Christel Rice – Flute

Christel Rice is originally from Philadelphia, where she attended the Philadelphia College of Performing Arts as a classical flutist. She attended the school under the direction of Adeline Tomasone, (an international performing flutist who has performed solo with the Philadelphia Orchestra, and has performed with artists such as Tony Bennett and Rod Stewart.) While she attended the University, she performed in orchestras, quartets, and was principal flutist for theatre productions at the Forrest Theatre in downtown Philadelphia.
After College she traded the silver flute for the irish wooden flute and began to cut her teeth in the at the local pubs and bars in Philly such as The Bards, The Plough and the Stars, and the Mermaid Inn. Coming from Irish descent (her great grandparents arrived to the states in the early 1900's), Christel grew up hearing the stories of her great grandfather playing Irish music on various instruments. After a focused year developing her skills in Irish traditional music, She moved to the Colorado foothills for a change of pace and became active in the local Irish music scene. While in Colorado, she performed and toured with the Colorado based group The Wayfarers, performing on the Festival circuit including the The Mabon Festival and the Telluride Bluegrass Festival as well as countless local pubs and theaters. In March of 2006, she moved with her family (husband Jarad Astin and daughter Arden) to Brooklyn to connect with the massive New York scene. She is currently working on new material and performing weekly at many sessions in NYC.

Her debut Album “Tunnel Vision” includes the talented musicians in the Wayfarers as well as Tabla virtuoso Ty Burhoe, Bassist Eric Turine, and NYC based Fiddler Tony DeMarco.


email - christel@cuezonerecords.com