Sherry Finzer

Finzer was born in Syracuse, New York, on August 23, 1963 to middle class working parents. When she was 12, her father took a job offer that moved her family to Henrietta, a suburb of Rochester, New York, where she would attend Charles H. Roth High School, and major in music. After marrying in 1983, at the age of 20, the artist and her husband moved north to the border town of Greece. They have two children, one of which is jazz musician Nick Finzer.[6] In 2005 the family moved west, currently residing in the Ahwatukee area of Phoenix.

As a classical performer, Finzer was a member of the Brockport Symphony Orchestra [7] from 1986 to 1988, and of the Greece Symphony Orchestra[8] from 2003 to 2004. Between 2000 and 2005, she provided musical accompaniment in a number of choirs, orchestras and ensembles, including the Silver Tones Flute Choir, NRG! Flute Duo, the Caprice flute trio, the Trillium Ensemble,[9] Canatabile Flute Quartet, CAFE,[10] the Arizona Flute Society Alle Breve choir,[11] and is a performing member of the National Flute Association.[12]

Finzer has released several solo albums, and multiple collections in supergroups. In 2006 she teamed up with acoustic and electric guitarist Ric Flauding[13][14] to release her debut album Desert Journey,[15] a collection of new age and world music instrumentals arranged for flute and guitar. The first of Finzer's Sanctuary[16] albums followed in 2009, and in the same year she and harpist VeeRonna Ragone[17] formed Dulce VAS,[18] releasing a jazz fusion, Latin flair Christmas album of traditional holiday songs performed as mambos, sambas and rhumbas entitled Christmas Picante. In 2010, she released Masquerade[19] and Radiant Sky,[20] the latter being a second album with Flauding and a host of other musicians, including fellow flutist Tina Beaton, percussionist Freddie Colon,[21] and guitarists Will Chapin, Pedro Perez and Evan Drummond.[22]

In 2011, Finzer released the second installment in her Sanctuary trilogy, Sanctuary II: Earth.[23] Earth is a relaxation/meditation album of six extended tracks, each performed utilizing the alto flute, and designed around expressionist themes of wood, water and air. Having found a unique voice and interest in the subgenre of "healing music", she collaborated with guitarist Darin Mahoney[24] in 2013 for the release of Transformation[25] an album the two artists composed to foster an emotional experience for those faced with life-threatening illnesses - most specifically cancer, of which Mahoney is a survivor. The album was engineered by John Herrera[26] at Clamsville Studios[27] and won One World Music UK's Album of the Year award in 2013. Finzer called on Herrera's production again the following year, for the release of Sanctuary III: Beyond the Dream,[28] an album which received widespread acclaim and award nominations[29] - most notably on the long running NPR show Echoes.[30] The album's closing track "Song For Rex" garnered considerable attention as a piece composed for her grandson with Down Syndrome. Hundreds of children with DS submitted their photos for use in the song's video.[31]

In 2015, Finzer collaborated with Native American Flutist Mark Holland on Flute Flight.[32] an album of ambient and atmospheric music performed on concert flutes (c flute, alto flute and bass flute), as well as featuring the sounds of Native American Flutes. The Finzer/Holland duo.[33] released their follow-up album, Somewhere New in July 2018, adding new sounds and colors with Finzer's contrabass flute. 2016 brought three new releases from Finzer into the Heart Dance Records catalog - 'Trialogue' a world/americana style album with guitarist Darin Mahoney and seven-time GRAMMY Nominee and pan-global percussionist Will Clipman, Majestica - 'In the Midst of Stars' with Cass Anawaty, and a meditational album with Tom Moore titled Whispers from Silence.

In addition to her prolific recording and performance schedule, Finzer's Heart Dance Records label continues to expand its roster, having grown to over 30 new age, acoustic and meditative music performers, including former Windham Hill.[34] artist Scott Cossu.[35] multi-instrumentalists Michelle Qureshi.[36] Cass Anawaty.[37] and Tom Moore guitarists Darin Mahoney.[38] Ken Verheecke[39] Chris B. Jácome.[40] Michael Kent Smith.[41] and Don Latarski.[42] percussionists Will Clipman.[34] & Byron Metcalf.[43] pianists Lisa Swerdlow.[44] Lynn Yew Evers. Philip Shpartov.[45] Lynn Tredeau.[46] and Greg Maroney.[47] flutists Peter Sheridan.[48] and Monica Williams.[49]

Sherry Finzer's sound is influenced by the artists she collaborates with, and by the instruments she uses. She incorporates a variety of flutes in her compositions, where wind instruments are mixed with Gregorian chants, ethereal sounds, natural and other ethnic arrangements to create her soundscapes. She mixes modern electronic modes and Eastern scales and melodies that evoke an air of mystery and intrigue. Critic RJ Lannan, of Zone Music Reporter, describes her compositions as “deeply haunting…calms and yet piques the senses,”[50] and compared some of her more thematic works to “a rush of water in a desert gorge.” Lannan goes on to liken the often empyrean suggestions in her work as "comets and asteroids zooming through space...with the music becoming a springboard for...playful fantasies.” Echoes Radio show host, John Diliberto, intimates that her sound "explor[es] a deeper modality hovering between new age meditations and ambient chamber music." [51]

