Rachel Taratoot Ciraldo 

Rachel joined the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra as their principal Flutist in 2005.  She is also the Principal Flutist of the Meridian Symphony Orchestra (Meridian, MS) and Second Flutist of the Gulf Coast Symphony Orchestra (Biloxi, MS).  She is an active chamber musician and performs regularly with classical guitarist and husband, Nicholas Ciraldo, in Duo Cintemani, and in Lagniappe Trio, with harpist Stephanie Gustafson-Amfahr and violist Christopher Lowry. She is an award winner of several international flute competitions, including the 2007 National Flute Association’s Young Artist Competition, 2006 Byron Hester Flute Competition, 2002 James Pappoutsakis Memorial Flute Competition and the 1998 Flute Festival Mid-South Young Artist Competition.  From 2007-2013, she was Instructor of Flute at Southeastern Louisiana University from and has served as a visiting instructor of flute at both Louisiana State University and the University of Southern Mississippi.  She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Indiana University and a Master of Music degree from Boston University.  Her main teachers include Amy Porter, Thomas Robertello, Marianne Gedigian, and Jill Felber. As a resident of Hattiesburg, MS, Rachel serves on the development staff of and is a performer in FestivalSouth, a month long cultural arts festival, affecting social and economic growth of the Gulf region through arts programming and advocacy. Rachel loves traveling, home improvement projects, and gardening, and has one amazing son, Luca.