Flute player Emilio Rutllant has won a position as the Minnesota Orchestra’s next Rosemary and David Good Fellow. The fellowship is designed to encourage greater diversity in the orchestral field by supporting the career development of outstanding young musicians of African American, Latin American and Native American descent as they embark on professional orchestral careers. Rutllant will begin the two-year appointment in September 2018, joining tuba player Jason Tanskley, who is currently in his first year as a participant in the fellowship program.

Over the course of the fellowship, Rutllant will both observe and participate in Minnesota Orchestra rehearsals; perform within the Orchestra at selected concerts; study with Orchestra musicians; and train and prepare for auditions. Rosemary and David Good Fellows receive mentoring from Minnesota Orchestra musicians and provide mentorship, as they work with Minnesota students on a variety of initiatives through the Orchestra’s Education and Community Engagement department.


The Rosemary and David Good Fellowship initiative grew from the Orchestra’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee, which comprises board, staff and musicians. The first fellowship positions were awarded in 2017 to tuba player Jason Tanksley and trombone player Myles Blakemore; Blakemore recently left the Orchestra to accept a position with New World Symphony. 48 musicians from across the country applied for the 2018 fellowship position, with six applicants invited to audition at Orchestra Hall last month before a committee comprising musicians, staff and Music Director Osmo Vänskä.


“I am beyond excited to have won this fellowship,” said Rutllant. “This is the perfect opportunity to combine my passion for music with my desire to impact the community. The best part is that I get to do all of this with an orchestra I have looked up to my entire musical career.”



Emilio Rutllant, flute

Rutllant currently plays with the Miami City Ballet (Opus One) Orchestra and Sinfonia Boca Raton. He has performed as principal flute in both ensembles as well as in the Nu Deco Ensemble and the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra. He has also played with the Palm Beach Opera and New World Symphony, founded numerous chamber ensembles, and taught at Indian River State College and as a graduate assistant at the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami. In 2015 he held an artist-teacher residency at the Universidad de Antofagasta in Chile, which included a solo appearance with the orchestra, a solo recital, masterclasses and lessons.



Recent awards and honors include being the winner of the Lynn University Chamber Music Competition and Florida Flute Association Masterclass Competition; being honored by the mayor of Vitacura, Chile, for outstanding artistic achievement; and being awarded a private endowment for summer study with the principal flute of La Scala in Milan, Italy.


Rutllant earned his Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees from the University of Miami, and his Bachelor of Music degree from Stetson University, in addition to his current studies at Lynn University Conservatory of Music. His teachers include principal flute of the Philadelphia Orchestra Jeffrey Khaner, former principal flute of the Metropolitan Opera Trudy Kane, principal flute of the Vienna Philharmonic Walter Auer, and international flute soloist Jasmine Choi.