Christine Saari, principal flute

Originally from Massachusetts, Christine is currently Principal Flutist with the Santa Fe Symphony and Assistant Principal Flutist with the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra. She also performs both on stage and in the pit orchestra, each summer with the Santa Fe Opera and was recently featured as soloist with Chatter, a new music ensemble based in Albuquerque.

Previously, she held the position of Principal Flute with the Tacoma Symphony Orchestra in Tacoma, Washington. From 2000-2003 she performed as flutist with the Chicago Civic Orchestra, working with conductors Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez, David Robertson and Cliff Colnot. 

She has performed across Japan with the Pacific Music Festival Orchestra under conductor Michael Tilson Thomas. Christine received her B.M. in Flute Performance at Northwestern University School of Music in Evanston, IL in 2000. During her time there she was winner of both the Concerto Competition and the Chamber Music Competition with the Mondrian Woodwind Quintet. 

Her principal teachers include Walfrid Kujala, former piccoloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Matheiu Dufour, Principal Flutist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Christine performs on a Brannen-Cooper heavy-walled silver flute with a Nagahara platinum and 20K rose gold headjoint. 

In her spare time, Christine enjoys cooking fine food, painting in oil on huge canvases and racking up miles running with her Nike Plus ipod running system. She prefers “flutist” over “flautist”. For more information, visit her at www.christinesaari.com.