Faculty Spotlight: Kibbie Straw

If you are looking to study the flute, Kibbie is your girl. Down to earth and all around welcoming, Kibbie makes everyone in the room feel warm. As our only flute instructor and our Adult Flute Choir instructor, she knows how to work with anyone - from beginner to advance, child to adult, she can do it all. Always smiling and laughing, Kibbie makes any room she's in feel like home.

PMAC: What is your teaching Philosophy?

Kibbie: Making music should be fun and I’m here to help students improve so that they can enjoy playing a wider range of music with good technique.

PMAC: Who was your favorite teacher and why?

Kibbie: Peggy Vagts at UNH is a wonderful teacher because she pushed me, encouraged me, and introduced me to a bigger world of flute music. Since I was 24-years-old when I finally decided to make teaching flute my profession, she had a lot of catch-up work to do with me, poor dear.

PMAC: When did you start playing? How did that lead you to where you are now?

Kibbie: I started playing in fourth grade and always enjoyed it. It was what I looked forwards to doing in school and when I got home from school. After high school, it was my escape after some horrible days in retail for six years. Getting my music education degree at UNH was amazing because I got to play more than ever and was surrounded by others who shared my love of music. My time at UNH reminded me why I started playing, why I still played, and what I wanted to pass on to my students.


PMAC: What are you listening to right now? Does it influence your playing?

Kibbie: I listen to a wide range of music from Mozart to Muse, but it all boils down to whatever puts a spring in my step or relaxes me, depending on my mood. Music is my caffeine and my glass of wine, so when I play I try to play more than just the notes on the paper. Emotion and story-telling are a very, if not the most, important part of music, and the music I choose to listen to reminds me of that.


PMAC: If you were a visual artist, what would your medium be?

Kibbie: Since my current full-time job is trying to be the best stay-at-home mom I can be, which is heavily influenced by my mom and how she has always made every season and holiday feel special and exciting, I’d say my visual art medium is seasonal/holiday home decoration. The Christmas Tree Shop is my Michael’s.