drawing upon the breath and beat of flute and body, “delicate, if deft, survivor” (downbeat) justine lee hooper exhales sentiments of past, present, and future by accessing defining nuances of human emotion. performances by justine often intertwine themes of acceptance, grief, hope, joy, liberation, rage, and reciprocity with the vast interdisciplinary repertoire and legacy of black and gender-expansive revolutionaries, using interpolation, improvisation, and electronics to pigment distinct perspectives of sound. an invitation is extended to listeners to self-reflect in the mirrors of comfort and discomfort.

justine’s namesake is their late great grandmother, margie lee hooper, who was an author and poet—and who both share the same birthday—and justine's love for music was instilled by their late grandfather. justine made their jazz debut with a hubert laws transcription in 2011 short film kuvuka daraja, a work selected for the international black women’s film festival and the zanzibar international film festival. earlier in their career, they were awarded a grant from friends of flutes foundation and a residency at soaring gardens artists retreat, and had the honor of performing nathalie joachim’s wander for the united nations. currently, justine performs with and composes for new york city’s only queer and trans salsa band, las mariquitas, which is “reimagining salsa and challenging the patriarchy” (rolling stone); as well as experimental duo mamé wata with mobéy lola irizarry, which made their debut at lincoln center as part of new latin wave’s new ideas in composition series; and trio n.a.w. with alana amore colvin and hamadi duggan, which performs meditations on black life. justine has been acknowledged by the new york times and playbill for their performances, and was named semifinalist in the 2022 petrichor international music competition for improvisation with their debut ep, soundbath sessions. justine has collaborated across genres and mediums with artists such as duendita, joy guidry, key glock, sara ramírez, and solange.

navigating the fluidity of music education, performance, and arts administration, justine was the performance keynote speaker for mcgill university’s 2021 music graduate symposium, presenting a talk envisioning the music world since covid, highlighting various interdisciplinary art and performances created during the pandemic, and taking a careful magnifying glass to the foundations and speculative longevity of various classical arts institutions, all from the intimate lens of a former arts administrator living at the intersections of marginalized class, disability, gender, and race. justine has also spoken on and contributed to an archival of hip-hop flute samples, research, and pedagogical practice with fellow flutists ashley “flutebae” crawford and dr. brittany trotter, presented at the midwest clinic, the national flute association, and the umoja flute institute.

justine plays on a handmade haynes flute with a gold/silver/platinum haynes fusion headjoint, as well as with a collection of several wooden flutes gifted and handmade by friends. justine is on the jazz committee of the national flute association, and they are an artist for cloudvocal wireless audio technology.

justine’s performance schedule is on instagram. exclusive works in process may be found on patreon.