Yukako Emes started to play flute in a legendary Joyo junior high school concert band club at age 12. She studied flute at the Kyoto City University of Arts in Japan where she holds a Bachelor and Master degree.She pursued further studies in England with Trevor Wye for 2 years at “The Studio ” and after graduating she worked with him presenting his masterclasses and concerts in Japan as an interpreter as well as an assistant teacher and a performer. Since 1998 she has been one of the founding members of The Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra.
Throughout her career she has been an active teacher and has many successful students.
Yukako Emes Yamamoto’s involvement with FluteFest Malaysia 2025
Recital: “Flute Fireworks: A Showcase of Romantic Brilliance”
Malaysian flautist Japheth Law performs regularly with orchestras such as the London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Royal Scottish National, and the Malaysian Philharmonic. Having recorded concerts ranging from classical and jazz programmes to movie and video game soundtracks, he can often be heard on BBC Radio 3 and RTÉ Radio 1.
Prizes Japheth has won include the British Flute Society Piccolo Prize, Birmingham Philharmonic Orchestra Concerto Prize, RBC Woodwind Prize, and the Malaysian Wind Music Prize. Together with his trio, Junction T, they won the Leamington Music and Sylvia Cleaver Chamber Music prizes, and have since actively toured around the UK holding recitals and giving workshops to young musicians around the country.
Japheth began his flute lessons with Iun Chen Kim in his hometown, Kuching, and later studied with Yukako Yamamoto and Hristo Dobrinov in Kuala Lumpur. In 2015, he was accepted into the highly-acclaimed flute studio of Trevor Wye, which typically accepts postgraduates and young professionals, and later that year became the youngest graduate of the studio. He then continued his undergraduate and postgraduate studies at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (RBC), graduating with distinction in 2024, studying under Marie-Christine Zupancic, Andrew Lane, and Helen Benson.
Japheth’s studies have been generously supported by the Leverhulme Arts Scholarship and he was a recipient of the 2022 Musicians’ Company Award. He is currently a London Philharmonic Orchestra Foyle Future First, where he receives professional training from members of the LPO.
Japheth Law’s involvement with FluteFest Malaysia 2025
[On going flute exhibition from 10am-8pm at the exhibition area, free test play of various renowned flute brands from all over the world!]
Start Time
Session
Artists
Program/Theme
9:45am
Opening
Foo Chie Haur, Ho Chee Kiang
Opening
10:00am
Workshop 1
Ho Chee Kiang
“Happy Sound!”
11:15am
Recital 1
Kalaya Phongsathron, Koh Yiew Kia
“Echoes of the Imagination”
12.30pm
Workshop 2
Lawrence Chiu
“Flute Compositions and Beyond – A Composition Workshop / Sharing”
1.30pm
Lunch Break
2:30pm
Youth Flute Competition (Finals)
Foo Chie Haur, Ho Chee Kiang
Junior Category
Yukako Emes, Kalaya Phongsathron
Junior-High Category
Alena Walentin, Yukako Emes
Senior Category
6:00pm
Competition Award Ceremony
Chew Sze Gee, Low Chee Meng
Winner announcement and award ceremony
8:00pm
Featured Artist Recital
Alena Walentin
“Myths and Tales”
* Doors open 15 minutes before each event starts.
28/9/2025, SUNDAY
[On going flute exhibition from 10am-6pm at the exhibition area, free test play of various renowned flute brands from all over the world!]
Start Time
Session
Artists
Program/Theme
10:00am
Masterclass
Alena Walentin
Flute Open Masterclass
12:15pm
Recital 2
Foo Chie Haur, Yukako Emes
“Flute Fireworks: A Shawcase of Romantic Brilliance”
1:15pm
Lunch Break
2:30pm
Workshop 3
Kalaya Phongsathron
“Applied Yoga Practice for Flute Player”
3:45pm
Recital 3
Japheth Law, Alena Walentin (guest appearance)
“Impressions and Fantasies”
6pm
Closing Concert
All Artists, Competition Winners, Local Flute Ensembles
Closing Concert
* Doors open 15 minutes before each event starts.
* The proposed program is currently tentative and remains subject to change. All scheduled items, including times, venues, and participants, may be adjusted as necessary. We appreciate your understanding and will provide timely updates should any modifications occur.
Age limit: Recommended for 7 years old and above, accompanied by an adult.
