Joséphine Olech
French flautist, Joséphine Olech, praised for her “subtle elegance” and “luminous joy” by Bachtrack, enjoys a busy career as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral musician. Appointed principal flute of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra in 2017, she has since solidified her place as an eminent young artist by winning the First Prize, Audience Prize, and Junior Jury Prize at the Carl Nielsen International Competition in 2019.
Winner of the third prize at the Prague Spring International Competition (2015), Joséphine has been invited to appear as a soloist with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Orchestre Pasdeloup, Domestica Rotterdam, and Orchestre de chambre de la Nouvelle Europe among others. As a testament to her talent, Révélation Classique ADAMI nominated her to their 2018 young artist roster in France.
As a frequent chamber musician, Joséphine regularly performs with Juliette Hurel (flute), Julien Hervé (clarinet), Anaïs Gaudemard (harp), Quatuor Hanson and Ensemble Ouranos, to name a few. Dedicated to championing new music and expanding the repertoire for flute and piano, Joséphine and her duo partner, Sélim Mazari, commissioned composer Mikel Urquiza to write “Atelier de Giacometti”, for flute and piano. It was premiered in September 2019 and has entered their regularly programmed repertoire.
Joséphine was trained as an orchestral musician at the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Academy where she has since returned to perform by invitation. She also spent three summers touring Europe as principal flute of the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester (2014-2016) where she performed at such prestigious events as the Salzburg Festival and the Lucerne Festival.
As principal flute of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Joséphine plays regularly under the baton of such conductors as Lahav Shani, Yannick Nézet-Seguin, and Valery Gergiev. With the RPHO, she has performed in many of the great halls of Europe including the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, the Berlin Philharmonie and La Scala in Milan.
Joséphine’s career has taken her to festivals all over the world such as the Copenhagen Summer Festival (Denmark), Flâneries Musicales de Reims (France), International Chamber Music Festival Ede (Netherlands). She has been featured on Podium Witteman, a Dutch television show that presents performances by top musicians. Joséphine can also be heard on France Musique’s Générations jeunes interprètes and on Danish Radio P2. She has also shared her extensive knowledge of music and the flute with young flautists through masterclasses given at Taipei University and the Tunisian Institute of Music.
Inspired by the international friendships made in European youth orchestras, Joséphine co-founded the Alma Mahler Kammerorchester in 2016, which brings together young professional musicians from all over the world for projects featuring everything from 19th century symphonic repertoire to original chamber works. In the summer of 2019, AMK conducted its first European tour, performing Mahler’s Symphony no. 7 in Denmark, France, and Italy.
Born in Paris, France in 1994, Joséphine started studying the flute at age 7 with Patrice Boquillon, entering the Regional Conservatory of Paris to study with Nathalie Rozat at age 12.She holds a Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the Conservatoire de Paris (CNSMDP) where she studied with Sophie Cherrier and Vincent Lucas. She is represented by Nordic Artists Management.
Source: https://www.josephineolech.com/bio
Photo: © Bruno Bonansea