Yukie Ota

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Yukie Ota

Flute

Yukie Ota is a professional flutist in the United States. After completing her Master’s Degree at the DePaul University School of Music in Chicago under Mathieu Dufour (current principal flutist of the Berlin Phil), she won 2nd prize in the Carl NielsenInternational Flute Competition in 2014. Her prize-winning performance there became a viral news story on NPR when a butterfly landed on her during the competition, yet she continued to play without letting the butterfly impact her performance. Yukie also won the “Newly Commissioned Work” Prize at the 36th annual Young Artist Competition during the 2014 National Flute Association convention. In 2011, Yukie won first prize in the Chicago Flute Club Solo Artist Competition.

Yukie is an active soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral musician. As a soloist, she performed the Carl Nielsen Flute concerto with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra. Yukie has performed chamber music with the principal players of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Ravinia Festival and is a member of the Chicago-based International Chamber Artists. As an orchestral musician, Yukie has served as principal flutist of the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra since 2011. She has also been invited to be a substitute flutist for some of this country’s top orchestras: Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Ravinia Festival, Baltimore Symphony, Santa Barbara Symphony, and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra Japan 2016 tour.