Phoebe Bognár is an Australian-born flutist, composer and improviser, presently based between Frankfurt am Main, Germany and Basel, Switzerland. Her approach to creativity is sewn with vibrancy and fluidity, and explores a diverse range of artistic entities, mediums and styles. 

Phoebe has performed across the globe, notably in the Warszawska Jesień/Warsaw Autumn (PL), Ultima Contemporary Music Festival (Oslo, NO), Lucerne Festival (CH), Ultraschall Berlin (DE), Rainy Days Festival Philharmonie Luxembourg, Göteborg Arts Sounds Festival (SE), Wittener Tage für neue Kammermusik (DE), cresc… Biennale für aktuelle Musik Frankfurt Rhein Main (DE) Bang on a Can Summer Festival (MASS MoCA, USA), Darmstadt Ferienkurse (DE), International Contemporary Ensemble– Ensemble Evolution (New York, USA), Musiikin Aika Time of Music Festival (Viitasaari, FI), Zeiträume Festival (Basel, CH), Nief-Norf Summer Music Festival (Knoxville, USA), Im flow der Apokalypse at Theater Basel (CH), the Tyalgum Music Festival (AU), Sydney Festival, the Queensland Music Festival and Dots and Loops Nonstop Festival (Brisbane, AU).

She has also performed with notable ensembles and orchestras around the world including Ensemble Modern, Klangforum Wien, Ensemble Recherche, Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra, Dedalus Ensemble, Opera Queensland, Speak Percussion, Clocked Out Duo, Badische Philharmonie Pforzheim/Theater Pforzheim, Schallfeld Ensemble, zone_experimentale Basel, Ensemble DIAGONAL, Splinter Orchestra, The London Improvisers Orchestra, The Fischermann’s Orchestra, Ecosono and Cadenza Chamber Players.

Phoebe delights in collaborating with other musicians and engaging in interdisciplinary projects. Her current chamber projects include the performance and conceptual duo iipm project with which she collaborates with Mikołaj Rytowski on new works, installations and existing pieces, and kinnect kollektiv a collaborative project formed out of composers and performers to create new works.

Phoebe holds a passion for expanding musical horizons through performing new works and collaborating with composers from diverse musical and cultural backgrounds. She has performed numerous world-premiers to date including Tyshawn Sorey, Thomas Adès, Bettina Skrzypczak, Hannes Seidl, Charles Kwong, Ragnhild Berstad, Lars Petter Hagen, Chris Swithinbank, Øyvind Torvund, Anna Sowa, Zara Ali, Elizabeth Shearon, Darian Donovan Thomas, Sophia Jani, Soo Yeon Lyuh, Matīss Čudars, Gerard Brophy, Catherine Likhuta, Julian Day and Jasmin Leung. She has also worked alongside composers on existing works including Kaija Saariaho, Beat Furrer and Michael Gordon to name a few.

In 2018, Phoebe completed her Bachelor of Music in flute performance at Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University under the tutelage of Virginia Taylor. She then proceeded to study with the flutist, author and pedagogue Trevor Wye at his ‘Flute Studio’ in England. She has recently completed her Master of Arts majoring in Contemporary Music at Hochschüle für Musik Basel where she was part of the ensemble zone expérimentale, Sonic Space and Ensemble DIAGONAL. Other professional development opportunities include the Australian Arts Orchestra Mentorship program (mentored by Aviva Endean) and the Ensemble Offspring Mentorship (mentored by Claire Edwardes). This year Phoebe has won the flute position in the International Ensemble Modern Academy (IEMA), where she will perform in various projects with Ensemble Modern, fellow academists in many concerts and festivals.

Phoebe is passionate about collaboration across genres, art forms and disciplines and delving into new and exciting ways of creative expression. The use of the voice, improvisation, electronics, visuals and activism are central to her creative practice and projects. Phoebe has received generous support from Foundation Nicati-de Luze, Ian Potter Cultural Trust, Hirschmann Stipendium, Australia Council for the Arts , Arts Queensland, Create NSW, C. und A. Kupper Stiftung, DOMS-Stiftung and The David Cubbin Memorial Fund for her studies and projects abroad.

As a composer, Phoebe experiments with traditional notation, graphic scores, site-specific composition and installations. Her works have been played by various artists in events and venues including the Center for New Music (San Francisco, USA), Theater Basel (CH), Darmstadt Ferienkurse (DE), Hochschule für Musik Basel (Switzerland), Queensland Conservatorium New Music Ensemble, Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University, Nief-Norf Summer Music Festival ‘Norf-Space’ (Knoxville, USA), and in the Mirroring Minjerribah exhibition (Brisbane, AU).

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 she was born, paying respect to Elders past, present and emerging, and their ongoing connection to country. Sovereignty was never ceded.