Celine Thackston

Celine Thackston, Flute & Artistic Director

Flutist Celine Thackston is a versatile musician, delivering expressive, sensitive performances that blur the traditional boundaries of classical music. She is the Founder and Artistic Director for chatterbird.

Celine has performed often with a wide array of ensembles from traditional to the avant-garde, including the New York New Music Ensemble, Pocket Opera Players, Opera Theater Oregon, Nashville Symphony and Nashville Ballet, Memphis Symphony, Classical Revolution, Filmusik, and Salem Chamber Orchestra, among others. In Nashville, she has also performed on studio recordings for movies, video games, and popular artists.

Celine completed her doctorate in flute performance from the University of Oregon, where she was a Graduate Teaching Fellow and studied with Molly Barth, founding flutist of eighth blackbird. She received her master’s degree in flute performance from New York University as a student of revolutionary flutist Robert Dick. She has since served on the faculty of Middle Tennessee State University and Fisk University, and has been a teaching artist and clinician for workshops around the United States.

When not ‘birding, Celine serves as Executive Director for The Hello in There Foundation, a family foundation established in memory of beloved songwriter John Prine. She is also Co-Founder and Development Strategist for Unmanageable, which exists to support independent artists and their visionary projects. She is a successful development and fundraising consultant, along with being a loving wife and mom.