Named to The Washington Post’s 23 for ‘23, flutist Adam W. Sadberry is using his bright sense of life, justice, and interconnectivity to cultivate an impactful life. By honoring his ancestry and respecting the dignity of all life, he is using his artistry as a medium to build bridges between people and communities.

Adam’s signature quality as a musician is his warm and luminous sound, and he has showcased it as a guest at the Hollywood Bowl, Merkin Hall, Harlem Stage, Phillips Collection, Barnes Foundation, Chamber Music Detroit, Newport Classical, University of Chicago, Chautauqua Institution, and the Eastman School of Music, among other venues. He has performed the Khachaturian Flute Concerto with the DuPage Symphony and the Mozart D Major Flute Concerto with the Marquette Symphony.

Along with performing, education and advocacy are two major elements in Adam’s work. Adam is Music for Autism’s 2024 Spotlight Artist. He has performed for them four times since 2021 thanks to his heightened sense of accessibility, warm communication, sincere programming, and groundedness. He served as a flute instructor at the University of Minnesota for the Spring 2023 semester, and he has held residencies at the Eastman School of Music, Lawrence University, Northern Michigan University, South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities, Wesleyan College (GA), and the DuPage Symphony. These residencies have featured his lectures, including Striving to Be an Artist’s Artist, Using Your Identity to Create a Relevant Voice in Music, and Musical Journalism: Continuing a Legacy through the Flute. In addition, Adam teaches flutists aged 10 and up and is always excited to support them on their musical and life journeys.

Adam is extremely inspired by his late grandfather L. Alex Wilson, a heroic journalist of the Civil Rights Movement who covered the lynching of Emmett Till, Little Rock 9, and the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Concert Artists Guild and the BMI Foundation co-commissioned composer Dameun Strange to write a piece for flute and electronics in honor of L. Alex Wilson entitled _NOT RUNNING. (The Life of L. Alex Wilson), and Adam premiered it at Merkin Hall in 2023. New Music America has awarded Adam and composer Tyler Taylor a grant to present a flute concerto that honors L. Alex Wilson, projected to be completed by the end of 2024. Adam has appeared in two documentaries to share L. Alex Wilson’s story through interviews and performances, facilitated by the Lowell Milken Foundation and Fallen Journalists Memorial.

Adam has significant orchestral experience. He is the principal flutist of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, and he has held positions with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Memphis Symphony Orchestra, and the Des Moines Metro Opera. He has also performed as guest principal flute with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and as a section member with the Minnesota Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Albany Symphony, and the Sphinx Symphony, among others. 

Along with traditional orchestral playing, Adam has contributed to the culture by performing with the Re-Collective Orchestra and Color of Noize Orchestras, supporting artists including Beyoncé, Childish Gambino, Earth, Wind, and Fire, T-Pain, Chaka Khan, Nas, Questlove, Ledisi, Lalah Hathaway, Tina Campbell, Jordin Sparks, D Smoke, and more. Adam can also be heard playing on the soundtrack for The Lion King (2019).

Adam has shifted away from playing in orchestras full-time, which has led him to present at the League of American Orchestras Conference in 2023 and 2024 as a panelist, speaker, and musician cohort member, talking with a group of orchestra CEOs. He shared ideas on shifting classical music culture by addressing institutional trauma.

Adam is a Judith Leibowitz Scholar in the Alexander Technique, and he received his Bachelor of Music from the Eastman School of Music. He is indebted to all of his generous flute teachers, including Bonita Boyd, Anne Harrow, Jennifer Keeney, Christina Jennings, Keith Underwood, Jeff Zook, Amanda Blaikie, Sharon Sparrow, Vicky Williamson, Sandre Benke, and Bob Price. He is also grateful to his coaches Elizabeth Rowe, Dawson White, and Darryl Poole for helping him expand his world.

Adam is the founder of Mission Blackbird LLC, a coaching business, and he maintains an active social media presence and can be found on Facebook, Instagram, and Linkedin. When Adam isn’t working, he is most definitely rollerskating, reading, watching, listening to podcasts, watching anime, eating vigorously, trying not to doom scroll, or learning how to play chess.