Entries to our 2020 competition close this Friday at 5pm UK time! Taking place at Regent Hall, London on Wednesday 19th February, they’re a chance to win exciting prizes, and receive advice and encouragement from our panel of expert adjudicators - some of the leading lights of the flute world. Read on for more about them - and for full Competitions info and to book, click here.

BFS School Performer (aged 13 or under), BFS Young Performer (aged 14-18)

Sarah O'Flynn: Sub-Principal flute of the Britten Sinfonia and member of the Chroma Ensemble

Susan Torke: Flute teacher at the Junior Royal Academy of Music, worked closely with German composer Hans Werner Henze

BFS Young Artist (aged 19-24)

Hallfríður Ólafsdóttir: Principal Flute of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, conductor and founder of Maximus Musicus concerts and books for children

Silvia Careddu: Double prize winner of the Concours International de Musique de Genève, professor at the Conservatoire et Académie Supérieure de Strasbourg.

Hallfríður Ólafsdóttir

Hallfríður Ólafsdóttir is the Principal Flute of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra. She studied flute playing in Iceland, England, and in Paris. Her main teacher was William Bennett at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where Hallfríður has herself on several occasions taught master classes. Hallfríður regularly plays solo concerti with the ISO, is the founder of Camerarctica chamber ensemble and is an avid flute teacher and coach of youth orchestras.

Her enthusiasm for music education has resulted in the much awarded and globally successful project called Maximus Musicus, which involves illustrated children's books with audio as well as symphonic performances. Lately, Hallfríður has increasingly been asked to conduct ensembles and orchestras, amongst others the ISO and the Sinfonia Nord, as well as youth orchestras and ensembles specialising in contemporary music.

Among other awards, Hallfríður is Associate of the Royal Academy of Music in London (ARAM) since 2002. She was in 2014 awarded the Icelandic Knight's Cross of the Order of the Falcon for her contribution towards musical education of children and in 2019 the Honorary Award of the Iceland President’s Export Award.

Sarah O’Flynn

Sarah pursues a demanding and varied career as a performer and educationalist. She is a founding member of the chamber ensemble Chroma, and has been sub principal flute with Britten Sinfonia since 2006.

Sarah has appeared with numerous symphony and chamber orchestras throughout the UK, performing in concert halls across the world, most notably as guest principal flute with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Sarah’s work with Britten Sinfonia is rich and diverse, ranging from an unconducted St John Passion to the Strictly Come Dancing Prom.

As an orchestral and chamber musician Sarah has premiered hundreds of new works and commissions, frequently working in close collaboration with the composer. She is also a member of The Marais Ensemble who curated an extensive annual chamber music festival in Sarah's home town of Potton, Bedfordshire for 14 years.

Sarah is also a keen educationalist. She currently runs interactive music-technology workshops in Special Educational Needs schools, and is heavily involved in a diverse range of projects delivered by Britten Sinfonia's Creative Learning department, most notably: community music-making for families living with dementia; and Britten Sinfonia Academy, a training orchestra for exceptionally talented teenagers.

Sarah studied at the Royal College of Music, having been awarded a postgraduate scholarship, as well as studying with Clare Southworth and David Nicholson. She is the flute tutor at Goldsmiths College, University of London, and plays on an Arista flute which she acquired in 2016.

Susan Torke

Susan Torke Bmus (hons) DipRAM ARAM grew up in East Aurora, New York and started playing the flute at the age of 10. Susan attended Interlochen - National Music Camp and was also a scholarship winner to the prestigious Chautauqua Institute. She then studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London with William Bennett, where she was a Leverhulme Scholar. For the past 25 years, London has been her home. She lives with her husband, a professional bass player, and their two girls.

Susan has created a musical life for herself that includes performing in orchestras, West End Shows, chamber music and teaching. As an orchestral musician, Susan has performed with orchestras such as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Opera Orchestra and Camber Orchestra of Europe. She has performed in over 15 West End Shows, including Miss Saigon, Oliver!, Les Miserables, Into the Woods and Sunset Boulevard. She is often in demand to "deputise" in shows when the regular flautist is performing elsewhere. Many times she has played 8 different shows a week, making for a very interesting work schedule!

Susan has recorded for the Deutsche Grammophon, BBC, both radio and TV and other session work. Susan is also in demand as a chamber musician travelling all over Europe and the Far East. She has recently been working on a project with the Australian composer, John Carmichael. As a teacher, Susan has taught students from the age of 7-70. She loves the enthusiasm of working with the youngsters and the challenge of figuring out problems with her older students. Susan teaches privately at home, in a local state school, at a private school and at the Junior Department of the Royal Academy of Music.

Silvia Careddu

Born in Cagliari (Italy), Silvia Careddu studied at the Conservatoire de Musique et de Danse de Paris, where she graduated with distinction. She made an auspicious start to her career, winning the First Prize and the Audience prize unanimously at the 56th Concours International de Musique de Genève. Following the award, Lorin Maazel invited Silvia to become solo flute for his newly founded Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini. She later joined the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, the Wiener Symphoniker and the Wiener Staatsoper-Wiener Philharmoniker.

Silvia has also been guest principal flautist with the likes of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. In 2012 she became artistic partner of the Kammerakademie Potsdam, winner of the Echo-Preis 2015 for the Best German Orchestra.

She is a founding member of the Alban Berg Ensemble, a chamber group of virtuoso instrumentalists who records for the Deutsche Grammophon, and is regularly invited to important festivals as a soloist and as a chamber music partner, such as Festival des Arcs, Australian National Academy for Music, Festival de Salon and the NFA American Flute Convention.

Silvia is also Professor at the Conservatoire et Académie Supérieure de Musique de Strasbourg and teaches at the Hochschule für Musik ‘Hanns Eisler’ in Berlin. She regularly gives masterclasses in Europe and Asia and has served as juror for the competitions such as the Concours de Genève, the A. Nicolet Competition, the Premio Claudio Abbado and the Crussell International Competition. She has recorded Trio Sonatas by J. S. Bach, with Emmanuel Pahud and Trevor Pinnock. Silvia plays a Powell, 18K Gold Flute.

**Adjudicators subject to change

Meet our BFS Competitions 2020 adjudicators!