Get to know the Flute Gallery Specialists

Bianca Najera is Manager and Flute Specialist at the Schmitt Music Flute Gallery. After graduating with a BA in Music - Flute Performance from Luther College, Bianca established The Flute Shop (now The Flute Gallery) in 2014. She has over a decade of experience in the flute industry & has a passion for assisting musicians find their perfect instrument. Bianca maintains a private flute studio in Minneapolis & plays piccolo with the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra.

Bianca is passionate about bringing communities together through the celebration of music & has been the Make Music Day coordinator for Schmitt Music since 2021. In addition to classical music, she enjoys performing Brazilian choros and jazz. She was a member of the 2021 & 2023 National Flute Association Jazz Flute Big Band. Outside of music, Bianca enjoys photography & spending time with her husband Joel, Mini Aussie Oakley, & cats Zee & Domi.

Rachel Haug is a freelance flutist, orchestral musician, and private instructor in the Minneapolis area. In addition to her responsibilities as Director of Flute Sales and Specialist at Schmitt Music, she is the Flute Instructor at Winona State University and maintains an active private flute studio in the Twin Cities. Dr. Haug also serves as Principal Flute with the Rochester Symphony Orchestra, Principal Flute with the Winona Symphony Orchestra, and is the Acting Principal Flute with the La Crosse Symphony Orchestra.

In addition to orchestral performing, Dr. Haug enjoys an active solo career. She has been featured as a guest artist for the Upper Midwest Flute Association's Flute Fest (2024) and appeared as a featured soloist at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum (2023), the Minnesota Music Educators Convention (2023), with the Plymouth Concert Band (2022), at the National Band Association—Wisconsin Chapter Convention (2020), and with the Winona Symphony Orchestra (2018), among others. In 2022, she also performed Julia Wolfe's Oxygen as a member of a 144-piece flute choir at the National Flute Association Convention.

Dr. Haug earned her DMA and MM in flute performance from The Ohio State University, where she studied with Katherine Borst Jones, and BA from Luther College under the instruction of Dr. Carol Hester. Her research, An Introduction to Twentieth-Century Flute Music by Norwegian Composers, seeks to broaden awareness of the available flute repertoire. Dr. Haug is featured on the Naxos recordings Network and Rest, and in the 2008 Emmy Award-winning production, Christmas at Luther. She has toured with ensembles throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan.

Katie is known around the country and the world as an expert in flute repair. She has consistently worked with many of the best repair technicians and is constantly learning about and trying new techniques and materials. Katie has earned a reputation for honest and open customer service, and she works with each individual to ensure that their instrument is in the best possible playing condition. Katie grew up in Massachusetts where she studied with Sue Kurian. She received her Bachelor of Music in Flute Performance from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, studying with Ernestine Whitman. After completing the course in woodwind repair at Red Wing Technical College, she was employed by Verne Q. Powell Flutes, where she worked as the sole repair tech until 1990, when she relocated to Minnesota and opened her own repair service. Continuing her relationship with Powell, and recognizing a need for custom flute sales in Minnesota, Katie became a dealer for Powell Flutes as well as other custom flute makers such as Burkart, Miyazawa, Muramatsu, and Altus. In 2016, Katie joined forces with the Schmitt Music Flute Gallery. Offering her flute repair and sales expertise as well as flute industry relationships, Katie helped establish The Flute Gallery as Minnesota’s go-to stop for advanced through custom level flutes and flute resources. Katie maintains an independent flute repair business in addition to her partnership with Schmitt Music, and she enjoys connecting with the flute community through interactive master classes and flute repair clinics.