RENNIE SALONEN , Bridget

RENNIE SALONEN , Bridget

Profession:
Flautist
City/Town:
Cape Town
Mobile:
+27 (0)72 479 9684
Phone:
+27 (0)21 689 8502
Email:
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Website:
http://www.bridgetrs.com

Cape Town-based flautist Bridget Rennie Salonen’s career in flute performance and teaching spans over twenty years.

As the former Solo Principal Flute of the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra, she was the recipient of the prestigious Ben & Faye Carklin Award for Artistic Excellence. 

Bridget’s studies at the University of Cape Town (UCT) and abroad equipped her with multiple qualifications and honours. She is highly regarded in the South African classical arena as a solo, chamber and principal orchestral flautist, and has appeared as soloist with several South African orchestras.

Bridget is also active as a freelance flautist and is the Principal Flute of the Cape Town Festival Orchestra. She is frequently invited to perform with top musicians such as James Grace, Albie van Schalkwyk, Zanne Stapelberg, Marian Lewin, Janine Neethling and Peter Martens, to name but a few.

Bridget displays astounding musical versatility in any music genre, whether on stage or in studio. She is equally at home playing in a Symphony Orchestra concert hall as she is featured in “Skouspel” at Sun City’s Superbowl, or playing a concerto in Kruger National Park at “Baroque in the Bush”. Bridget’s exquisite flute playing has been recorded for numerous soundtracks, such as the shows “Cats” and “Tree Aan”, the movies “Material”, “Faith Like Potatoes” and “Cosmic Africa” and documentaries like “Ocean Odyssey”.

As a flute teacher, Bridget has inspired and enabled many young South African flautists of the current emerging professional generation. Her students have earned professional positions in South African symphony orchestras and sought-after post-graduate opportunities overseas, as well as achieving very well in SA music competitions and youth concerto festivals.

Her empowering and supportive teaching philosophy allows each pupil to develop their unique musical ‘voice’ and goals, together with optimum body use and awareness. Bridget lectures in Flute at the University of Cape Town and teaches privately as well. As one of South Africa’s leading exponents of the flute, she is frequently invited to act as adjudicator or external examiner. 

More recently, after attending Performing Arts Health courses in the UK and USA, Bridget is the first South African to qualify as an Andover Educator, focusing on the Body Mapping approach. By teaching how to correct the body map to accurately represent the body, the quality of movement is improved and faulty postural habits are corrected. This results in much better, easier and freer co-ordination, technique, tone and freedom of expression.

Passionate about musician’s wellness, Bridget is offering her skills in musician’s movement, sensory awareness, injury management and healthy teaching methods to a broad spectrum of South African instrumentalists and vocalists. She is currently working on her PhD research in this specialized field.

Bridget lives in Cape Town with her violinist husband, Petri Salonen, who is a flute repair specialist. They have three children: Nicholas, Paul and Mia. Never idle, Bridget is constantly involved with her children and imparts her artistic flair through her creative parenting and hobbies such as cooking, gardening, crafts, pets, Pilates, spirituality and jogging.

Published 6 February 2013

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