Bio
Puerto Rican-born flutist CALEB J. ESTRADA-VALENTÍN (he/him) is an active performer and educator in the greater Iowa City area. A Miyazawa Emerging Artist, he served as the Teaching Assistant for the Flute Studio at The University of Iowa, where he is also completing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree, during the 2025-26 academic year. For the upcoming Fall 2026 semester, he is looking forward to joining the faculty at The University of Iowa as the sabbatical replacement for Nicole Esposito.
As an orchestral performer, he enjoys serving as the piccoloist for the Southeast Iowa Symphony Orchestra and has recently held the position of acting second flutist with the Quincy Symphony Orchestra (Illinois). With a strong commitment to community outreach and engagement, Caleb performs and guest conducts with the Iowa City Flute Choir, a semi-professional ensemble of students, professional, and local flute enthusiasts. 2025 also marks his second season as Director of the Iowa City New Horizons Flute Ensemble.
Active nationally in the competition scene, Caleb is the First-Prize recipient of the Texas Flute Society’s 40th Annual Myrna W. Brown Artist Competition. Additionally, his performance of Linda Kernohan’s Theme and Transformations (2026) in the competition’s final round earned him the distinction of Best Performance of the Newly Commissioned Work. He has also received First-Prize awards recently in the Flute Society of Kentucky’s 2026 Young Artist Competition, the Central Ohio Flute Association’s 2026 Young Artist Competition, and the Rochester Flute Association’s 2025 Emerging Artist Competition.
Photo: Ryan MacDonald
Likewise, his artistry has garnered recognition in the South Carolina Flute Society’s 2025 Young Artist Competition (Second Prize), the Raleigh Area Flute Association’s 2025 Artist Competition (semifinalist), the Texas Flute Society’s 2025 Myrna W. Brown Artist Competition (semifinalist), the Flute Society of Washington’s 2025 Young Artist Competition (Third Prize), the Texas Flute Society’s 2024 Myrna W. Brown Artist Competition (Second Prize; Best Performance of the Newly Commissioned Work), the Rochester Flute Association’s 2024 Emerging Artist Competition (semifinalist), the Flute Society of Kentucky’s 2024 Young Artist Competition (Third Prize), and the Florida Flute Association’s 2024 Nancy Clew Eller Artist Competition (finalist). In addition to these accolades, he has been a winner of the 2025 Professional Flute Choir Competition and the 2023 Masterclass Performers Competition, both organized by the National Flute Association.
Caleb maintains a private studio of students of all skill levels in East Iowa. Flutists seeking personalized private instruction in the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City areas may submit an inquiry to schedule a trial lesson with him.
As a scholar, Caleb’s research interests include Puerto Rican classical music, ludomusicology (video game music studies), and music education. Currently, his research is focused primarily on the exploration of music for flute written by Puerto Rican-born composers and inspired by the folkloric expressions and musical idioms of Puerto Rico. His debut album will feature nine composers and introduce listeners to a variety of compositional voices engaging with Puerto Rico’s cultural and musical identities.
Caleb holds degrees in music education (BME) from Baylor University and flute performance (MA) from the University of Iowa. His principal teachers include Nicole Esposito, Dr. Charlotte Daniel, and Cecilia Hamilton. In his spare time, he writes and records flute ensemble arrangements of video game soundtracks. He also enjoys spending quality time with his two cats, a 10-year-old tortoiseshell named Urbosa and a 4-year-old siamese mix named Ahsoka.
Photo: Sayyod Mirzomurodov
Photo: Ryan MacDonald
(updated March 2026)
