Careers in Classical Music: Flute Technician, Kane Wooi

When you think about learning music, instrument maintenance and repair are propbably not at the forefront of your mind. Instead, they are propbably the things you hope you'll need the least in some fuzzy future. 

For Kane, however, "How do I repair this?" was one of the questions that occurred to him early on when he played the flute, saxophone, and trumpet as part of his secondary school band, the Michaelian Military Band. 

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Before embarking on a career in repair, though, he studied performance at ASWARA, completing his diploma in flute and clarinet. He is an accomplished player, having performed with ensembles like the Malaysian Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, the Philharmonic Winds of Malaysia, the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre Symphonic Band, as well as ensembles from his hometown, the Perak Philharmonic Orchestra, the Kinta Valley Wind Orchestra, and the Ipoh Philharmonic Orchestra. "It helps when you understand the instrument and know how it should work," he shared about how his experience as a player has been helpful in his work as a repair technician. He has continued learning to play other instruments such as the oboe and bassoon to further his understanding of more wind instruments. 

After completing his diploma, he turned his attention to instrument repair, entering into an instrument repair apprenticeship with the Yamaha Authorised Service Centre in Malaysia for 4 years. He quickly gained a reputation amongst his fellow musicians as a repair technician who worked with great attention to detail. As a musician himself, Kane also understood the connection musicians have with their instruments, and provided much anticipated, and unexpectedly satisfying "before and after" updates to customers. 

He has since become the first, and only at the time of writing, Straubinger Certified Flute Technician in Malaysia, having trained with Joel and David Straubinger. He continues to develop more skills, training with flute headjoint makers Pere Alcon in Barcelona and Robert Bigio in London.

Instrument repair, like work in other areas of music, is a passion and a calling.

It takes curiosity, attention to detail, and a strong work ethic to provide high quality service in this kind of work. A constant challenge with instrument repair or servicing, Kane shared, is that there are simply no shortcuts that do not compromise the quality of the work. This can be limiting for anyone hoping to scale up their business by only doing repair work. 

For Kane, he has expanded on his passion for repair in a slightly different way. He began teaching others the skill of instrument repair, taking on apprentices. He also expanded into retail, bringing in quality wind instruments and accessories at reasonable prices. His goal is to make quality instruments and instrument care services available locally in Malaysia. At KaneYouFixIt Music, he now leads a team of 5 instrument technicians whose specialties range from flute and clarinet to saxophone and brass instruments like the trumpet, French horn, trombone, euphonium, and tuba. KaneYouFixIt is also an Authorised Distributor for Sankyo Flutes and Altus flutes, both of which are handmade from Japan. The store also offers a wide range of instruments and accessories - items that many wind players may not usually be able to come across in person or have the opportunity to try out unless they organised a trip overseas themselves to make the purchase. 

"There are so many school bands in Malaysia - I bet there's at least one person in each of those bands who, like me, asks the question 'How do I repair this?'", Kane talked about his continued passion for encouraging others who are interested in instrument repair. He frequently works with the music community on outreach programmes such as instrument maintenance workshops for school bands, and instruments and accessories displays at events. "Being able to see peoples' enthusiasm for music - that's what drives me," he said. 

Whether you are looking to purchase your wind instrument from a store where you'll be able to get advice on instrument selection and care, or you are interested in instrument servicing and repair, check out KaneYouFixIt at their store in Petaling Jaya or online at kaneyoufixit.com.