The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra has filled one of a number of long-term vacancies in its woodwind section by appointing a young German flautist who worked regularly with the Berlin Philharmonic for two years.
Twenty-six year-old Marie- Christine Zupancic, who has been playing with the CBSO since November, will take up the post of section leader flute in September. She succeeds the long-serving Kevin Gowland who left a year ago for a career playing opera with the orchestra of Opera North.
Born in Oberhausen in 1979, Marie-Christine Zupancic started playing flute and piano at the age of eight. After winning numerous prizes in the German Youth competition, she studied at the conservatoire in Cologne, helping to found a student wind quintet which toured to Chile and China.
A prizewinner in international flute competitions in Poland, France and Italy, in 2003 she won the audition for the distinguished Karajan Academy and subsequently played with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra for two years, including an American tour, the Easter Festival in Salzburg in 2004 and many live television broadcasts.
Other orchestras with whom she has been invited to make guest appearances include the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the London Philharmonic, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Opera Orchestra in Cologne.
