Known for her sparkling tone and sensitive, expressive musicality, Amanda Blaikie was appointed 2nd Flute of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra by Leonard Slatkin in 2016. She previously held the position of Principal Flute with orchestras including the Michigan Opera Theatre, the Sarasota Opera, the Miami City Ballet, and the Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra.

Amanda has performed with the New York Philharmonic under conductors Alan Gilbert, Valery Gergiev, David Robertson, and Herbert Blomstedt with notable performances including a Carnegie Hall performance, the 2010 Eastern and Western European Tour, and a Live from Lincoln Center television broadcast. Amanda has also performed with the Orlando Philharmonic, Opera Tampa, Ann Arbor Symphony, Boca Raton Symphonia, and the New World Symphony.

An avid lover of chamber music, Amanda is a Core Artist with Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings and performs frequently with ensembles including New Music Detroit, Chamber Soloists of Detroit, Cut-Time Players, and the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival.

As a soloist, Amanda regularly presents recitals around the country. In 2018, Amanda performed three Briccialdi Opera Fantasies at the National Flute Association Convention in Orlando where she was also a judge for the Orchestral Excerpt Competition. This past Fall, Amanda was featured as a concerto soloist with the Detroit Symphony Youth Orchestra, performing Mozart’s Flute and Harp Concerto with harpist Rachel Miller at Orchestra Hall. Other recent features include an interview and cover for the November 2019 Flute Talk magazine and a podcast interview for the Bulletproof Musician in April 2020.

Passionate about teaching and educating, Amanda is actively involved in the DSO’s Community and Educational Outreach Programs. She has taught and performed as a Flute Faculty member at the Pacific Music Institute in Hawaii and will be a Faculty Member assisting Robert Langevin  at the Orford Music Academy (Québec) in the summer of 2020. Amanda also taught at Oakland University for 8 years and currently maintains a private flute studio of all ages. She is sought after as an orchestral excerpt and audition coach, and has presented masterclasses at the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and the Hawaii Flute Society. Upcoming masterclasses include Eastern Michigan University in the Fall of 2020.

Amanda earned a Professional Studies Degree at the Manhattan School of Music under Robert Langevin of the New York Philharmonic. She also received a MM in Flute Performance from the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music under the tutelage of 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. ​ Amanda can be heard on the DSO’s webcasts:  www.dso.org/live and www.dso.org/replay.