Robert Bigio was born in the Middle East but grew up in Vancouver, Canada. He received a BMus from the University of British Columbia before coming to Britain where he obtained a PhD from the University of London. Robert played the flute professionally for many years before setting up as a flute maker. He is renowned world-wide as a leading scholar on the flute and flute manufacture and is presently the editor of the journal of British Flute Society. Robert is author of Readings in the History of the Flute, a selection of monographs, essays, reviews, letters and advertisements from nineteenth-century London. His long-awaited book on the history of the flute makers Rudall, Rose & Carte will be published in the summer of 2008. Robert lives in London with his wife Sue, the headteacher of a primary school, and their son Jacob, a medical student.