Jacques Zoon
Professor of flute
- Portrait
Jacques Zoon studied at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam with Koos Verheul and Harrie Starreveld, and later at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Canada with Geoffrey Gilbert and András Adorján. He won second prize at the Willem Pijper Competition in 1981 and was awarded the Special Jury Prize at the Jean-Pierre Rampal Competition in 1987.
He began his career as a member of the National Youth Orchestra of the Netherlands (Nationaal Jeugd Orkest) and the European Union Youth Orchestra, before being appointed Principal Flute of the Amsterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, the Hague Philharmonic Orchestra, and subsequently the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, where he served from 1988 to 1994. Between 1989 and 1997, he was Principal Flute in the Royal Concertgebouw orchestra and Chamber Orchestra of Europe. In 1997, he became Principal Flute of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the following year was named Musician of the Year by the Boston Globe. He is currently Principal Flute of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra and the Orchestra Mozart, both under the direction of Claudio Abbado.
Today, Jacques Zoon performs worldwide as a soloist and chamber musician, collaborating with leading orchestras across the globe. He has recorded extensively for Deutsche Grammophon, Philips, Decca, Chandos, Boston Records, Vanguard Classics, Schwann-Koch, and Pony Canyon, among others. In 1991, he received the Edison Award with pianist Bernd Backman for their recording of contemporary Dutch music for flute and piano.
Alongside his performing career, he has held numerous teaching positions: at the Rotterdam Conservatory (1988–1994), Indiana University (1994–1997), Boston University and the New England Conservatory (1997–2001). He also teaches chamber music at the Reina Sofía School of Music in Madrid, and since 2002 has been Professor at the Haute école de musique de Genève.
