Hannah Hammel Maser joined the Detroit Symphony Orchestra as Principal Flute in January 2020. She also plays regularly with Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings and New Music Detroit. Before joining the DSO, Hammel Maser held the position of Principal Flute of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra from 2017-2019. 

As an orchestral musician, Hammel Maser has performed with the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, Nashville Symphony, Houston Grand Opera, Richmond Symphony, and New World Symphony. Hammel Maser has attended summer festivals including Tanglewood Music Center, Music Academy of the West, Pacific Music Festival, Spoleto Festival USA, and Round Top Music Festival.

Hammel Maser is a sought-after teacher and orchestral excerpt coach and has been invited to teach for the Cleveland Institute of Music, Oberlin Conservatory, Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, University of North Texas, University of Alabama, University of Michigan, and Michigan State University and was a coach for Sphinx's 2022 Audition Intensive at New World Symphony. Hammel Maser has an active private studio in Detroit and also enjoys coaching flutists virtually.

As a soloist, Hammel Maser has won first place in the 2016 National Flute Association's Young Artist Competition, 2016 Houston Flute Club Byron Hester Competition, the 2015 Atlanta Flute Association Young Artist Competition, the 2014 National Flute Association Orchestral Excerpt & Masterclass Competition, 2013 Central Ohio Flute Association Collegiate Division Competition and second place in the 2013 Mid-South Flute Society’s Young Artist Competition. Hammel Maser now serves as the Competition Coordinator for the NFA's Orchestral Excerpt & Masterclass Competition. 

A native of Richmond, VA, Hammel Maser began studying the flute with her mother, Alice Hammel. She holds a BM in flute performance and a minor in music theory from The Oberlin Conservatory (2015) where she studied with Alexa Still. She graduated with her MM in flute performance in 2017 from Rice University's Shepherd School of Music as a student of Leone Buyse.

Hammel Maser plays on an 18K gold Muramatsu flute and a Keefe piccolo. She lives in Detroit with her husband, trombonist Ian Maser, and their two labradoodles, Evelyn and Cooper.

Sharon Sparrow is currently Assistant Principal Flute of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. She remains tenured in the position of Assistant Principal Flute granted to her by Leonard Slatkin in 2014, and before that, was tenured as DSO’s Second Flutist for nine years. Sparrow earned her bachelor’s degree at The Juilliard School and a master’s degree at Mannes College of Music, studying with renowned teachers Julius Baker, Thomas Nyfenger, and Geoffrey Gilbert. She has given master classes all over the world, and locally she is an Instructor of Flute at Oakland University and Wayne State University.

Sparrow is a sought-after trainer for orchestral auditions on all instruments, and she has coached players who have won major jobs in orchestras throughout the U.S. Her specialty is helping musicians with their mindset, confidence, and certainty through preparation, so they can master the audition experience. Her book 6 Weeks to Finals, published by Theodore Presser in 2016, is in high demand. Telemann for Two, a set of duets that Sharon co-wrote with colleague Jeffery Zook and based on Telemann’s Solo Fantasies, was released in August 2018 by Theodore Presser.

Sparrow is a hands-on advocate for music education at all ages and has hosted and written children’s shows for both the DSO and the CutTime Players. She has been a frequent concerto soloist with the DSO and other local orchestras. Sparrow has held principal positions with the Memphis Symphony, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and has been a guest flutist in the Chicago, Pittsburgh, Hong Kong, and Baltimore symphony orchestras.

Sparrow’s children have continued with a passion for music. Her daughter Hannah graduated with a degree in Choral Music Education from the University of Michigan and is a professional singer; and son Zack graduated from Belmont University with a degree in Music Business and is the digital media manager for Easy Eye Sound Studios in Nashville. Sparrow is proud to be a resident of downtown Detroit.

Amanda Blaikie is known for her sparkling tone and sensitive, expressive musicality. She was appointed 2nd Flute of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra by Leonard Slatkin in 2015, previously holding the position of Principal Flute with both the Michigan Opera Theatre Orchestra and the Sarasota Opera in Florida. Other previous orchestral positions include Principal Flute with the Miami City Ballet and the Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra. She has also performed extensively with the New York Philharmonic, including a Live from Lincoln Center television broadcast, Carnegie Hall performances, and a European Tour.

Blaikie regularly performs chamber music with organizations including Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings, Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, New Music Detroit, Cut-Time Players, and the WRCJ Classical Brunch Series. As a soloist, highlights include performing concerti with the Allegro Chamber Orchestra, a solo performance at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall, and numerous solo performances at the 2018 National Flute Association Convention in Orlando.

Blaikie earned a Professional Studies Degree at the Manhattan School of Music under the tutelage of Robert Langevin, Principal Flutist of the New York Philharmonic. She also received a MM in Flute Performance from the University of Miami where she studied with Christine Nield-Capote and Jenny Robinson, and a BA in Music from Principia College where she studied with flutist and pianist Dr. Marie Jureit-Beamish.

Passionate about teaching and educating, Blaikie is a Flute Instructor at Oakland University and is actively involved in the DSO’s Community and Educational Outreach Programs. She teaches and coaches privately, helping advanced flutists with audition preparation, and presents public masterclasses on orchestral excerpts. In the summer of 2019, Blaikie was a flute faculty member at the Pacific Music Institute in Hawaii, where she taught and performed.