Flutist Dionne Jackson was the first American in more than a decade to receive First Prize in Flute from the Paris Conservatory of Music, where she studied with the legendary teaching duo Alain Marion and Raymond Guiot. She also received First Prize in Chamber Music and performed solo recitals in Paris, Bordeaux, Marseille, Nice, Tours, Toulouse, and Monte Carlo.
Jackson has performed to critical acclaim as soloist, orchestral performer, and chamber musician. New York Concert Review critic Jed Distler hailed her Carnegie Hall solo debut as “a triumph on every level…. with technical perfection and incomparable soul.” Chicago Sun-Times critic Andrew Patner praised her performances as “awe-inspiring” and “phenomenal.”
In her native Chicago, Jackson held the position of assistant principal flute with Lyric Opera of Chicago from 2001 to 2014. She also performed regularly for more than a decade as a substitute with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. As guest assistant principal flute for the 2008–2009 season, she performed with the orchestra at Carnegie Hall and on international tours to Asia under the batons of Pierre Boulez and Bernard Haitink. While performing for the orchestra’s contemporary-music series MusicNOW, Jackson played Boulez’s Sonatine for flute and piano for Boulez himself. She subsequently analyzed the work in an article published in Flute Talk magazine. In addition, she was featured numerous times as a soloist on Chicago’s Classical Radio Station WFMT 98.7.
The recipient of many national and international prizes, Jackson won first prizes in competitions sponsored by the New York International Artists Association, Flute Talk magazine, and in Chicago, the Union League and Musicians Club of Women. She received fellowships from The Juilliard School, Tanglewood Music Center, Aspen Music Festival and School, and the Paris Conservatory of Music as well as a Fulbright Grant.
Jackson is a graduate of The Juilliard School, where she studied with Julius Baker; while at Juilliard, she played substitute flute and piccolo in the New York Philharmonic under Kurt Masur, Riccardo Chailly, and Valery Gergiev. She also holds a bachelor’s degree and performer’s certificate from Indiana University. For nine years, she served on the music faculty of Roosevelt University–Chicago College of Performing Arts. In 2014, she was appointed associate professor of flute at the University of Connecticut. Jackson is a frequent performer and master-class guest and a sponsored Sankyo artist.