James Fortune – flute

James Fortune has been a Mosman resident for over forty years. He first started on the recorder at Mosman Public School, quickly being steered onto the flute by long-suffering family members. His teachers were all Mosman locals for all his schooling: Suzy Powell, Laura Chislett, Jane Rutter and Esme Yamaguchi. He learnt the piano with Karel Moray. With the encouragement of Esme (now Tokyo-based) he entered the 4th Kobe International Flute Competition and was highly placed with a special award for performance of the demanding Japanese set piece. He rounded this out with a Second Prize in the National Flute Competition (Melbourne, 2002) and First Prize in the Gisborne Music Competition (New Zealand). Engagements to perform solos with the Sydney, Melbourne and West Australian Symphony Orchestras followed, usually organised by the various training programs within each organisation and with support from the Australian National Academy of Music.

Interesting facts about James include that he has actually completed a Medicine Degree (MB BS) through University of Sydney and registered with the Medical Board. But his first love remains music, in particular the flute and uncovering less well-known gems in the repertoire. This is James’ debut performance with Mosman Orchestra.