Karin Bonelli ⎮ Solo Piccolo ⎮ Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Karin Bonelli is passionate about the magic that emerges when a sea of sound and the musicians who create it come together as one. Since 2012, she has been part of this unique sonic world: the Vienna Philharmonic. She made history as the first woman to be appointed to the wind section of the Vienna State Opera and, consequently, the Vienna Philharmonic.
Talent alone, however, is not enough to find one’s place within such an extraordinary musical community. Karin Bonelli’s journey began with her very first flute lessons with her mother, who is herself a flautist, as is her father, and continued with studies in Linz, Vienna, Lyon and Munich under distinguished teachers including Gisela Mashayekhi-Beer, Günter Voglmayr, Philippe Boucly, Wolfgang Schulz, Julien Beaudiment, Philippe Bernold and Karl-Heinz Schütz.
Through these formative encounters, she was introduced from an early age to a rich variety of musical traditions, approaches to sound and styles of interpretation. All of these experiences have helped shape her artistic voice, while never diminishing her desire to continue exploring, developing and discovering new possibilities.
Anaïs Benoit ⎮ Solo piccolo ⎮ Orchestre de Paris
Anaïs Benoit began studying piano and then flute at the age of eight. After completing a bachelor’s degree in musicology at the Sorbonne, she was admitted to the Paris Conservatoire (CNSMDP), where three years later she graduated with distinction from Pierre-Yves Artaud’s class. From 2003 to 2004, she was a member of the French Youth Orchestra (OFJ), and from 2004 to 2006 she played second flute and piccolo with the Belgian National Orchestra.
In 2006, she was appointed Solo Piccolo of the Orchestre de Paris, which was conducted by Christoph Eschenbach at the time. She regularly performs as a soloist to promote the piccolo and also performs chamber music with a wide range of artists.
For ten years, Anaïs Benoit taught piccolo at the Boulogne-Billancourt Regional Conservatory and at the Pôle Supérieur Paris-Boulogne. Alongside her orchestral career, she completed training in sophrology in 2023 and now offers individual consultations and group workshops at the CNSMDP, the OFJ and other institutions.
Francesco Viola ⎮ Solo piccolo ⎮ Nationaltheater Mannheim & Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
Francesco Viola is Solo Piccolo of the Nationaltheater Mannheim and Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence. He has collaborated with leading European orchestras and opera houses, including Teatro alla Scala, SWR Symphonieorchester Stuttgart, Bamberg Symphoniker, Oper Frankfurt, Teatro di San Carlo in Naples and the Arena di Verona, and has worked with renowned conductors such as Zubin Mehta, Fabio Luisi, Daniele Gatti and Teodor Currentzis.
As a piccolo specialist, Francesco is regularly invited to conservatories, music universities and international flute festivals to give masterclasses and concerts. He has also served as guest professor of flute at the Conservatorio “A. Scarlatti” in Palermo.
In 2015, he won first prize in the piccolo category at the Severino Gazzelloni Competition. He has recorded several works for piccolo and most recently recorded the world premiere of Andreas Baksa’s Grande Concerto Piccolo for orchestra, to be released by Naxos Records.
Francesco studied at the conservatory in Palermo before continuing his studies in Vienna and Marseille, where he received several prestigious prizes and distinctions in both flute and piccolo.
Linda Taube Sundén ⎮ Solo piccolo ⎮ Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Linda Taube Sundén has been Solo Piccolo of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra since 2008. From 2001 to 2008, she was a member of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra.
She has performed with many of Sweden’s leading orchestras, including the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Swedish Opera, the Gothenburg Opera, the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, the Gävle Symphony Orchestra and the NorrlandsOperan. Her orchestral work also includes engagements with international ensembles such as the Mahler Chamber Orchestra.
Alongside her orchestral career, Linda teaches piccolo at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, where she is a lecturer (adjunkt). She also teaches flute at Lilla Akademien and has previously taught at the Academy of Music and Drama in Gothenburg, Birkagårdens Folkhögskola and the Voksenåsen Summer Academy in Oslo. She studied at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and the Academy of Music and Drama in Gothenburg.
Ragnhildur Jósefsdóttir ⎮ Solo piccolo ⎮ Odense Symphony Orchestra
Ragnhildur Jósefsdóttir is an acclaimed Icelandic flautist and piccolo player who has been a member of the Odense Symphony Orchestra as Solo Piccolo since 2015. She studied at the prestigious Universität der Künste Berlin and completed her soloist studies at the Royal Danish Academy of Music under Professor Toke Lund Christiansen, before further developing her artistic career through masterclasses with renowned musicians such as Emmanuel Pahud and Jean-Louis Beaumadier.
Before joining the Odense Symphony Orchestra, she performed with leading ensembles including the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra. Today, Ragnhildur is also a passionate chamber musician with the wind quintet Qvindetta and a regular artist and teacher at the Nordic Piccolo Festival, where she is passionate about guiding the next generation of piccolo players.
