Firebird Guest Artist 

Elke Jahns-Harms performs regularly on classical and Native American flutes in the Boston area, where audiences have found her music “transportive”, “healing”, and “deeply moving”. She holds a Master of Music in flute performance from Appalachian State University, where she was a winner of the Annual Concerto and Aria Competition, and a PhD in International Relations from The Fletcher School at Tufts University. She is passionate about sharing the arts with wider audiences and using the power of music to connect and heal.

Elke’s work often combines her life-long interests in music, poverty alleviation, and peacebuilding. She currently teaches International Development Aid at The Fletcher School, and previously taught Music and Social Change at The New England Conservatory. On the side, she teaches and presents through a variety of community education programs.

Elke first heard a Native American flute twenty-five years ago while living in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina and was immediately hooked. Her flutes were carved by Cherokee flutemaker and performer Hawk Littlejohn, who used native woods to make his flutes, combining techniques he learned from his grandfather with modern equipment to create magical instruments.  Hawk believed that “if you’re playing from your heart, the song is a prayer”.

Elke has lived in Central and South America, East Africa, and Antarctica, and has found music to be a crucial means of connecting with people wherever she goes.  Her flutes are among the first items she packs on her travels.