Bio : Artists

Les Roettges : Flute

Les Roettges, principal flute of the Eastern Music Festival, has been principal flute of the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra since 1986. A native of Ohio, Mr. Roettges became a student of The Cleveland Orchestra?s Maurice Sharp at age 15. He holds a bachelor?s degree from the New England Conservatory and a master?s from The Juilliard School, and he studied for a year in Paris. His teachers include Paula Robison, Julius Baker, Alain Marion, and Robert Stallman. Mr. Roettges was the winner of the first annual James Papoutsakis Memorial Flute Competition. He is a regular participant in the Amelia Island (FL) Chamber Festival, the Madison (GA) Festival, and the Saint Augustine (FL) Festival and has participated in the Colorado Music Festival, the Bowdoin (Maine) Chamber Music Festival, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute. Before taking the position in Jacksonville, he performed as the principal flute for the Philharmonic Orchestra of Mexico City, Solisti New York, the Opera Ensemble of New York, Bel Canto Opera Company of New York, the Boston Philharmonic, and many other freelance orchestras in New York and Boston. This is his tenth season with EMF.