Kelly Zimba Lukić

Kelly Zimba Lukić joined the Toronto Symphony Orchestra as Principal Flute in 2017. Previously a flute fellow at the New World Symphony, she has performed with the Chicago, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, and Detroit Symphony Orchestras in such venues as Carnegie Hall, Beijing's National Centre for the Performing Arts, Royal Albert Hall, and the Teatro del Lago in Frutillar, Chile. She was featured on the cover of Flute Talk Magazine in October 2017.

Kelly is thrilled to join the Glenn Gould School faculty in 2025 alongside her teaching positions at the University of Toronto and OAcademy Orchestral Institute. Additionally, she has served on the faculties of NYO Canada, NYO-USA, Atlantic Music Festival, Orford Winds Workshop, Sinfónica Azteca, Credo Flute, Sitka Fine Arts Camp, and Belvoir Terrace. Kelly regularly teaches masterclasses at universities, youth orchestras, and flute clinics across the Americas and is always learning from her students. 

In 2020, Kelly teamed up with TSO colleague Clare Semes to form Sonority Sisters, a flute and violin duo that performs for corporate events, Concerts in Care, weddings, and school groups. The pair has been featured on BlogTO, CBC News Toronto, CTV Your Morning, and Global News for their work in bringing classical music to unconventional spaces and new audiences. Kelly also performs with TSO harpist Heidi Bearcroft in their duo Steel6ix - a name that pays tribute to their Pittsburgh roots and newfound home in Toronto. 

Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Kelly completed her graduate studies at Rice University's Shepherd School of Music and received bachelor's degrees in flute performance and music education from the University of Michigan. She is greatly indebted to all of her teachers, especially Leone Buyse and Amy Porter.