A National Celebration of All Things Flute – Join us on 27-28 Sep 2025 at FluteFest Malaysia 2025, for competitions, recitals, masterclasses, workshops, and a flute exhibition featuring top international brands, with special appearances by renowned guest artist Alena Walentin!
From rising young talents to seasoned professionals, this all-inclusive festival organised by The Flute Store Malaysia brings together Malaysia’s flute community for a dynamic weekend of music, learning, and inspiration!
Alena Walentin is an Altus Artist and winner of 26 awards & prizes with a versatile international career as a soloist, chamber musician, arranger, Artistic leader and guest Principal flute with leading orchestras such as the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, National Orchestra of Sweden, Iceland Symphony Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, The Philharmonia, Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra and others.
Alena recorded albums with Swiss, German and Danish record labels, and has an upcoming release of a recording for Naxos. Her debut album was chosen as an ‘Album of the Week’ by the Danish National Radio.
With her great passion for sharing her knowledge since young age, Alena is highly sought after as a flute and chamber teacher, and has already held teaching positions at five conservatoires and one university in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Denmark, including Royal Danish Academy of Music, Royal Conservatoire The Hague and Junior Royal Academy of Music in London. She has also given masterclasses in Switzerland, Portugal, UK, Denmark, Singapore, Italy, Japan, Taiwan and USA.
She is an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music and is a former Vice Chair of the British Flute Society. She is also an Artistic Leader of the Soundscape Festival MS in Denmark – festival of chamber music and dance as well as a career building mentorship programme for conservatoire students and young professionals.
Alena Walentin’s involvement with FluteFest Malaysia 2025
Jury for Youth Flute Competition 2025, Junior-High Category 27 September 2025, 2:30pm-5:30pm
Featured Artist Recital: “Myths and Tales” 27 September 2025, 8:00pm-9:30pm
Flute Open Masterclass 28 September 2025, 10:00am-12:00pm
Festival Closing Concert 28 September 2025, 6:00pm-8:00pm
Koh Yew Kia was born in Malaysia and studied at the National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) having been offered a full music scholarship. Following his graduation from NTNU, Yew Kia went on to study for his Master in Flute performance from Taipei National University of The Arts. He worked with renowned flutist Man-Nong Fan, Huang Chen-Ying, Alain Marion, Pierre-Yves Artaud, Wolfgang Schulz, Renee Krimsier, Janos Balint and Andras Adorjan. Winner of Taipei Flute Duo Competition in 2000, Yew Kia was invited to perform the Carl Nielsen flute concerto, John Rutter ‘Suite Antique’ and Mozart Flute Concerto in the Taiwan International Flute Festival in 2006, 2009 and 2018 respectively.
Yew Kia’s professional life as a flutist began in 1999, when he was invited to join Joueur de Flute Ensemble, a professional flute ensemble in Taiwan. This soon led to his appointment to the Evergreen Symphony Orchestra (ESO) as principal flute by Maestro Gernot Schmalfuss, a post that he remained in for fifteen years. As a founding member of the ESO, Taiwan’s leading symphony orchestra, Yew Kia was able to tour extensively including concert halls in major cities such as London, Los Angeles, Sydney, Brisbane, Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai, Seoul and Singapore.
The collaborations with harpist Menglu Chiu since 2006 start from a concert of Mozart Flute and Harp Concerto K.299 at Taipei National Concert Hall followed with their successful Flute and Harp duo concerts in Taipei National Recital Hall over the following few years.
Yew Kia relocated his family back to his home country Malaysia in 2017. He is active in several festivals and flute events in the regions, including Taiwan International Flute Festival, Hong Kong International Flute Competition, Shanghai International Flute Camp, Evergreen Symphonic Music Camp Euroasia Flute Society. He is now teaching in Marlborough College Malaysia and heads up the Atelier Flute Ensemble in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.
Koh Yiew Kia’s involvement with FluteFest Malaysia 2025
Sabah-born musician and artist, educated in Kuala Lumpur and Northeast England. As an active performer (flutist), he worked with various orchestras/bands/groups around the country, and curated “Flutes In The Taman”, a flute ensemble project that showcases new compositions.
As a composer, his works have been premiered/performed nationwide and internationally in Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and England. Being prolific in the music and art scene, he has collaborated with not only musicians, but also artists, dancer and more. He has a passion for creating and integrating multimedia, not limited to sound and visual art, but also scent, taste, movement, etc., as demonstrated in Spectrum of Sentiment – a contemporary concert, and Ambient Longue and Sound Drip – experimental ambience, which features all original elements. One of his orchestral pieces, “Basket” – a piece that honours the craft of basket-weaving was premiered last year in RondoFest, followed by “I Wish To Bring You IV – Nocturnum”, premiered in A Dash of Nature by KLPAC Symphonic Band.
