Biography
After being offered postgraduate scholarships at several of the UKs leading colleges, Kia took up a place to study with Richard Davis at the Royal Northern College of Music, generously supported by Dobies Charitable Trust. In her first term Kia won the flute position for the BBC Philharmonic Professional Access Scheme and has subsequently worked with the orchestra. Kia was awarded a distinction for her Postgraduate Diploma at the RNCM then took up scholarship to study on the orchestral training course at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama supported by the Guildhall School Trust, and graduated, MMus with distinction, in November 2009. Before this, Kia studied flute with David Nicholson at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and was awarded a Bachelor of Music with Honours in 2007. In the same year she was the winner of the John McGregor Flute Prize for outstanding achievement and was a finalist in both the Concerto Competition and the Mozart Concerto Competition. Whilst at RSAMD, Kia also won apprenticeships with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Scottish Opera.
In 2009 Kia was offered work as Co-Principal flute with the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra, a position she declined to pursue further work in the UK. As a freelance player she has performed with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra , Welsh National Opera, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and BBC Philharmonic. As part of her Orchestral Training at the Guildhall she completed a scheme with the Philharmonia Orchestra. Whilst at college Kia was also principal flute for the combined Orchestra of the Royal Academy of Music and the Guildhall conducted by Sir Colin Davis. Kia was also previously principal flute with Sinfonia Cymru with whom she recorded "Blessing" for Deutsche Grammophon, a Classical Britt award nominated album of new music by John Rutter with harpist Katrin Finch. Kia has also played principal flute with orchestras including Orpheus Sinfonia, London Firebird Orchestra Chelmsford Sinfonietta, Welsh Session Orchestra, British Sinfonietta, St Pauls Sinfonia, New London Sinfonia and Kammerphilharmonie Graz, and has played with Southbank Sinfonia, the Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra , the Orion Orchestra, the Orchestra of St Pauls, Kentish Opera, New Sussex Opera and Edinburgh Grand Opera. Kia recently played principal flute on the London Mozart Symphony Orchestra tour of China. Conductors she has worked with include: Vladimir Ashkenazy, Sir Colin Davis, Carl Davis, Gary Walker, Ilan Volkov, James MacMillan, Hansjörg Schellenberger, Vasily Petrenko, Michal Dworzynski, Tomas Netopil, Yutaka Sado and Stéphane Denève.
In masterclasses, Kia has had the benefit of instruction from many leading flautists including: William Bennett, Wissam Boustany, Ian Clarke, Michael Cox, Paul Edmund Davies, Philippa Davies, Robert Dick, Bradley Garner, Göran Marcusson, Lorna McGhee, Peter Lloyd, Jaime Martin and Jacques Zoon.
As well as orchestral work, Kia is in demand as a teacher and enjoys playing as a chamber musician and as a soloist. She has particularly enjoyed working with pianists Tim Carey, Jonathan Fisher (RNCM), Nico DeVilliers (GSMD) and 'cellist Ben Gregor-Smith. She performed Reinecke’s Flute Concerto in her hometown, Sheffield, in January 2009, and performed Bach's Bminor Suite with the New London Sinfonia conducted by David Gibson, and also with the London Classical Soloists conducted by Achim Holub.
Copyright © 2013 Kia Bennett