A native of Clarksdale, Mississippi, DON BAILEY began his career in Dallas, Texas.  He is a former university professor, board member of both the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra and the New York Flute Club, and past president of the Texas Flute Society and the Louisiana Flute Society.  He has performed at festivals in Aspen, Colorado; Spoleto, Italy; and Nice, France, among others, and at several National Flute Association conventions.  His work with composer Gian Carlo Menotti resulted in a recent recording of The Old Maid and the Thief (Albany Records) with the Lone Spring Arts Orchestra of Dallas.

Don performs with collaborative pianists Donald Sulzen of Munich and Dianne Frazer of New York City, and with the Attacca String Quartet.  As solo flutist with Classical Quintessence aboard the Cunard cruise ship Vistafjord, he performed with Polish pianist/composer Adam Manijak, enjoying a collaboration that continues today with Voyage Unlimited, Inc. 

Don is Artistic Director and flutist of Voyage Unlimited, Inc., a New York not-for-profit organization* with the charitable purpose of furthering the advancement, education and promotion of musical performance and repertoire for the flute, as well as musical concerts coordinated with universities, museums, and special events.  His Voyage Unlimited Series of new orchestrations is published by Falls House Press, distributed by Theodore Presser.

Don has recorded for Summit, Genuin, Parnassus, and Albany Records.  In its review of his debut CD Voyage, American Record Guide praised his “impeccably controlled sound... full of artful colors and nuances…exceptional attention to detail…unfailing precision”.  Fanfare said his Tribute CD was “...a delight from beginning to end... Bailey boasts a brilliant technique and a bristling sense of excitement.”.

Don's articles have been published in national music journals including Flute Talk magazine and Flute Forum.  He was interviewed by Windplayer magazine for its best-seller Flute Stories - 101 Inspirational Stories by the World's Best Flute Players, which has become a must-read for anyone in the performing arts, and he was interviewed for the Fall 2007 issue of The Flutist Quarterly, "The Musical Road Less Traveled" by Helen Spielman.

Don studied flute at the University of North Texas, the Aspen Music School and Festival, and the Académie d'été in Nice, France.  His teachers include the distinguished flutists Julius Baker, Michel Debost, Alain Marion, Judith Mendenhall, George Morey, Marcel Moyse, and Albert Tipton. Visit Don's website at http://donbailey.net.

Don performs on a handmade 14-carat gold Brannen-Cooper flute.