We are delighted to announce that international flautist, Marina Piccinini (see https://www.marinapiccinini.com/ ), who played the Ibert Flute Concerto with the FSO in 2017, has become an Honorary Patron of the FSO. Marina is founder of the Marina Piccinini International MasterClasses (https://www.mpimc.com/), which, having been held annually at various locations in the USA since 2008, are now held in Uri, Switzerland. Throughout the years, MPIMC has been at the forefront of creating and expanding opportunities for its participants. In 2021 a collaboration with FSO was forged, resulting in the MPIMC Concerto Competition. The 2021 winner, Christian Paquette, performed the Reinecke concerto with the orchestra, and the 2024 winner, Freddy Branson, is to perform the Carmichael Phoenix concerto with us in November 2025. In accepting the offer of Honorary Patronage, Marina wrote, “I am very honoured to accept this and am deeply grateful for your trust in me. It has been a privilege not only to perform with the FSO but also to recommend musicians to collaborate with the orchestra. I greatly appreciate the connection between FSO and MPIMC and look forward to deepening this relationship.”