Aitken, Robert, 1939-

Robert Morris Aitken was born on August 28, 1939, in Kentville, Nova Scotia.

He is a Canadian composer and flautist. He began his career as a teenager playing in many orchestras, notably becoming the youngest principal flautist in the history of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in 1958 at the age of 19. He studied flute with Nicolas Fiore, Marcel Moyse, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Andre Jaunet, Severino Gazzelloni, and Hubert Barwahser. In 1971, he abandoned ensemble performance to pursue a highly successful solo career. He has appeared as a soloist with major symphony orchestras throughout North America, Europe and Asia and has made over 40 commercial recordings. Aitken has played with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, CBC Symphony Orchestra, and Toronto Symphony Orchestra. He is the Co-Artistic Director of New Music Concerts in Toronto. He has also done classical and contemporary music (along with eminent harpist Erica Goodman) on BIS Records. From 1988 to 2004, Aitken was a member of the music faculty at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik in Freiburg, Germany. He is also a former faculty member of the University of Toronto (1960–1975) and the Shawinigan Summer School of Arts (1972–1982) and was director of advanced studies in music at the Banff Centre from 1985 to 1989. In 1993, Aitken was made a Member of the Order of Canada, and in 2003, he received National Flute Association Lifetime Achievement Award.