Phoebe Bognár is an Australian-born flutist, performer, improviser and composer, based in Basel, Switzerland.

Known for their creative vibrancy and fluidity, Phoebe embraces a wide spectrum of artistic avenues and entities throughout their projects and practice. They investigate corporeality and the relationship between the self, the instrument, place, and each other; applying various flutes, instrument preparations and alterations, voice, objects, environments, and their own body. 

Phoebe has performed across the globe renowned venues including the Berlin Philharmonie, Elbphilharmonie, KKL Luzern, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Theater Basel and Philharmonie Warsaw. They have performed in a wide range of Festivals notably in the Warsaw Autumn (PL); Lucerne Festival, Zeiträume Festival (CH), Berliner Festspiel, Wittener Tage für neue Kammermusik, cresc… Biennale, Ultraschall Berlin, Acht Brücken, Darmstadt Ferienkurse (DE); Ultima Contemporary Music Festival (NO); Gaudeamus Festival (NL); Rainy Days Festival Philharmonie Luxembourg; Göteborg Arts Sounds Festival (SE); Bang on a Can Summer Festival (USA); Musiikin Aika Time of Music Festival (FI), Sydney Festival, Queensland Music Festival, Dots and Loops Nonstop Festival and the Tyalgum Music Festival (AU).

They have also performed with various ensembles and orchestras such as Ensemble Modern, Klangforum Wien, Ensemble Recherche, Ensemble SCOPE and the Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra.
Since April 2024, Phoebe is a permanent member of the acclaimed Freiburg-based contemporary music group– Ensemble Aventure.

Phoebe delights in collaborating with other creatives and engaging in interdisciplinary projects. Their current projects include ongoing collaborations with composers Anna Sowa and Zara Ali; and their chamber projects: performative and instrumental duo iipm project that collaborates on new works, and installations and interpret existing pieces; and press.any.key, a flute and accordion duo combining instruments with performative elements, composition and interpretation, as well as their improv duo Venus Observed (AU). Collaboration is at the core of their creative practice, and they works closely with creatives of various disciplines on works that reflect upon corporeality, identity, memory, ecology, and society.

Phoebe is invested into exploring different and new perspectives within the arts, through developing and performing new works and collaborating with composers and artists of various backgrounds and identities. They have performed numerous world-premiers to date including Liza Lim, Tyshawn Sorey, Thomas Adès, Bettina Skrzypczak, Hannes Seidl, Charles Kwong, Ragnhild Berstad, Lars Petter Hagen, Chris Swithinbank, Øyvind Torvund, Darian Donovan Thomas, Sophia Jani, Soo Yeon Lyuh, Matīss Čudars, Gerard Brophy, Catherine Likhuta, Julian Day and Jasmin Leung. They have also worked alongside composers on existing works including Kaija Saariaho, Sir George Benjamin, Beat Furrer and Michael Gordon to name a few.

In 2018, Phoebe completed their Bachelor of Music in flute performance at Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University under the tutelage of Virginia Taylor. They proceeded to study with the flutist, author and pedagogue Trevor Wye at his ‘Flute Studio’ in England. In 2022, they completed their Master of Arts majoring in Contemporary Music at Hochschüle für Musik Basel where they were part of the ensemble zone expérimentale, Sonic Space and Ensemble DIAGONAL. Following their studies in Basel, Phoebe won the flute position for the 2022-23 International Ensemble Modern Academy (IEMA), where they performed in various projects with Ensemble Modern and fellow academists in many concerts and festivals. In 2023, they were nominated by award-winning flutist Claire Chase for the first edition of the Density Fellowship, where they have presented selected Density commission works in their own projects. Other professional development opportunities include the Australian Arts Orchestra Mentorship program (mentored by Aviva Endean) and the Ensemble Offspring Mentorship (mentored by Claire Edwardes).

Phoebe has received generous support from foundations and awards including Foundation Nicati-de Luze, Ian Potter Cultural Trust, Hirschmann Stipendium, Australia Council for the Arts , Arts Queensland, Create NSW for their studies and projects abroad. Phoebe is also a recipient of the Fritz Gerber Prize 2024, which is awarded by Michael Haefliger, the director of the Lucerne Festival, and the composer Heinz Holliger. In 2025, they were awarded second prize (ex aequo) in the Concours Nicati Interpretation Solo category. The jury awarded Phoebe on the basis of their “progressive courage and bold artistic choices. An excellent performer and interpreter, they conveyed an authentic and musically compelling and deeply embodied performance in every work, consistently seeking new forms of expression.”

As a composer, Phoebe experiments with notation, employing graphic scores, aural scores and personalized click tracks, site-specific compositions, and installations. Their works have been played by various artists and ensemble in events and venues including the Center for New Music (USA), Theater Basel (CH), Darmstadt Ferienkurse (DE), KunstKulturKirche (DE), BuchBasel Festival (CH), Hochschule für Musik Basel (CH), Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University (AU), Nief-Norf Summer Music Festival ‘Norf-Space’ (USA), and in the Mirroring Minjerribah exhibition (AU). They are a recipient of the APRA AMCOS Art Music Fund 2025, where they will write a new work for Melbourne-based Rubiks Collective for their 2026-27 season.  

Through art, Phoebe endeavours to weave new connections and understandings– to each other and the world we live in.

For use of this biography for press release and publicity please use the contact form provided. Biographies of varying lengths available at request.

Photos also provided on request.
Website photos taken by Reza Kaviani.

Phoebe acknowledges the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation as the first inhabitants and the Traditional Custodians of the lands where they were born, paying respect to Elders past, present and emerging, and their ongoing connection to country. Sovereignty was never ceded.