Phoebe Robertson

Canadian flutist Phoebe Robertson has recently performed in such venues as Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw and Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, earning commendations for her solo, chamber, and orchestral playing. Recipient of the Grand Prize of the National Arts Centre Orchestra Bursary Competition in 2015, she has since performed in competitions and festivals across North America and Europe, earning the Harry G. Archer Award, the title of Major Artist of the Pittsburgh Concert Society, third place in the Flute Society of Washington Young Artist Competition in the American national capital, and top prizes in the Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic Soloist Competition and the Silberman Chamber Music Competition. Her playing has been featured on BBC Radio 3 and in records on the Linn and NYOC labels.

Phoebe appeared as a soloist with Symphony New Brunswick for three performances in May 2021, performing Kelsey Jones’s Suite for Flute and Strings in celebration of the orchestra’s founder. Her previous appearances as soloist include performances with the National Arts Centre Orchestra and the Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic. An avid proponent of new music, Ms. Robertson performed a recital of new works for solo flute written for her by the members of the Tesselat International Composers’ Collective in December 2019 and recorded three premieres as a fellow of the Bowdoin International Music Festival during the summers of 2020 and 2021.

Her performances as an orchestral flutist have brought her to halls throughout Europe and North America, including a broadcasted performance with the Orchestra of the Americas at the 2018 Edinburgh International Festival. She frequently appears alongside members of the New York Philharmonic and Metropolitan Opera Orchestra as a fellow of APEX Ensemble, conducted by the Met’s concertmaster, David Chan. She has also performed with the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Ottawa Symphony Orchestra, and Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra, among other ensembles. She is frequently engaged to write program notes for APEX Ensemble and other orchestras in the New York City area, and has been praised for her ability to write about music in a way that makes concerts more accessible to audiences with a wide variety of backgrounds.

In November and December 2020, she served as Lecturer in Flute Performance at Mount Allison University, and currently serves as flute instructor at the Gould Academy. Equally passionate about performing, teaching, and research, her academic focus is on the flute music of Sofia Gubaidulina and the philosophical concept of opposition. She has presented her work throughout North America and Europe, with several publications forthcoming. Her research on sexuality in Greek myths as depicted in music by Debussy and Ravel has also been published in the Eidolon Journal of Classics.

Raised in Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada, Phoebe earned her Doctorate of Musical Arts at the Manhattan School of Music in New York, studying with Linda Chesis and Robert Langevin. She holds a Master of Music degree from Carnegie Mellon University, where she studied with Lorna McGhee, and a Bachelor of Music degree from her studies with Camille Churchfield at the University of Ottawa. Her studies and professional activities have been generously supported by the Sylva Gelber Music Foundation, the O’Brien Foundation, and the Friends of the National Arts Centre Orchestra. www.phoeberobertsonflute.com

Photo credit: Nadine Sherman