Malaysian-born Tengku Irfan has appeared around the world as a conductor, pianist, and composer. He made his Carnegie Hall debut conducting the Juilliard Orchestra in April 2024. He was invited as a guest conductor with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra and was the assistant conductor of NYO-USA, working alongside eminent conductor Sir Andrew Davis. Through his work as a conductor, he is the recipient of the Bayreuth Stipendium Award and runner-up and audience prize winner of the 2021 Los Angeles Conducting Competition. He also worked as assistant and cover conductor for David Robertson, JoAnn Falletta, Jörg Widmann, Simone Young, and Speranza Scappucci. He recently finished his Masters of Music in orchestral conducting with David Robertson. As part of the commencement, he was the inaugural recipient of the Robert Craft Igor Stravinsky Grant in Orchestral Conducting. He was a proud recipient of the Juilliard School Kovner Fellowship Award. Currently, he is the founder and music director of his own group, Ensemble Fantasque, promoting works from the 20th and 21st centuries, and underperformed pieces from earlier time periods.
Schedule
MALAYSIAN PHILHARMONIC YOUTH ORCHESTRA (OCTOBER 8 2025)
Lee Si Yuan - Adventurous Spirit (World Premiere)
Tchaikovsky - Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture
Sibelius - Violin Concerto: 1st movement
Dvořák - Symphony No. 8 in G Major
Tengku Irfan, conductor
Ham Kay Lyn, violin
8 October 2025, 8pm, Dewan Filharmonik Petronas
CONDUCTING MASTERCLASS AT JULIETTE MUSIC AND ARTS ACADEMY (OCTOBER 11 2025)
Tengku Irfan leads conducting masterclass centered around Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring. Open to public
11 October 2025, 10am, Juliette Music & Arts Academy
CONTEMPORARY CONDUCTING WORKSHOP AT YST (OCTOBER 13 2025)
Tengku Irfan leads a conducting masterclass, guiding YST student composers on conducting their own chamber compositions. The session is open to the public to attend and observe.
13 October 2025, 7:30pm
Steven Baxter Recital Studio at Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music
SOUNDBRIDGE FESTIVAL (NOVEMBER 21-23 2025)
Tickets and info TBA
ENSEMBLE FANTASQUE: CHROMATIC ALLURE (DECEMBER 19 2025)
Schoenberg - Notturno
Carter - Mosaic
Takemitsu - Le son calligraphié I
Seeger (Ruth Crawford) - Music for Small Orchestra
Ives - Arrangements of selected songs
December 19 2025, 7:30pm, Tenri Cultural Institute, New York
MALAYSIAN PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA AND CIRQUE DE LA SYMPHONIE (JANUARY 17 2026)
Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra
Tengku Irfan, conductor
Cirque de la Symphonie
Tickets and info TBA
ENSEMBLE FANTASQUE: BEYOND URBAN (MAY 1 2026)
Varèse - Octandre
Webern - Four Songs Op. 13
Amelia Brey - Hermes of the Ways
Wuorinen - New York Notes
Ensemble Fantasque
Tengku Irfan, conductor
May 1 2026, 7:30pm, The DiMenna Center for Classical Music, New York
RONDOFEST 2026 (JUNE 2026)
Tickets and info TBA