Flutist James Hilsabeck currently holds the position of Principal Flute with the Dana Point Symphony and also performs regularly on flute and piccolo with Symphony Irvine. James began playing the flute at the age of eight and made his solo debut performing Mozart’s Flute Concerto in G Major with the Irvine Young Concert Artists.

As an orchestral flutist, James has performed with the Mozarteum Orchestra of Salzburg under the direction of Ivor Bolten as well as the Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra Orchestra under the direction of Maxim Eshkenazy. In the summer of 2011, James toured Bulgaria as Principal Flute of the Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra, which gave three critically acclaimed performances to standing room only audiences in the major concert halls of Sofia, Plovdiv and Varna. He has participated in recording sessions for several internationally acclaimed artists as well as recorded music for film, and he has performed as part of the Saddleback Church Orchestra with Grammy Award winner and Academy Award nominee James Ingram.

James has studied under the mentorship of Florence Estrin and his training also included lessons with Bernard Krabatsch, Principal Flutist of the Mozarteum, and Diane Weber. In addition to flute performance, James has studied conducting under the mentorship of Dean Anderson and music theory with Norman Westin.

James currently lives in the Southern Orange County area where he maintains a private studio.