• Desert Journey (2006)
• Sanctuary (2009)
• Christmas Picante [with Dulce VAS] (2009)
• Masquerade (2010)
• Radiant Sky (2010)
• Sanctuary II: Earth (2011)
• Someone Like Me (2012)
• Transformation (2013) w/ Darin Mahoney
• Sanctuary III: Beyond The Dream (2014)
• Flute Flight (2015) w/ Mark Holland
• In The Midst of Stars [with Majestica] (2016)
• Trialogue (2016) w/ Darin Mahoney & Will Clipman
• Whispers from Silence (2016) w/Tom Moore
• Traveler (2017) w/Peter Sheridan
• Let There Be Light (2017) w/ Tom Moore
• Mediterranean Meditations, Ondas, Sea of Tranquility, Reflections w/Chris B. Jácome - single releases (2018)
• Auriga to Orion - Majestica (2018)
• The Beauty Lies Within w/ Greg Maroney-single release (2018)
• Somewhere New w/Mark Holland (2018)
• Let There Be Light Deluxe Version w/Tom Moore (2018)
• Evening at Angkor Wat, Kilauea Rain, The Space Between Breaths, Timbuktu & You w/Will Clipman- single releases (2018)
• Acceptance (2018)

• World Flute Society Convention - Eau Claire, WI
• The Musical Instrument Museum - Phoenix, AZ
• National Flute Association Conventions in Albuquerque, NM, Pittsburgh, PA, San Diego, CA, Anaheim, CA
• Green Valley Performing Arts Center - Green Valley, AZ
• Loyola University - Roussell Hall - New Orleans, LA
• Moss Performing Arts Center Recital Hall - Grand Junction, CO
• University of Alaska – Fairbanks, AK
• The Joy Theater – New Orleans, LA
• Brisbane Jazz Club – Brisbane, Australia
• Crossings Theatre – Narrabri, NSW Australia
• Foundry616 – Sydney, NSW Australia
• Buena Vista Social Club – Melbourne, South Australia
• Mesa Arts Center – Mesa, AZ
• Tempe Center for the Arts – Tempe, AZ
• Old Town Center for the Arts – Cottonwood, AZ
• Arcosanti – Mayer, AZ
• Desert Botanical Garden – Phoenix, AZ
• Unity Church of Albuquerque – Albuquerque, NM
• Sedona Creative Life Center – Sedona, AZ
• King of Glory Church Concert Series – Tempe, AZ
• Mountain View Lutheran Church – Phoenix, AZ
• Tlaquepaque – Sedona, AZ
• Phoenix Art Museum – Phoenix, AZ
• Sea of Glass – Tucson, AZ

Radio interviews

• Echoes Radio – NPR [52]
• RAF/STL The Sound of Art with Jim Doyle [53]
• St. Louis Public Radio with Steve Potter [54]
• Harborough FM with Terry Hawke [55]
• KAFM Radio - Grand Junction, CO

Flute competitions: 1st Place

• Rochester Flute Association 2002
• Rochester Flute Association 2004
• National Flute Association – Newly Published Music – 2006 Pittsburgh
• National Flute Association – Professional Flute Choir – 2006 Pittsburgh
• Great Southwest Flute Fair – 2006 Tucson
• National Flute Association – Professional Flute Choir – 2007 Albuquerque
• Great Southwest Flute Fair - 2007 Tucson
• Arizona Flute Society – 2008 Phoenix

Industry Awards

• Rush – Henrietta Alumni Hall of Fame Recording awards
• One World Music - Best Album 2013 for Transformation
• One World Music – Best Album Acoustic 2014 for Sanctuary III: Beyond the Dream
• Zone Music Reporter – Best Album Acoustic 2014 for Sanctuary III: Beyond the Dream
• Echoes - #1 on Echoes Chart and CD of the Month for January 2015 for Sanctuary III: Beyond the Dream
• Hollywood Music in Media Awards Nomination - New Age - Sanctuary III: Beyond the Dream
• Zone Music Reporter – Best Meditation and Relaxation Album 2015 for Flute Flight
• One World Music Radio – Nomination for Best Album Acoustic 2015 for Flute Flight
• Hollywood Music and Media Nominations – "Song for Rex" (March 2015), "Looking Through" (November 2015), "Dark Horse" (April 2016)
• Zone Music Reporter - Winner Best Instrumental Album Acoustic (2016), 'Trialogue'
• Zone Music Reporter - Nomination for Best Relaxation/Mediation Album (2016), 'Whispers from Silence'
• One World Music Radio - Nominated Best New Age Album (2016), 'Whispers from Silence'
• Round Glass Music Awards - Nomination Best Contemporary Instrumental Album (2016) - 'Majestica - In the Midst of Stars'
• Zone Music Reporter - Winner Best Relaxation/Meditation Album (2017), 'Let There Be Light'
• Zone Music Reporter - Nomination Best Relaxation/Meditation Album (2017), 'Traveler'
• One World Music Radio - Winner Best New Age Album (2017), 'Traveler'

• National Flute Association
• Arizona Flute Society – Vice President and Program Chair (2011)
• Rochester Flute Association
• NARAS Voting Member
• The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP)
• Arizona World Music Initiative (AZWMI)– Founder and President
• Pearl Flute Performing Artist
• World Flute Society
• NARIP

• "HOME". Sherryfinzer.com.
• "Relaxing Healing Music | Heart Dance Records | Releases". Heartdancerecords.com.