Érik Gratton is a native of Montréal, Canada. He received a First Prize with great distinction from the Montréal Conservatory, where he studied with Carolyn Christie and Jean-Paul Major. He furthered his studies with Jeanne Baxtresser at the Manhattan School of Music. He joined the Nashville Symphony as Principal Flute in 1998. He has made many solo appearances with the orchestra, including John Corigliano’s Pied Piper Fantasy. He can be heard on more than 20 recordings with the Nashville Symphony on the Naxos label. Gratton has performed recently with the Montréal Symphony, Seattle Symphony, and Pittsburgh Symphony and also served as Principal Flute of the Metropolitan Opera. He has appeared at numerous festivals, including Tanglewood, the Shira Music Festival Israel, the Peninsula Music Festival, Mainly Mozart, the Napa Valley Festival, and the Aspen Music Festival. Gratton is an active session player in Nashville’s busy recording industry and enjoys giving solo recitals and playing chamber music on a regular basis. In his spare time, his hobbies include beekeeping, woodworking, and discovering new things and places with his wife, Erin, who is assistant concertmaster of the Nashville Symphony.