Alexandra Stokes returns to the North Carolina Symphony as acting flute and piccolo after having previously held the same position for the 2024/25 season.
Last season, Stokes served as piccolo of the Sarasota Opera. During the opera off-season, she built a full-time freelance career performing flute and piccolo with the Jacksonville Symphony and the Charlotte and Charleston symphony orchestras. She was invited to perform as principal flute with the Syracuse Orchestra for several weeks last fall and as principal flute with the Carolina Ballet for their spring ballets.
Prior to moving to Raleigh, Stokes studied at the Eastman School of Music under the tutelage of Bonita Boyd and Anne Harrow. After having won her first year with the North Carolina Symphony, she completed her senior year online while performing full-time with the orchestra. She earned her bachelor’s degree in December of 2024. While in school, Stokes was a frequent substitute musician with orchestras such as the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, The Syracuse Orchestra, and the Canton Symphony Orchestra.
Passionate about new music, Stokes has premiered pieces by Samuel Adler, Brad Lubman, Daniel Pesca, Zihan Wu, and Ethan Resnik. With the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, she premiered and recorded Derrick Skye’s To Seek Is Jubilance, playing flute and second piccolo. She can also be heard performing with the Eastman Wind Ensemble on recordings of Jeff Tyzik’s SYMPHONIES and Jazz Concerto for Soprano Sax and Wind Ensemble.
