Flutist Camilla Hoitenga was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan (USA), and has lived in Cologne since 1980. She began playing the flute at the age of eight and pursued her studies in the USA, France, and the UK under masters such as Marcel Moyse, Julius Baker (former principal flutist of the New York Symphony Orchestra), and Alexander Murray (former principal flutist of the London Symphony Orchestra and later one of her “doctoral fathers” at the University of Illinois).
Camilla Hoitenga is now considered one of the leading flutists of her generation. She regularly gives concerts in the USA, Europe, Scandinavia, and increasingly in Japan since 1984. The soloist has been invited by orchestras such as the Chicago Symphony and the London Philharmonic, but also performs in exotic locations like the Forbidden City in Beijing/China or in Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates. While she enjoys classical music, she has occasionally participated in various pop bands. Her specialty, however, is contemporary music, and her passion for it has led her to collaborate with composers around the world, including Karlheinz Stockhausen and Shoko Shida in Cologne, Kaija Saariaho in Finland and Paris, KenIchiro Kobayashi in Tokyo, and Anne LeBaron in New York.
Camilla Hoitenga is also known for her collaborations with visual artists (e.g., Ansgar Nierhoff, Mutsumi Okada, Jörg Immendorff) and her improvisations in galleries and museums (including a “sound walk” on Hombroich Island in May 2006). Coming from a family of teachers, she began teaching flute at the age of 13 (at the time, she earned a dollar per half hour from her younger students!). Later, she taught at music schools, universities, and conservatories. In recent years, her time has been largely taken up by her concert career, but the founding of the Rochus Music School has inspired Camilla Hoitenga to dedicate more time to teaching students.
Camilla Hoitenga can be heard on radio, CD, and television recordings; the multimedia CD-ROM Prisma and her CD L’ail du song featuring the flute concerto by Kaija Saariaho dedicated to her have been awarded multiple prizes.