This recording, INFLORESCENCE II receives THE BEST ALBUM OF THE YEAR 2006 for BEST CLASSICAL SOLO INSTRUMENTAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR 2006 from THE JUST PLAIN FOLKS AWARDS 2006!!! Laurel Zucker, flute virtuoso surprises us again: A fantastic 2CD set with the Complete Piazzolla Flute Tangos included , as well as the premier recording of music for flute by Philip Glass, Robert Baksa, Kuhlau, and many more greats!! The Flute Network June 2003 recommends... \"Oh! she\'s done it again- another brilliant two CD set of some of the best and most interesting works for solo flute. zucker brings to this collection of solos the kind of variety of intensity, high level musicality, and just plain perfect technique and intonation that makes it all a joy to listen to. These performances are so clear, open, direct and from the heart that it all seems so simple and easy, which belies the incredible work and accomplishment that goes into all of her many and diverse recordings. This collection of works for flute alone is a worthy successor to her earlier Inflorecence solo compilation. The 14 works presented have a varied style and pace, shaping the individual pieces into a very satifisfying whole that includes a dazzling array of brilliant compositions and extraordinary flute playing. Her rapturous tone, rhythmic drive, and creative musicianship will inspire you. Inflorescence, indeed, this recording is WHITE HOT AND INCANDESCENT! THE FLUTE NETWORK 2003 [Read full review] \"I can not resist the urge to write wonderful things about her CD and about her. Zucker\'s superior technique and tone are evident from start to finish....She and recording engineer, Don Ososke, did a masterful job of highlighting the textures of the individual pieces, while minimizing the pitfalls that typically befall solo recordings. THE DAVIS ENTERPRISE - MAY 8, 2003 Gramophone issue December 2007 states \"Zucker shapes everything with lovely gradations of timbre and nuance, and her phrasing keeps the ear mesmerised.\" Laurel Zucker is described by Gramophone Magazine 2003 \"as polished and gratifying as Rampal and Galway. Zucker\'s interpretations are splendid all round. Her tone is airy and sweet, her virtuosity graceful.\" In 2004 Gramophone \"strongly recommended\" The Complete Telemann Fantasies for Flute and The Complete J.S. Bach Flute Sonatas on Cantilena Records describing her performances as \"intelligent, naturally phrased and highly musical with a rich sound beyond reproach.\" In the August 2003 book, Inspirational Stories from the World\'s Best Flute Players, Laurel Zucker is featured along with James Galway, Herbie Mann, Ian Andersen, and Julius Baker. Fanfare Magazine refers to Ms. Zucker \"as a forceful advocate for 20th century music,\" and when she was awarded the Aaron Copland Fund for Music from the American Music Center to record the 1998 Take a Walk on the Wilder Side-CD, Fanfare Magazine stated \"this disc fills an important niche in American Music as well as flute literature.\" With 45 CD releases available on Cantilena Records, Ms. Zucker can be heard regularly on worldwide classical radio stations. She has performed many times in Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Alice Tully Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Mondavi Center, etc. As a concerto soloist she has been featured with the American Symphony Orch., Erkel Chamber Orch. of Budapest, The Orch. of NY The Gold Country Orch., Merced Symphony, Sacramento Philharmonic, The Arlington Symph. Orch., and toured with the Sumara Orch. of Russia. As an active chamber artist she has performed with the Marlboro Festival and Tour, Harvard Chamber Players, Music Fest of Arizona, Music in the Mountains, UC Davis Chamber Players,Wet Ink Festival and Chamber Music Alive! As a jazz flutist Jazz Now 2005 describes her performance as \"Laurel\'s flute cutting the still air with a deep-felt emotion to the very last note.\" Claude Bolling in March 2004 on Zucker\'s Bolling Jazz Suites CD writes \"Dear Laurel Zucker, Your recording is beautiful, musician partners are excellent and your flute playing superb!!!\" Of the Flute Music by French Composers CD, Sir James Galway recommends on his website \"This is a really good record and should be in the library of all serious students. The repertoire is very good and it is beautifully played by Miss Zucker. I have a copy and think it is outstanding...\" As an active performer and supporter of the flute community, Ms. Zucker has been a guest performer/teacher at the New York Flute Club, The Portland Flute Society, The Houston Flute Society, LA Flute Club, Dallas Flute Festival, North Carolina School of the Arts and the National Flute Association Convention. In 2000 The Year of the Rome Aureole Jubilee (hosted by the City of Rome and the Pope) three of Ms. Zucker\'s Cantilena Records CDs (Serenades; Music of Guiliani for Flute and Guitar; Mozart Flute Quartets CDs) were played non-stop for six months throughout the largest Convention Center of Rome, Italy and were also featured in a documentary created at UCLA on the Santa Maria Maggiora Chapel of Rome. November 2007, Laurel Zucker and Mark Delpriora were presented with THE GOLD ARTIST AWARD from RadioIndy for their 2007 CD, Masterpieces for Flute and Guitar. In 2006 Ms. Zucker received THE BEST CLASSICAL SOLO INSTRUMENTAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR 2006 from The Just Plain Folks Awards. As Professor of Flute at California State Univ., Sacramento since 1988, Ms. Zucker received the 1998 President\'s Award for Creative and Scholarly Research, 1998 and 2000 Creative Research Awards, a nd 1989 Professional Promise Award. In 1978 she won Artists International Competition and gave her Carnegie Recital Hall Debut. Her first performances in Carnegie Hall and Kennedy Center were at the age of 16 performing 1st flute in the Alexander Schneider\'s Orchestra. Ms. Zucker graduated from Juilliard where she studied with Samuel Baron for 3 years; with Paula Robison for two years at New England Conservatory of Music; and privately with Marcel Moyse and Julius Baker. Ms. Zucker holds a Masters in Music Composition from New York University. Her compositions are published by Lyra International and Bourne Music Company and are recorded on Cantilena Records. In 2008 a new website www.laurelzuckermasterclass.com was launched providing a new DVD series of flute masterclasses lead by Ms. Zucker.