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Rising Stars: Meet Vincenzo Volpe

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Vincenzo Volpe.

Hi Vincenzo, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
I was raised in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, by extremely loving parents who are still an incredibly important part of my life. Thanks to them, my younger brother and I received the best education that the Catholic schools in our area could provide. In fifth-grade band class, I decided to give the flute a shot after falling in love with the sound that it made. After about a month with the instrument, my band teacher told me that I needed to take private lessons in order to keep learning… Music quickly became the most important part of my life. After being a complete over-achiever in high school, I obtained my B.A. in Music from Case Western Reserve University, my Master of Music from the University of Toronto, and I gradutaed with my Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music this year. I am extremely excited to announce that I recently won a job with the United States Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps in Washington, D.C. and will be relocating there to start my career at the end of this summer!

Another important part of my story happens to be my sexuality. I came out as gay during high school and have grown as an activist and leader within the LGBTQ+ community ever since. Throughout my three degrees in higher education, my research has been rooted in queer musicology. I started volunteering for the Human Rights Campaign while in my undergraduate degree, and I now serve as the Political Action co-chair for the Greater Cincinnati steering committee. I still stay connected to my undergraduate alma mater as a board member of the LGBTQ Alumni Network. I’ve also tapped into the sporty side of my life and serve as a kickball team captain for HotMess LGBTQ+ Sports in Cincinnati. My queerness shapes so much of what I do with my life, and I am incredibly happy to belong to this vibrant and important community of people.

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The most difficult obstacle that I’ve had to overcome was coming out of the closet. It sounds cliché, but it is so incredibly true. I grew up in a very conservative Catholic environment without any openly queer people in my life. I could feel from a young age that I was different, but I was unaware of how to express it until I got to high school. When I came out to friends and family during my sophomore year, I was met with some support but mostly backlash. My parents and I fought for weeks about whether or not being gay was a “phase,” and several of my teachers actively censored me from discussing my identity in papers or in class. I had been a star student for my entire life, but for once, I felt like I had completely failed myself and those around me. It wasn’t until my senior year of high school that I finally found support from the majority of my peers and distanced myself from the Catholic church. During my undergraduate degree, I worked for Case Western Reserve University’s LGBTQ center, found an affirming faith community, started volunteering with the Human Rights Campaign, and won scholarships for being a young leader and scholar in the queer community. My parents also became my fiercest supporters. My coming out story does not come anywhere close to some of the horror stories that I’ve heard from other queer people, but the emotional trauma of coming out is a reality that I will remember for the rest of my life.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My work revolves around music, the arts, and the LGBTQ+ community in so many different ways. As a freelance flutist, I perform at church services, weddings, and other special events around the Greater Cincinnati area on a regular basis. I also continue to perform regular concerts with Orchestra Kentucky Bowling Green. As a teacher, I have taught private students over the years and served as adjunct flute faculty at Sinclair Community College in Dayton this past academic year. I am so excited to start my career with the United States Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps later this year.

The way that I infuse my queer identity into my work as a performer and academic is unique and important. I stage full recitals of flute music written by LGBTQ+ composers, actively promote and commission queer composers, and dedicate my academic research to LGBTQ+ topics. Through my doctoral lecture-recital, I uncovered a series of pieces written for the National Flute Association’s “AIDS Memorial Concert” series between 1995 and 1999 and will continue to reconstitute this LGBTQ-related music into the classical flute repertory. Last but certainly not least, I paired my work as an activist for the queer community with my career as a flutist and founded the National Flute Association LGBTQ+ Flute Choir in 2022, which performs annually at the association’s summer convention and promotes the music of LGBTQ+ composers and arrangers.

One final facet of my work life is my job as an arts administrator. I was given the chance to take classes in arts administration during my doctorate degree at CCM, and I was instantly opened to a world of incredibly opportunities. I became the Program Director of Lives United/Vidas Unidas, a music and arts non-profit headquartered at Church of Our Saviour/La Iglesia de Nuestro Salvador in Mount Auburn, Cincinnati. Lives United/Vidas Unidas was previously the music ministry of the church, but I incorporated the entity as a separate 501(c)3 organization in December of 2022. The organization offers free piano lessons, a concert series featuring local musicians, and free reservation of the church space as a performance venue for young and emerging artists in Cincinnati. I was again able to pair my work as a queer activist with the Lives United/Vidas Unidas concert series and recently staged Cincinnati’s first-ever Pride Arts Showcase on Transgender Day of Visibility. The cross-disciplinary event celebrated the work of 25 visual and performing artists, many of whom are transgender or non-binary.

I hope to continue my work as a flutist, educator, arts administrator, and queer activist for the rest of my life.

We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up.
My favorite childhood memory is one that I continue to relive every summer of my life. Since before I was born, my family has vacationed in Virginia Beach at a condo purchased by my dad’s side of the family. The condo and the city of Virginia Beach are like a second home to me. When I was little, I befriended kids and adults who I now consider to be a part of my family, spent countless hours of time playing in the sand and in the ocean, and enjoyed priceless quality time with my parents and brother. We took bike rides, walks, and late-night strolls on the Virginia Beach boardwalk and accumulated a list of our favorite restaurants over the years. Every time that I return to Virginia Beach and our family condo, all of these childhood memories come rushing back to me. I treasure every second of time that I spend with my family and all of our close friends every time that we vacation there.

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