Amanda Blaikie

Amanda Blaikie is known for her sparkling tone and sensitive, expressive musicality. She was appointed 2nd Flute of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra by Leonard Slatkin in 2015, previously holding the position of Principal Flute with both the Michigan Opera Theatre Orchestra and the Sarasota Opera in Florida. Other previous orchestral positions include Principal Flute with the Miami City Ballet and the Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra. She has also performed extensively with the New York Philharmonic, including a Live from Lincoln Center television broadcast, Carnegie Hall performances, and a European Tour.

Blaikie regularly performs chamber music with organizations including Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings, Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, New Music Detroit, Cut-Time Players, and the WRCJ Classical Brunch Series. As a soloist, highlights include performing concerti with the Allegro Chamber Orchestra, a solo performance at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall, and numerous solo performances at the 2018 National Flute Association Convention in Orlando.

Blaikie earned a Professional Studies Degree at the Manhattan School of Music under the tutelage of Robert Langevin, Principal Flutist of the New York Philharmonic. She also received a MM in Flute Performance from the University of Miami where she studied with Christine Nield-Capote and Jenny Robinson, and a BA in Music from Principia College where she studied with flutist and pianist Dr. Marie Jureit-Beamish.

Passionate about teaching and educating, Blaikie is a Flute Instructor at Oakland University and is actively involved in the DSO’s Community and Educational Outreach Programs. She teaches and coaches privately, helping advanced flutists with audition preparation, and presents public masterclasses on orchestral excerpts. In the summer of 2019, Blaikie was a flute faculty member at the Pacific Music Institute in Hawaii, where she taught and performed.