András Adorján was born in Budapest, grew up in Copenhagen and since 1974 lives in Munich. After obtaining a dentist diploma in Copenhagen in 1968 he completed his musical studies under the auspices of Jean-Pierre Rampal and Aurèle Nicolet.Between 1970 and 1988 he was principal flutist in the Orchestra of the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm, the Cologne Gürzenichorchester, the Orchestra of Südwestfunk in Baden-Baden and in the Bayerischer Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester in Munich.

In 1987, he was appointed professor for flute at the Musikhochschule in Cologne and from 1996-2013 at the Musikhochschule in Munich, where he has taught and instructed many of the today’s leading flutists. With more than 100 recorded albums and as the editor of a unique and extensive encyclopedia Lexikon der Flöte published by Laaber Verlag 2009 he is one of the best known and most prominent flutists of his generation.

András Adorján received the Jacob-Gade-Preis in 1968 in Copenhagen and was a laureate at the Concours International de Flûte in Montreux. In 1971 he won the Premier Grand Prix at the Concours International de Flûte de Paris and. He has received in 2018 the Lifetime Achievement Award of the American National Flute Association (NFA), in 2019 the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Chinese Flute Association (CFA) and in 2021 the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Croatian Flute Association (HDF).

Mr Adorján is known internationally as a Doppler specialist, and recorded the album Doppler Discoveries with Emmanuel Pahud in 2018. As a consultant for Yamaha handmade flutes, he was actively involved in the design of the current range of professional flutes by Yamaha. We are very excited to host him in 2025 in Sydney.

Alena Walentin is an Altus Artist and winner of 26 awards & prizes with a versatile international career as a soloist, chamber musician, arranger and artistic leader. She is guest Principal flute with leading orchestras such as the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, National Orchestra of Sweden, Iceland Symphony Orchestra, BBC orchestras, 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 held teaching positions at five conservatoires and one university in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Denmark. She has also given masterclasses in Switzerland, Portugal, Singapore, Italy, Japan, Taiwan and USA.

This will be Alena’s first visit to Australia, and we couldn’t be more excited for you to meet her and hear her play!

Melissa is described today in Limelight Magazine as “our foremost baroque flutist”, having been swept into the fascinating world of historical flute performance and pedagogy. Melissa is Principal flute with Australian Brandenburg Orchestra and guest Principal with Australian Haydn Ensemble, Pinchgut Opera, ARCO and the ACO. She has performed many times as concerto soloist and recorded extensively. Melissa’s solo album with ABC Classics, A Viennese Bouquet, features works for flute and piano on her simple system Liebel flute.

Melissa’s musical journey began in New Zealand where she developed a love for playing chamber music, receiving influential lessons from Uwe Grodd - flute, David Coomber - recorder and visiting artist Konrad Hünteler - baroque flute. This brought Melissa to study at both Sydney and Amsterdam Conservatoria with Geoff Collins, Harrie Starreveld and Walter van Hauwe.

Melissa is also passionate about teaching, lecturing in historical flute at the Sydney Conservatorium, enjoying teaching Baroque style to all musicians and tutoring for educational programs.

We are thrilled to be featuring the baroque flute, and Melissa’s beautiful playing and performance practice at the 2025 Festival!

One of Australia’s leading flautists, Kim Falconer has recently been appointed to the position of Section Principal Flute of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.

Born in Melbourne, Kim completed her Bachelor of Music degree with first-class honours at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music under the tutelage of Derek Jones. She then went on to further study for two years at the Australian National Academy of Music (Professional Performance Program) where she studied with Virginia Taylor. In 2017, Kim moved to Sydney to undertake the Sydney Symphony Orchestra Fellowship.

While living in Sydney, Kim held contracts as Guest Principal Flute with the Opera Australia Orchestra and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. She also performed regularly with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra as Guest Principal Flute, having previously been on contract as Associate Principal Piccolo.

In 2019 and 2023, Kim performed recitals as a Guest Artist at the Australian Flute Festival.

Kim holds her Licentiate Diploma with Distinction, for which she was awarded the Leslie Barklamb Flute Award. In 2015, Kim won First Prize in the Australian Flute Festival Open Competition, and was also awarded the prize for Best Performance of the Set Work – Paul Dean’s Falling Ever Deeper.

 In 2018, Kim embarked on an intensive study trip to England, Scotland and Ireland. On this trip, she studied privately with Michael Cox, and was a Concert Performer at the William Bennett International Summer School and the Scottish International Flute Summer School.

Kim also has a passion for teaching, and has run her private flute studio for over thirteen years. Since moving to Adelaide this year, she has undertaken some casual teaching at the Elder Conservatorium of Music.

Aside from flute, Kim has earnt her Deep Water 40m Certification in scuba diving, and also enjoys Latin dancing and art. 

Young Performer of the Year Eliza Shephard is a vibrant flutist and is paving her way as a performing artist, collaborator, and curator. She has performed in Canada, New Zealand, and across USA, and is in high demand as a soloist and chamber musician.

Eliza attended the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) 2016-18 studying with Virginia Taylor and has also obtained a Bachelor of Music (Honours) from the Australian National University in Canberra, and a Master of Music from Griffith University, Brisbane. A fervent contemporary musician, Eliza has established a course on experimental flute techniques, ‘The Extended Flute’, and is a specialist on the Glissando Headjoint, which she researched extensively as part of her Master of Music.

Eliza is passionate about amplifying the voices of female musicians and composers and her yearly month-long ‘March of the Women’ recording project was instigated in 2020. In 2024 ‘March of the Women: Connecting Australia’ showcased 31 works by Australian composers, performed by Australian artists across three CD volumes. 2024 brought the total tally of works recorded under the March of the Women banner to 155 pieces.

Her talents as a flute player and creative artist earned her the position of a finalist in the Classical Freedman Fellowship in 2021, and as the ABC’s Classic Artist in Residence in 2023. She has received many accolades for the boldness and imagination she brings to her projects, and her orchestral solo performance of Matthew Hindson’s House Music in February 2024 the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra was celebrated with high acclaim.

Eliza is a Haynes Artist and frequently collaborates with artists from a large variety of artforms including opera, circus, and dance to create new works and imaginative renditions of familiar repertoire. In 2022 she was the recipient of the YMF Australian Young Performer’s Award and Audience Choice Award for her performances in the YPA competition. Eliza is currently a Teaching Associate at Monash University and is a recipient of the Ian Potter Emerging Performers Fellowship through ANAM.