Born in Istanbul in 2003, Beste Yalı began her flute studies at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University Istanbul State Conservatory in 2012. She graduated from high school at the top of her class in 2021.
In May 2016, she received the Most Promising Flautist award at the Marsyas National Flute Competition, and the following year earned an Honourable Mention at the 13th International Young Virtuosos Competition in Bulgaria. In October 2017, she was awarded first prize at the 2nd International Flute Competition of the European Music Academy, also held in Bulgaria. In February 2018, she won First Prize by unanimous jury vote at the 8th International Flute Competition (L’association À Travers la Flûte) in Nice, France.
In February 2020, she was awarded first prize at the Silk Way International Music Competition in Batumi, Georgia, along with third prize in the chamber music category. In October 2020, she again claimed first prize—as well as the Best Interpretation of a Bulgarian Composer award—at the 5th International Flute Competition of the European Music Academy in Varna, which was held online. She also took first prize at the Cahit Koparal International Flute Competition, which granted her the opportunity to appear as a soloist with the Çukurova State Symphony Orchestra. Beste Yalı was selected to take part in Falaut Campus 2023 in Naples, Italy, where she performed a recital as a “Young Artist” during the festival’s opening concert. In May 2024, she appeared as a soloist performing W. A. Mozart’s Flute Concerto in G major.
She has participated in masterclasses with many renowned flautists, including Maxence Larrieu, Loïc Schneider, Andrea Oliva, Francesco Loi, Irina Stachinskaya, Marc Grauwels, Aldo Baerten, Jürgen Franz, Raffaele Trevisani, Serge Saitta, Aleksandr Haskin, Noemi Győri, Zoya Vyazovskaya, Julien Beaudiment, Giovanni Gandolfo, Bülent Evcil, Prof. Gülşen Tatu, Assoc. Prof. Aslıhan And, Sonat Sözer, Prof. Sibel Kumru Pensel, Prof. Cem Önertürk, and Prof. Ayça Çetin.
In the 2018–19 academic year, she was selected as a soloist for the MSGSÜ Young Orchestra. Most recently, in April 2024, she performed Carl Reinecke’s Flute Concerto as a soloist with the Mimar Sinan Symphony Orchestra.
In 2016 and 2017, Beste Yalı took part in the Balchik Music Campus in Bulgaria, where she worked with Sakura Kindynis and studied chamber music under Michael Wolf.
In 2018, she performed as a soloist with the Camerata Saygun Chamber Orchestra under the baton of Prof. Ayla Uludere, as part of the 4th International Çeşme Classical Music Festival. That same year, she passed the auditions to join the Doğuş Children’s Symphony Orchestra, with whom she later performed under Rengim Gökmen on 29 October 2021.
In 2022 and 2023, she served as an assistant in flute masterclasses led by Prof. Ayla Uludere and Prof. Ece Karşal as part of the AİMA (Ayvalık International Music Academy) programme. During the masterclass concert, she performed Eugene Magalif’s Colibri on piccolo as a soloist with the tutor-student orchestra, giving the Turkish premiere of the piece.
Since 2023, Yalı has been a recipient of the prestigious TEV Outstanding Achievement Arts Scholarship. She has performed as an auxiliary flautist with the Presidential Symphony Orchestra under the batons of Stefanos Tsialis and Tolga Taviş, and with the Tekfen Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Aziz Shokhakimov.
On 8 June 2024, she played piccolo in the Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra’s concert with Andrea Bocelli. She has also performed with the Cemal Reşit Rey Symphony Orchestra in numerous concerts as second flute and piccolo, under the direction of conductors such as Murat Cem Orhan, Gürer Aykal, Nil Venditti, Antonio Pirolli, Rafal Kloczko, Oğuzhan Kavruk, Artun Hoinic, Rustam Rahmedov, and Jacobo Brusa. In February 2024, Yalı won first prize in the piccolo category at the International Davorin Jenko Competition held in Belgrade, Serbia. She was later invited to perform the opening concert of the Belgrade Piccolo Weekend, which took place from 20 to 22 September 2024. During her piccolo studies, she has worked with Haika Lübcke and Francesco Viola. From 13 to 17 June 2024, she took part as an active participant in the 35th Galway Flute Festival in Meggen, Switzerland, where she studied with Silvia Careddu.
Since 2022, Yalı has been performing in concerts with the Istanbul Flute Ensemble. She currently continues her education as a fourth-year undergraduate student in the class of Prof. Ayla Uludere.