Lawrence Chiu’s involvement with FluteFest Malaysia 2025
Workshop: “Flute Compositions and Beyond – A Composition Workshop / Sharing”
Ho Chee Kiang, a distinguished flutist, conductor, and educator from Pangkor Island, Perak, Malaysia, has had a notable career spanning several decades. He has spent a total of 9 years plus pursuing a musical education in the West majoring in flute and conducting studies. He studied at DIT Conservatory of Music & Drama in Dublin, then at the Royal Irish Academy of Music where he graduated, and also earned several diploma achievements including Trinity College of Music in Flute performance, and won woodwind solo in the Irish Music Festival. He has performed internationally as a recitalist, orchestral player, and chamber musician since 1997.
During his stay in Europe, he has attended numerous flute masterclasses with many renowned flutists including James Galway, Mazio Conti, Trevor Wye, Andras Adorjan, Colin Fleming, Rachel Browne and summer flute academy including James Galway Internatinal Flute Seminar (Switzerland), Academie Internationale D’ete, Moulin D’ande (France), Elena Duran Flute Course (England), Sankyo-Masterclass in Florence (Italy) and has attended conducting masterclasses with Maestro Frederick Fennell, Jeffrey Renshaw (USA), Robert Houlihan (Ireland).
Since 2000, Ho has been a faculty member at UCSI University and UM, mentoring many successful flutists and musicians. He regularly conducts music camps, offers masterclasses, and serves as a clinician in Malaysia, China, Singapore, Thailand, Japan and Taiwan. In 2024 alone, he has performed Antonio Salieri Flute and Oboe Concerto with Miyamae Wind Orchestra in Japan and conducted workshops in Shanghai, with more band adjudicating scheduled in the coming months internationally.
In 2009, he formed Malaysian Zephyr Flute Ensemble and music director of Sabah Tshung Tsin Wind Symphony (TTWS) since 2010, and formed BELIA’n Youth Wind in 2023. Under his direction, TTWS as International Gold models winning band, also toured and performed in Japan for the second time in 2023. He is also celebrated for conducting premiere works by both local and international composers. In November 2024, he performed with KL Flute Ensemble with 2 World Premiere compositions by Qayyum Bin Zainal & Evynne Lim, and conducted combine Flute Ensemble of Autumn Flute Fest in Singapore.
Ho Chee Kiang’s involvement with FluteFest Malaysia 2025
Festival Artistic Director
Workshop: “Happy Sound!”
Jury for Youth Flute Competition 2025, Junior-High Category
Foo Chie Haur has served as the Principal Flute of the Malaysian National Symphony Orchestra since 2009. In addition to this role, he has appeared as principal flute with the Tutan Festival Orchestra, Philharmonic Winds of Malaysia, and Bachfest Malaysia, which toured Leipzig in 2024. He has also performed with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra.
Beyond orchestral engagements, Chie Haur is an active solo and chamber musician. He performs regularly with Verses Music, notably in the “Iberia” program—a nationwide tour featuring guitarist YS Tang. He has also performed on the Baroque flute with local early music ensembles such as Wicked Music People and the KL Madrigal Singers. In addition, he is a member of Flutes in the Taman, a flute ensemble project curated by Lawrence Chiu.
In 2007 and 2008, Chie Haur was selected to join the Asian Youth Orchestra, comprising talented young musicians from across Asia. He received intensive orchestral training in Hong Kong and participated in concert tours across major cities in Japan, China, and Taiwan. He was awarded the Certificate of Excellence in 2008 and 2009 by Trinity Guildhall for his LTCL and FTCL performance diplomas. He is also a prize winner of the Ipoh Music Festival—solo category competition and the HSBC Wind Competition.
He studied flute with Sofia Cosme, Yukako Yamamoto, Hristo Dobrinov, and the renowned flute pedagogue Trevor Wye, author of the acclaimed Practice Books for the Flute.
Chie Haur currently teaches at several universities, including UiTM, UPM, and UCSI, and also occasionally provides flute repair services.
Foo Chie Haur’s involvement with FluteFest Malaysia 2025
Festival Artistic Director
Recital: “Flute Fireworks: A Showcase of Romantic Brilliance”
