(1944-2025)
We were saddened to hear of the passing of our long-time colleague and friend, Vicki Jicha. She was editor of Flute Talk from 2001 to 2011 and made countless contributions to our work as an author and editor. She grew up in Hillsboro, Oregon, and began pursuing her love for music as a member of the Portland Junior Symphony. She studied music at Portland State and Oberlin College, ultimately earning a degree in Flute Performance from Indiana University. She was also an accomplished pianist and organist and completed a Master of Music degree with a specialization in Organ Performance at Northwestern University.
In her final column for Flute Talk, she recalled a humorous job interview with us shortly after orthopedic surgery. “I explained to the publisher that I was in no condition to make a decision about future employment, but he just wouldn’t take no for an answer. The general tenor of his message was that, if I took the job as editor of Flute Talk, I would have the opportunity to teach thousands of students every month. Ultimately, I said yes, and he was right. Every issue for the past decade has been planned and prepared with as much care and concern for presenting accurate information as possible.”
One of her early projects as editor was an interview with flutist Jim Walker. “I remember putting off calling him to request an interview for several days. I was afraid to ask and couldn’t imagine that he would want to talk to me. Of course, he agreed to the interview immediately and talked openly about his life with the flute. Like him, many other wonderful flutists have crossed my path over the years, and if I have learned anything about flutists it is that, by and large, the flute community is made up of good folks – from the high and mighty to the lowly and meek.”
We were so grateful to have Vicki as our friend and colleague. We will miss her.
We would like to remind readers that many of the issues of Flute Talk magazine, overseen by Vicki Jicha and Patricia George are available as a resource for directors and their flutists at theinstrumentalist.com under Flute Talk Archives. An article Vicki originally wrote in January 2007 (https://theinstrumentalist.com/may-2020-flute-talk/how-to-get-it-back/) describes the joy and challenges she faced coming back to playing the flute seriously after years away.
In 1962, just out of high school, she played at the Peter Britt Music Festival in Southern Oregon.
