Jacinta Mikus
Jacinta Mikus has held the 2nd flute and principal piccolo position in The Metropolitan Orchestra since its inception in 2009. She splits her professional life as a freelance musician, a member of Sydney’s premier Ukrainian folk band – Jaga Band, music educator and concert band director throughout Sydney. Before moving back to Sydney in 2001, Jacinta lived and studied in the United States and had the good fortune of studying under the tutelage of Donald Peck and Walfrid Kujala of The Chicago Symphony as well as John Wion (New York City Opera/Hartt School) and Jeanne Baxtresser (New York Philharmonic/The Julliard School).
During her time in Connecticut and New York, Jacinta developed her focus on auxiliary flutes, namely the piccolo and alto flute. She also picked up the clarinet and saxophone and worked extensively in the musical theatre circuits in the United States as well as here in Sydney. There was also a brief stint studying film scoring at Berklee in Boston but there was a swift realization that performance is where her journey laid ahead.
Starting at the age of 13, Jacinta performed regularly as a soloist with the Sherwood Conservatory Orchestra in Chicago as well as the Chicago Youth Symphony. Since then, she has performed with the Hartt School Symphony (USA), The Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra (Lithuania), Chicago Philharmonic (USA), Penrith Symphony (Australia) and, of course, The Metropolitan Orchestra. Her most notable solo performance was a last-minute call to replace a soloist with the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra to perform Lowell Liberman’s Piccolo Concerto. Jacinta continues to pursue new and innovative works for piccolo and alto flute and is proud to welcome Solar Triumvirate into the repertoire.