Brannen Brothers Flutes

Brannen Brothers Flutemakers, Inc., was incorporated in 1978 with the mission of building the finest flutes and headjoints in the world. When they started the company, brothers Bickford and Robert Brannen began our ongoing tradition of collaboration. With a variety of collaborations over the years, we have brought a number of innovations to flutists everywhere.

We have two critical collaborations that occur every day: those among our staff of worldclass flutemakers and those with our customers, the flutists who play our instruments.

Birgitte Flanders always says: “Who would think that here in Woburn, Massachusetts, we have some of the very best and finest flutemakers in the world.” The rigorous training of our apprentice program, our peer inspection procedure at each stage of production, and the pride we take in our work all combine to create flutes that are known worldwide for their quality, sound, and stability.

That brings us to our training program, a process that we believe is unique in the industry. When a new flutemaker is hired, he or she is paired with a mentor to begin the apprentice’s training. There are four apprentice levels, followed by craft, senior craft, and finally mastercraft levels of accomplishment in flutemaking at Brannen Brothers. The entire training program takes several years, and it is the reason we maintain the level of consistency and craftsmanship for which Brannen has become known.

The collaboration we have with you, the players of our flutes and headjoints is equally important to us. This collaboration begins with an inquiry about our flutes and headjoints and continues through the selection and purchase of your dream instrument and the maintenance of that flute and headjoint in the years that follow. The feedback, insight, and suggestions that our players have given us has helped us become the company we are today. In addition, we take pride in working with flute players who have hand problems or unusual mechanism requests.