Flutist Eliza Bangert is in demand throughout the Midwest as an orchestral player, chamber musician, and new music interpreter. She has been a substitute with the Grant Park Symphony and with the Chicago Symphony, where her engagements have included subscription concerts, the MusicNOW series, and concerts at Ravinia. She has performed in the pit and in the stage band for Lyric Opera and Lyric Opera Unlimited, and in the pit at Chicago Opera Theater. She performs with the Illinois Philharmonic and the Elgin Symphony, is a performing member of the Chicago Philharmonic, and in 2017 won the second flute audition with the South Bend Symphony. Since 2011, she has held the Third Flute/Piccolo chair with the Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra.
Since 2012, Eliza has been a core member of the experimental music ensemble a.pe.ri.od.ic, which gave the American premiere of Tim Parkinson’s opera Time With People following a Fall 2016 residency at High Concept Labs. She has also appeared with the International Chamber Artists, Fonema Consort, Palomar, and Ensemble Dal Niente. In 2021, Eliza was awarded "Best Out of State" in the Piccolo division of the Utah Flute Association's Sonata Competition.
Eliza holds degrees in flute performance from DePaul University and the University of Northern Iowa, where her principal teachers included Mary Stolper, Angeleita Floyd, and Torleif Ander. She particularly enjoys playing piccolo, and has coached extensively with the CSO’s Jennifer Gunn.
In addition to her performing life, Eliza is an orchestra librarian for the Grant Park Orchestra and AWR Music, where she enjoys the opportunity to organize and alphabetize everything in sight.