Flute | Jacques Zoon

In 1997 Jacques Zoon was appointed Principal Flute of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. With Seiji Ozawa he was a soloist in Mozart’s flute concerto in G, with Bernhard Haitink soloist in Bernstein’s “Halil”(2001). During the Tanglewood Festival he performed the Mozart flute concerto with Roberto Abbado (2001).

He regularly appears as a soloist with many renowned orchestras , plays recitals and participates in festivals throughout the world. In May 2002 he played the Mozart flute concertos with the Boston Baroque Orchestra on a classical flute, which was his official debut on period instruments and was also accepted with great praise. Two years later he recorded both concertos with them for Telarc.

In 1998 Zoon was nominated “musician of the year” by the Boston Globe.

In 1981, together with pianist Bernd Brackman, he won 2nd prize at the Willem Pijper competition. In 1987 he was awarded the “Prix Special du Jury” at the Jean-Pierre Rampal competition in Paris. At the Scheveningen Competition in 1988, he not only won third Prize but also the prize for contemporary composition.

As a soloist and chamber musician he made various recordings for Philips, Decca, DG, Vanguard Classics, Schwann-Koch, Pony Canyon, NM-Classics and Boston Records. In 1997 he was, together with pianist Bernd Brackman, awarded an Edison for a recording of Dutch contemporary Flute/Piano repertoire. His latest recording, Mozart flute concerto in D with Claudio Abbado and the Mozart orchestra, will appear soon for Sony records.

His active interest in the flute embraces technical aspects for improving the instrument as well and he currently works together with Williams Flutes Boston, developing a new type of wooden flute.

From 1988 until 1994 Zoon was teaching at the Rotterdam Conservatory and from 1994 until 1997 at the Indiana University. From 1997 until 2001 he taught at Boston University and new England Conservatory. He then became Professor in Flute at the Hanns Eisler Hochschule in Berlin, Germany, but he moved to Geneva in September 2002 where he now is Professor in Flute at the Conservatorium. Last September he was appointed professor for chamber Music at the Queen Sofia Music School in Madrid.

Since 2004 he has been the principal flutist of the Mozart Orchestra and the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, both conducted by Claudio Abbado.