Sally Walker
Biography Sally Walker
Sally Walker
Known for impeccable technical skill, musicality and versatility, Australian flute soloist Sally Walker performs on modern flutes and piccolo as well as historical flutes and recorders and has appeared in the London Proms, Salzburg, Lucerne, Tanglewood and Edinburgh Festivals. Grand-finalist in the Leonardo de Lorenzo International Flute Competition (Italy), and prize-winner in the Friedrich Kuhlau International Flute Competition (Germany) she was awarded scholarships from the DAAD (German Academic Exchange for postgraduate study in Germany), Ian Potter Cultural Fund and the Queen’s Trust. Sally Walker is also Senior Lecturer in Classical Performance (Woodwind) at the Australian National University School of Music, completing postgraduate study in Germany, receiving the Artist’s Diploma from the Hanover Hochschule für Music und Medien, her Masters at the Munich Hochschule für Musik und Theater and earning her Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Sydney.
Regular Guest Principal with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Sally has toured and recorded with the Berlin Philharmonic and Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestras, is a former Principal Flute of the Deutsche Kammerakademie Neuss, was a member of Kölner Kammerorchester and has performed as Guest Principal Flute with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, NDR Radio Philharmonie Hannover, Kammerakademie Potsdam, Manchester Camerata, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra.
Sally has performed as concerto soloist with orchestras including the Dortmund Philharmonic Orchestra (on both flute and piccolo), Orchestra Accademia I Filarmonici di Verona, and the Klassische Philharmonie Bonn as well as many Australian orchestras. Giving the world premiere of Elena Kats-Chernin’s ‘Night and Now’ concerto in 2015, she has given over 10 performances of the work, most recently with Omega Ensemble at Sydney Opera House Utzon Room, Newcastle’s inaugural New Annual festival, and Melbourne Recital Centre.
Sally devotes herself to both Early and Contemporary Music, having performed with Early Music ensembles such as Das Neue Orchester Köln, Neues Bachisches Collegium Musicum and the Leipziger Kammerorchester and Contemporary Music ensembles such as Halcyon. She is deeply committed to chamber music and has collaborated with colleagues across various art forms and styles, including Aiko Goto, Steven Isserlis, Afro Moses, Simon Tedeschi, Dénes Várjon, and the Shanghai string quartet. Regular guest artist for Canberra International Music Festival, Sally curated and performed in the Art Gallery of New South Wales’ 150th Anniversary concert, toured with the ACO for ‘The Crowd and I’ and the Australian Romantic and Classical Orchestra.
The 2023 season includes Adelaide’s Illuminate Festival with Klassik Underground, Four Winds Festival, Canberra International Music Festival, Salut! Baroque, Bowral Autumn Music Festival and Elder Conservatorium’s Lunchtime Series (with pianist Vivian Choi Milton). Sally also performs with harpist Emily Granger, with the release of a flute and harp album called ‘Something like this…’ (AVIE records) featuring Australian and other classic works by Mozart, Bach and Satie in late 2023.
Sally’s recordings feature on pianist Tamara-Anna Cislowska’s DUET volume 2 (ABC Classic), ACO’s Beethoven, The Crowd & I and Mountain albums, Heroines with soprano Nicole Car, Omega Ensemble’s Unexpected News (2020) with Nico Muhly and Phillip Glass, and ABC Classics’ Women of Note series. She has recorded three albums of flute and piano repertoire with pianist Philip Mayers.
Inspired by social justice and outreach initiatives, Sally directs 1:1 Concerts in Australia, a concept of performance with one musician and one listener, inspired by the work of performance artist Marina Abramović’s “Listening differently” (2019), which won Germany’s Health:Angel award in the 2021 Health Media Awards. Responsible for bringing this unique concept to Australia, and its proliferation from Newcastle and Sydney to Canberra, Melbourne and showcased by Adelaide Festival in 2021. She is also Ambassador of Symphony For Life Foundation.
