Flutist Olivia Staton was appointed second flute of The Philadelphia Orchestra at the start of the 2018–19 season, at the age of 21, becoming the Orchestra's youngest member at that time. She is a graduate of the Juilliard School, where she received a Bachelor of Music degree and studied with Jeffrey Khaner. Upon graduating, she was awarded the Peter Mennin Prize for Outstanding Achievement and Leadership in Music. Her previous teachers include Aaron Goldman and Jennifer Lapple.
Ms. Staton performed as acting principal flute for The Philadelphia Orchestra’s 2023 Europe Tour with Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and she can also be heard as principal flute on the Orchestra’s recent recordings with Deutsche Grammophon. She has appeared as guest principal with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and has also performed with the National Symphony Orchestra and the New World Symphony. In 2018 she was a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center in Lenox, Massachusetts, and for three previous summers attended the Aspen Music Festival and School, where she served as principal flute of the Aspen Conducting Academy for two summers.
As a soloist, Ms. Staton most recently performed the Reinecke Concerto with conductor Andrew Constantine and the Reading Symphony. She has also appeared as soloist with The Philadelphia Orchestra and conductor Nicholas McGegan and the Main Line Symphony Orchestra with Don Liuzzi of The Philadelphia Orchestra. As a chamber musician, she has performed with the Philadelphia Chamber Ensemble and Network for New Music. During the summer, Ms. Staton performs with Archipelago Collective, a chamber music series on San Juan Island (Washington), where her family lives. Previously, she performed in the New York Philharmonic Biennial as a member of the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble, as well as Juilliard’s “ChamberFest.” She has performed with various chamber ensembles in Alice Tully Hall, David Geffen Hall, Seiji Ozawa Hall, the Metropolitan and Whitney museums of art, and the Aspen Art Museum.
Ms. Staton has served on the faculties of the Philadelphia International Music Festival and Metropolitan Concert Artists, both summer music intensives. She has also coached Philadelphia's All-City Orchestra, Philadelphia Sinfonia, and has been a guest at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Interlochen Arts Academy, Luzerne Music Center, and the Curtis Institute of Music. She has been the featured guest artist for the Flute Society of Greater Philadelphia’s annual Flute Fair, giving a master class and solo recital. During the year, she is a regular coach for the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra Music Institute and teaches lessons privately.
Ms. Staton is a Yamaha Performing Artist.
