Twenty-one year old flutist Olivia Staton joined The Philadelphia Orchestra as second flute with the start of the 2018-19 season. She is a graduate of the Juilliard School, where she received a Bachelor of Music degree and studied with Jeffrey Khaner, principal flute of The Philadelphia Orchestra. Upon graduating, she was awarded the prestigious Peter Mennin Prize.
Ms. Staton has substituted with the National Symphony and the New World Symphony, and she participated in the New York Philharmonic Biennial as a member of the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble. During her time at Juilliard, she performed as a member of the Juilliard Orchestra, AXIOM, and the New Juilliard Ensemble. In 2017 she was selected as one of two flutes to represent Juilliard in a collaboration with the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki to celebrate the centenary of Finnish Independence. Under the baton of Esa-Pekka Salonen, they performed in Helsinki, Stockholm, and New York.
This past summer Ms. Staton was a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center in Lenox, MA, and for three previous summers she attended the Aspen Music Festival and School, where she served as principal flute of the Aspen Conducting Academy for two summers.
Born and raised overseas, Ms. Staton began studying the flute while living in Italy. After moving to Virginia, she was principal flute of the American Youth Philharmonic for three years and served as principal flute of the New York Youth Symphony for her first year in New York. She has also won first prizes in the Richmond Flute Competition and the Flute Society of Washington Competition. Before moving to New York, she was a National Symphony Youth Fellow and studied with Aaron Goldman of the National Symphony.
Ms. Staton is a Yamaha Performing Artist.
