Chicago Symphony Orchestra Names Stefán Ragnar Höskuldsson as New Principal Flute

CHICAGO-Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) Music Director Riccardo Muti and CSO Association President Jeff Alexander announce the appointment of Stefán Ragnar Höskuldsson as the new Principal Flute of the CSO, effective May 30, 2016.

Höskuldsson appears with the CSO as its guest principal flute twice before his tenure officially begins in May. He has performed in the 2015/16 season-opening weeks of concerts (September 17-October 3) with Muti conducting, and will also perform with the CSO on its tour to Asia in January 2016 with Muti.

Stefán Ragnar Höskuldsson is currently Principal Flute of the Metropolitan (Met) Opera Orchestra, a post to which he was appointed in 2008, after serving as that orchestra's second flute from 2004-2008. In addition to his performances with the Met Orchestra, he has been invited as guest principal flute with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Mostly Mozart Festival. His extensive solo performances include engagements with the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, recitals at the Sir James Galway International Flute Festival in Lucerne and a live radio broadcast with BBC Radio 3 "In Tune" in London.

Höskuldsson has performed widely throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan under the direction of James Levine, Fabio Luisi, Valery Gergiev, Daniel Barenboim, Seiji Ozawa, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Riccardo Muti. He regularly performs at Carnegie Hall with the Met Orchestra and Chamber Ensemble and has collaborated in performances and recordings with such renowned artists as pianists Evgeny Kissin, Alfred Brendel and Yefim Bronfman, violinist Gil Shaham, and sopranos Diana Damrau and Anna Netrebko.

A native of Iceland, Stefán Ragnar Höskuldsson attended the Reykjavik School of Music in Iceland where he studied with Bernhard Wilkinson. Following his graduation, he attended the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England, where he studied with Peter Lloyd and Wissam Boustany.

Höskuldsson currently teaches at a private studio in New York City and has been a faculty member with the Pacific Music Festival in Japan since 2010. He has given master classes at The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, Mannes College of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the Royal Academy of Music. His debut solo album, Solitude, featuring music by Schubert, Liebermann, Prokofiev and Jóhannsson, was released earlier this year on the Delos label.