Flute Day
Flute Day 2026
Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026
10:30am-5:30pm
Participation
Cost
*Free for currently enrolled Western Music students
Location
Western University
Registration
Sunday, February 1, 2026
Flute Day 2025 will include mini-lessons, group playing, exhibitors, an included lunch, and a special guest artist recital and masterclass.
We are honoured to have legendary, world-renowned Canadian flautist, composer and educator Robert Aitken as our 2026 Flute Day guest artist. He will teach a masterclass to Western Music flute students and perform a short recital of solo flute music.
The Western flute faculty will provide mini-lessons to high school and community flute players of all levels. There will also be instrument trials as well as flute music and accessories for sale, courtesy of Long and McQuade.
Registration
$30+HST ($33.90)*
*Free for students currently enrolled at the Don Wright Faculty of Music (you have already paid through your Gift Fund levy). Advance registration still required.
HST number: 10816 2587 RT0001
Planned Schedule
11:15am - Group warm-up and technique session
12-1pm - Mini-lessons/exhibits
12:30pm - Lunch/exhibits
2pm - Robert Aitken - solo recital
3-5:30pm - Masterclass
Guest Artist
Robert Aitken
World renowned Canadian flutist, composer, and conductor Robert Aitken has been honoured with the Order of Canada and is a Chevalier de l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres (France). He first studied with Nicholas Fiore, but his most influencial teacher was Marcel Moyse, with whom he worked for nine years. He spent shorter periods of time with Barwahser, Rampal, Gazzeloni, and Jaunet.
In 1970, having previously served as principal flute for both the Vancouver and Toronto Symphony Orchestras, Aitken embarked on a solo career that has taken him to virtually every corner of the globe. He has more than 70 recordings to his credit and such notables as John Cage, George Crumb, Elliott Carter, Toru Takemitsu, John Weinzweig, Gilles Tremblay, John Beckwith, and Bruce Mather have dedicated works to him.
In 2003, he was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Flute Association (USA). In 2004, he retired as Professor für Flöte at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik in Freiburg, Germany, a position he held for 16 years. In 2009, Aitken was the recipient of Canada’s largest arts award, the prestigious Walter Carsen Prize for Excellence in the Performing Arts.
As a composer, he holds Bachelor and Masters degrees from the University of Toronto and all of his works are published by Universal Edition, Salabert, Ricordi, and Peer Music. Robert Aitken was director of the Banff Centre Winter Program in Music, founder and artistic director of Music Today and Music at Shawnigan, and, with Norma Beecroft, co-founded New Music Concerts, which he directed for 50 years from its inception in 1971.
At age 86, Aitken continues to be in demand as a composer, performer, and teacher. Recently he served as president of the jury for the Moyse International Flute Competition in Sofia, Bulgaria, presented the European premier of Henry Brant's Ghosts and Gargoyles in Freiburg, Germany, performed as guest artist with Toronto's Flute Street, and at the convention in Madrid of the Spanish Flutists Association, presented a masterclass and concert of music written for him, to a standing ovation. In 2022, with William Egnatoff as editor, he published Robert Aitken: Just a Glimpse – Stories from 1979. and now they are completing a book on Marcel Moyse and documenting his own career and approach to music.
Sponsors
Contact Information
Sasha Gorbasew
519-611-2111 x80532
agorbase@uwo.ca
Stephen Tam
stam62@uwo.ca
