Phoebe Bognár is an Australian-born flutist, performer, and composer, based in 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 at various reknowned venues including the Berlin Philharmonie, Elbphilharmonie, KKL Luzern, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Theater Basel and Philharmonie Warsaw. She has 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).
Phoebe has performed with notable 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. Her current projects include ongoing collaborations with composers Anna Sowa and Zara Ali; and her chamber projects: performative and instrumental duo iipm project with Mikołaj Rytowski where they collaborate on new works, and installations and interpret existing pieces; and press.any.key with Manca Dornik, a flute and accordion duo combining instruments with performative elements, composition and interpretation.
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. She has performed numerous world-premiers to date including Tyshawn Sorey, Thomas Adès, Bettina Skrzypczak, Hannes Seidl, Charles Kwong, Zara Ali, 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, Sir George Benjamin, 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. In 2022, she 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. Following her studies in Basel, Phoebe won the flute position in the 2022-23 International Ensemble Modern Academy (IEMA), where she performed in various projects with Ensemble Modern and fellow academists in many concerts and festivals. In 2023, was nominated by Claire Chase for the first edition of the Density Fellowship, where she will present selected Density commission works in her own project. 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 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, various flutes, theatre, 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. Phoebe is also a recipient of the Fritz Gerber Prize 2024, which is awarded by Michael Haefliger, co-founder of the Lucerne Festival, and the composer Heinz Holliger.
As a composer, Phoebe employs traditional notation, graphic scores, aural scores, site-specific composition and installations. Her 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).
Through art, Phoebe endeavours to weave new connections and understandings– to each other and the world we live in.