Nancy Hadden captivates audiences and critics alike with her ‘effortless virtuosity’ and ‘consummate artistry’.  Her repertoire is wide-ranging and reflects an equal passion for music and flutes of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.  She took up her personal study of the Baroque flute in the early 1970s, while studying modern flute and voice at Ohio Wesleyan University, and became interested in the Renaissance flute shortly after, at a time when virtually no-one played it.  She has almost single-handedly revived the playing techniques and repertoire of this beautiful and expressive instrument, an achievement which led to her ground-breaking first recording in 1988, Flute Music of the 16th and 17th Centuries (Hyperion). 

Since 1978 she has lived in London, England.  Over the course of her long career she has performed and recorded with many of the finest early music specialists and ensembles, including her own ensembles Circa 1500, Zephyrus and La Broderie and with Tragicomedia, The Harp Consort, the legendary Julian Bream Consort, Paul O’Dette, Julianne Baird, Erin Headley, Lucy Carolan.  World festival appearances include Prague Spring, Utrecht Festival,

Dutch Early Music Network, London South Bank Festival, York, Vancouver, Boston,Warsaw,Vienna, and BBC Radio 3 Chamber Music Proms.

Nancy Hadden has recorded numerous solo and chamber music CDs on Renaissance, Baroque and Classical flutes.  Two recordings won Gramophone Award nominations: ‘Renaissance Music from Mantua and Ferrara’ with Circa 1500 and ‘Hasse Sonatas and Cantatas’ with soprano Julianne Baird, and several CDs won ‘Critics Choice’ and ‘Record of the Month’ awards. Her most recent CD, Sacred Concerti (CRD), captures a luminous repertoire of little-known 17th century German music by Schütz, Schein and Michael, unusually scored for Renaissance flute alongside violin, sackbut, bassoon, organ and voices.

These are extraordinary performances, poised and delicate yet infused with passion and a real sense of yearning.  Gramophone Magazine

In addition to performing, Nancy Hadden has devoted herself to teaching and research.  From 2007-2012 she taught early flutes at Strasbourg Conservatoire and is a frequent guest teacher for workshops, summer schools and master classes in the USA and Europe.  She holds a Ph.D. from University of Leeds, and was awarded an AHRC Fellowship in the Creative and Performing Arts at Southampton University.