Eckart Haupt is a prominent flutist, active and successful both in the concert and recording venues. Establishing his reputation primarily as an orchestral member, then etching out a parallel career as soloist and chamber music player, he has become recognized as one of the finest German flutists of his generation. Haupt was born in Zittau, Sachsen, Germany, in 1945. His hometown was situated in the Soviet-controlled (East) sector of Germany, but despite economic austerity and other adversity there, he flourished in his musical activity as a youth. His first serious study on flute was in Dresden with Fritz Rucker. He also studied composition there with Manfred Weiss. Later on, in Leipzig, he engaged in further study on flute with Erich List. Haupt gradually built a career as a flutist in the 1960s, working largely in Berlin and Dessau, and in 1970 secured his first important post when he was appointed first flutist for the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra under Kurt Masur. His next important post came in 1981 when he took first chair in flute at the Dresden State Orchestra under Herbert Blomstedt. Haupt has held this position throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty first, all the while branching out into the solo and chamber realms, and eventually into the recording studio. Throughout the 1980s he gave many solo concerts throughout Europe, Asia, and the United States. In 1992 he was appointed first flutist of the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra. He received the Fritz Busch prize in 1996, and by this time was internationally gaining notice for his many recordings. He has recorded for numerous labels over the years, including Naxos, Capriccio, and Berlin Classics. In the new century he continued to build his reputation on several fronts: in 2004 he became a cultural ambassador for the state of Sachsen and he has even taken up conducting -- his April 2006 concert with soprano soloist Lucie Ceralova and the Dresden Baroque Soloists in works of J.S. Bach and Telemann scored a critical success. In the realm of teaching, Haupt has served since 1989 as professor of music at the Dresden Hochschule, where he has regularly conducted master classes in flute performance. Though his solo and chamber repertory has favored Baroque composers (Bach family members, Telemann, Vivaldi, etc.), as well as Classical (Mozart), especially in his recordings, Haupt also plays much modern music.