Tara Flandreau is a violinist, violist, composer/improviser and conductor. She is chair of the Performing Arts Department at the College of Marin, in Kentfield, California, where she teaches music theory and composition, ear training, and directs the chamber music program. She is the conductor of the COM Symphony Orchestra, a community orchestra of about 55 musicians. Tara is also on the faculty of the Marin Community Music School in San Anselmo and a member of the Marin Symphony. In addition to teaching, Tara performs classical, contemporary, and improvised music in the U.S. and abroad, playing and recording with many varied ensembles.

Tara received her Bachelors and Masters degrees in music from Dominican College and is working on a doctoral degree in music at Columbia University in New York. Her dissertation project is on developing ways to use student creativity to teach ear training through improvisation and composition.

In addition to her many classical music performances, Tara has performed and recorded with many great improvisers, including Peter Kowald, Gianni Gebbia, Joelle Leandre, Saadet Turkoz, Marco Eneidi, Glenn Spearman, Eugene Chadbourne, Butch Morris, Jack Wright, Wadada Leo Smith, Daniel Carter, John Schott, Bert Turetzky, ROVA Saxophone Quartet, Garth Powell, Douglas Ewart, Oluyeme Thomas, and Phillip Greenlief. Tara has recorded with John Schott’s Ensemble Diglossia, and performes on two CD’s with the The American Jungle Orchestra, a creative improvising orchestra. The Shull/Flandreau/Radding Trio (oboe/viola/bass) CD was released in June 2005 to rave reviews. In production are more recordings by the Daniel Carter Quintet, based in New York, the Paul Rucker Large Ensemble, based in Seattle, and a solo scordatura violin/viola CD. Tara also performs with the Seattle-based string quartet Thingsome Q.