Gaby Pas-Van Riet

Breath as a starting point
Born in 1959 in Essen, Belgium, Gaby discovered her instrument and her voice when she picked up the flute at the age of eight: breath turned into sound. At fourteen, she received a scholarship from the Belgian government to study at the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne with Wilhelm Schwegler, principal flutist of the WDR orchestra. “When I was fourteen, I felt small, but also chosen,” she says. She later continued her studies with Peter-Lukas Graf in Basel, graduating with solo diplomas with distinction. Yet for her, this was not an ending, but a beginning: “Everything I learned opened up new paths, new sound worlds.”

The world as an orchestra
From 1978 to 1983, Gaby was principal flutist of the European Community Youth Orchestra, a period that greatly expanded her musical perspective. “At the European Orchestra we worked with, among others, von Karajan and Abbado. You learn to listen, respond, and breathe with an orchestra.”
During those years, she discovered how her own sound became part of a whole. She learned to align her breath, timing, and phrasing with the collective pulse of dozens of musicians, an experience that would carry her onto the world's greatest stages.
Her guest appearances with the Berliner Philharmoniker, the New York Philharmonic, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra confirmed her international reputation. She vividly remembers one moment: “I still recall being called to play with the Berliner Philharmoniker as a young flutist. Everything aligned: hall, acoustics, musicians. It felt like coming home at the highest level.”
In addition to her guest appearances with top orchestras, Gaby built a long and stable career in Stuttgart, serving as principal flutist of the SWR Symphony Orchestra Stuttgart for an impressive 33 years.

Teaching as a second breath
Gaby began teaching early. From 1996, she taught at the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp and later at the Hochschule für Musik Saar in Saarbrücken. She also travelled the world for masterclasses, Flutynars, and competition juries.
Her students praise her for more than just technique: she teaches musicality, mentality, and humanity. “She didn’t just see the flutist in me, but also the person behind it,” says a former student.
In her lessons, she made visible how breath, body, and technique form one system. “I use my breathing as a demonstration model, you can almost feel how the frequency is formed,” she once said during a Flutynar. For her, technique is not the goal, but the foundation upon which expression rests.
The deep impact of her teaching is reflected in countless stories. Angela Stone, who lived with the family as an au pair, shares:
“When I arrived in September, I had no idea how to play consistent Mozart or prepare for orchestral auditions. By spring, I won my first audition. But it wasn’t just about the flute. I learned to enjoy, to laugh, to deal with hard times. The most valuable lessons were how the family coped with Charlotte’s illness, values I still carry with me thirty years later.”

Recordings and repertoire
Gaby distinguished herself not only through virtuosity but through curiosity. She breathed new life into forgotten repertoire, including Romantic flute concertos by Hendrik Waelput and Peter Benoit. “There is so much Romantic repertoire still waiting to be rediscovered,” she once said.
Her recordings reflect this same spirit of discovery. From collaborations with the Linos Harp Quintet to Romantic Flute Concertos (2008) and recent recordings of works by Georg Abraham Schneider and Friedrich Hartmann Graf, she brought music that had remained unheard for decades back to the stage.
For many of these works, it’s true: without her dedication, they might have remained silent.