaha Symphony Orchestra, Lincoln Symphony Orchestra, the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, the National Composers Orchestra, and various churches. LeVan has served as a concerto soloist in China, as well as touring ensembles throughout the Midwest. In addition to performing in large ensembles. LeVan has collaborated and performed with highly acclaimed musicians Danny Elfman and Ivan Trevino. LeVan was a 2023 Fulbright Semifinalist and has collected a list of awards from various institutions including the Richard and Susie Wagoner Student-Faculty Research Award to study music production with Dr. Peter Folliard. Additionally, she studies the West African funeral instrument the Gyil in New York City, NY with master teacher Valerie Naranjo. LeVan holds a master of music degree from the University of Nebraska Omaha where she studied with Hannah Weaver and Spencer Jones and a bachelor of arts in music education from Augustana University where she studied with Dr. John C. Pennington. She also holds an AVID certification for Pro-Tools.
Projects
“The Lakota Composer Collaboration”
Incandescent is in progress of a collaboration with the Lakota Music Project. The duo is commissioning a piece by two Lakota student composers, Tobi Shaw and Jar Cottier, and sponsoring mentorship from a member of the Lakota Music Project, Jeffery Paul. This fall Incandescent will also commission a piece from Michael Begay, a Diné performer and composer. The goal of this project is to support inclusion and diversity in classical music and help the student composer write and self publish works for flute and percussion.
“The Lakota Composer Collaboration” has been accepted to present a lecture recital on this process at the National Flute Association Convention in August of 2024 and the Flute New Music Consortium in October of 2024. Incandescent plans to perform these pieces in local venues, schools, and conferences in Omaha, South Dakota, and throughout the Midwest and beyond.
If you would like more information about the project or to purchase these pieces please email Claire: FluteNoelle@gmail.com
Dana and Claire are sponsoring this project primarily with their own money, and will appreciate financial support on any level! Here is the GoFundMe