Christian Paquette
French-Canadian flutist Christian Paquette is the Principal Flute of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. He previously held the positions of Principal Flute with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, the York Symphony Orchestra, and the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra. He completed his Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University under the tutelage of International soloist Marina Piccinini. He has also worked in flute repairs with Adam Workman, founder of Flutistry Boston. He has frequently performed back in his hometown of Ottawa, Canada with the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra, the National Arts Centre Orchestra and the Thirteen Strings Ensemble. He was also the President of the Ottawa Flute Association from 2015 to 2017.
Christian has performed in notable venues across North America and Europe, including the Barbican and the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Shriver Hall Concert Series in Baltimore MD, the Music and Beyond Festival in Ottawa as well as the National Arts Centre Fourth Stage. He has given Concerto performances in the U.K. with the Farnborough Symphony Orchestra (Reinecke Concerto), as well as the Peabody Symphony Orchestra (Nielsen Concerto) under the baton of Miguel Harth-Bedoya, the University of Ottawa Symphony Orchestra (Ibert and Nielsen Concertos), and with the Ottawa Chamber Orchestra (Rodrigo Concierto Pastoral). He is the recipient of numerous competition awards, such as the MPIMC (Marina Piccinini International Master Classes) Concerto Competition, first prize at the Yale Gordon Competition, Canadian Music Competition, the National Music Festival, the NACO Bursary Competition and many others. During the summer months in 2021 and 2022, Christian was a Fellow in the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble. Past teachers include Marina Piccinini, Paula Robison, Denis Bluteau, and Camille Churchfield.
Christian is extremely grateful to the Fondation Baxter et Alma Ricard as well as the Sylva Gelber Music Foundation for their generous support in his doctoral studies at the Peabody Institute.
