Fiona Kelly

Based in London, Fiona enjoys a varied career of solo and orchestral playing. She has performed concertos with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Jönköpings Sinfonietta, Locrian Ensemble, Irish Chamber Orchestra and the National Youth Orchestra of Ireland in venues such as Köln Philharmonie, Liszt Academy Grand Hall Budapest, Heidelberg Festival and St. Martin in the Fields London. She was a soloist with Håkan Hardenberger, Antje Weithaas and Uri Caine in the Swedish Chamber Orchestra’s Brandenburg Project performing the 2nd and 5th concertos and premiering new concertos by Steven Mackey and Uri Caine, touring throughout Germany, Hungary and Poland. Fiona looks forward to a future performance of this project at the Rheingau Festival and recording these works for the BIS label in 2017.

Her orchestral experiences range from being offered the post of principal flute with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra of Ireland at the age of 22, to performances as a guest flautist with the New York Philharmonic. She held the position of principal flute of the Swedish Chamber Orchestra from 2012 – 2016 and has performed as guest principal flute with orchestras such as the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, BBC Scottish Symphony, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Royal Northern Sinfonia, City of London Sinfonia and the Irish Chamber Orchestra.

Fiona completed her Master’s degree at The Juilliard School, New York, studying with principal flute of the New York Philharmonic, Robert Langevin. She won first prize in The Juilliard School Flute Competition and made her Lincoln Center debut performing Bernstein’s ‘Halil’ with The Juilliard Orchestra at The Peter Jay Sharp Theatre.

She began her studies at the Cork School of Music with her mother Evelyn Grant and Sabine Ducrot and completed her Bachelor of Music studies at Trinity College of Music, London, with Ms. Anna Noakes. While in London she won numerous awards including 1st Prize in the British Flute Society International Competition, the Royal Overseas League Sussex Prize and the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Julius Isserlis Scholarship.