Michel Debost

Michel Debost was a French classical flautist who was born in Paris in 1934. He achieved early professional recognition after winning first prize at the International Competition in Geneva and is famous for his 30-year tenure as the principal flautist of the Orchestre de Paris. Debost studied at the Paris Conservatoire under the guidance of Jan Merry, Gaston Crunelle, and Marcel Moyse. In 1982, he succeeded Jean-Pierre Rampal as a professor of flute at the Paris Conservatoire, a position he held until relocating to the United States in 1990. He subsequently joined the faculty of the Oberlin College Conservatory in Ohio, where he taught until 2011. His discography includes recordings of Vivaldi: Concertos, Op. 10 pour flûte et orchestre (1972) and Telemann: Six Sonatas for Two Flutes, Op. 2 (1975), alongside the Flûte Panorama series. Debost received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Flute Association in 2001. He died in Paris in 2026.

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