Flutist Mihoko Watanabe, a native of Japan, is Professor of Flute and Chair of Entrepreneurial Studies in Music at Ball State University (BSU). Before joining the School of Music, Dr. Watanabe taught at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, the Memorial University of Newfoundland, and Windsor, Canada.
Dr. Watanabe has won competitions sponsored by Japan Flute Association and the National Flute Association (NFA) and has appeared in Japan, Israel, Canada, England, and the USA as a celebrated and versatile international performer recitalist, chamber musician, and concerto soloist. She has been a member of BSU’s Residency Ensemble, Musical Arts Quintet. She has held principal flute positions and performed with American and Canadian orchestras. Currently, she is the principal flutist of Orchestra Indiana and has performed with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and the Fort Wayne Philharmonic.
In addition, to be a gifted flutist, Dr. Watanabe is also devoted to the field of ethnomusicology. She received a faculty development grant from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. Her research resulted in a feature article for the NFA’s Flutist Quarterly Spring 2008 issue, Nederlands Fluit Genootschap’s Fluit in Dutch, and the DGfG e.V.’s Flöte aktuell in German.
In addition, she is dedicated to Entrepreneurship. She has co-created BSU’s Entrepreneurial Studies in Music Certificate program. She has been invited to the 2019 College Music Society panel speaker: 21st Century Music School Design. Also, she has won the 2015 Savvy Musicians in Action venture award. Currently, she is creating a new program, Mindful Entrepreneurial Musicians, to empower musicians to discover Ikigai to create a new income source and help people use their musical power globally.
Dr. Watanabe’s degrees include the University of Michigan (DMA), the Eastman School of Music (MM and performer’s certificate), and Musashino Academia Musicae (BM) in Tokyo, Japan. Her teachers have included Bonita Boyd, Leone Buyse, Fenwick Smith, Takao Saeki, Ervin Monroe, and Jeff Zook.