Dufour was appointed principal flute of the
Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse in 1993, and then held the same position with the
Paris Opera in 1996. He plays on a Yamaha YFL-997 flute. Dufour was appointed principal flute of the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1999 by
Daniel Barenboim. He briefly left in September 2009 to play principal flute with the
Los Angeles Philharmonic, though later stated he had joined them on a one-year trial basis and was able to hold positions with both orchestras. He returned to Chicago in January 2010. He joined the Berlin Philharmonic as principal flute in August 2015, replacing the retiring
Andreas Blau and sharing the role with
Emmanuel Pahud. He left the orchestra in December 2021 at his own request for personal reasons, and was succeeded in May 2022 by
Sébastian Jacot. ==References==