Daishin Kashimoto

Violin
Both as the soloist of international orchestras and as a sought-after chamber musician, Daishin Kashimoto is a regular guest of major concert halls around the globe. The tremendous wealth of experience gained in over 15 years as first concert master of the Berliner Philharmoniker benefits him in his equally adept role as a soloist, where he plays a wide repertoire ranging from classical to new music.
Recently, Daishin Kashimoto performed Bruch’s Violin Concerto with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra conducted by Fabio Luisi and appeared with the City of Birmingham Orchestra under the baton of Kazuki Yamada, the Gürzenich Orchestra under the direction of François-Xavier Roth as well as the NDR Radio Philharmonic conducted by Thomas Søndergård. A highlight of 2023 is the world premiere of Toshio Hosokawa’s new violin concerto Prayer with the Berliner Philharmoniker under Paavo Järvi at the Philharmonie Berlin, followed by the Swiss premiere at the KKL Luzern with the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra and the Asian premiere at the Suntory Hall with the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra. The new season also sees the start of his residency as soloist with the Kurpfälzisches Kammerorchester Mannheim.
Daishin Kashimoto has appeared with the NHK Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, the Bavarian, Hessian, and West German Radio Symphony Orchestras, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, and the St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra under conductors such as Mariss Jansons, Seiji Ozawa, Lorin Maazel, Yehudi Menuhin, Paavo Järvi, Myung-Whun Chung, Daniel Harding, and Philippe Jordan. He can also be heard as a soloist in concerts with the Berliner Philharmoniker. Past engagements include Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante at the Grafenegg Festival and Lucerne Festival, Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 1 under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle, and Tchaikovsky’s Sérénade Mélancolique and Valse Scherzo at Berlin’s Waldbühne under direction of Andris Nelsons.
As a chamber musician Daishin Kashimoto has appeared alongside Martha Argerich, Yuja Wang, Leif Ove Andsnes, Alessio Bax, Emmanuel Pahud, Itamar Golan, Tabea Zimmermann, Yefim Bronfman, Claudio Bohórquez and Konstantin Lifschitz, among others. With Konstantin Lifschitz, he also recorded a highly acclaimed CD of Beethoven’s Violin Sonatas in 2014. His other recordings include a CD of Brahms’ Violin Concerto with the Staatskapelle Dresden under Myung Whun Chung for Sony Music.
His parents introduced him to various instruments early on, with the three-year-old opting for the violin and receiving his first lessons in Tokyo. After moving to the United States, Daishin Kashimoto was accepted, at the tender age of seven, as the youngest student to ever attend Julliard School’s pre-college program; at age eleven, he transferred to the Lübeck University of Music under Zakhar Bron, before becoming a student of Rainer Kussmaul at the Freiburg University of Music from 1999 to 2004. He also had great success in major competitions as a teenager, taking first prize at the Menuhin Junior International Competition in 1993, the Cologne Violin Competition in 1994, and in 1996 at the Vienna Fritz Kreisler and the Long-Thibaud Competitions. Daishin Kashimoto has been the artistic director of the Le Pont Music Festival in Ako and Himeji (Japan) since 2007. He plays on a del Gesu 1744 “de Beriot” kindly loaned by Crystco, Inc. and its chairman Mr. Hikaru Shimura.

Rintaro Omiya

Violin
Yokohama native. Passed the NHK Symphony Orchestra audition in 2005 as a senior at Toho Gakuen School of Music. 3rd prize, Music Competition of Japan; 1st prize and Special Jury Prize, Millennium New Classical Music Audition; Audience Prize, 2001 Sendai International Music Competition; 2nd prize, Menuhin International Competition; finalist, Prague Spring International Music Competition, among others. Studied under Akiko Tatsumi, Masafumi Hori. Studied in Freiburg, Germany, on a 2008 scholarship from Affinis Arts Foundation. Principal 2nd violin of NHK Symphony Orchestra.

Masaya Soshi

Violin
Native of Kita-Kyushu City; alumnus of Toho Gakuen School of Music. Studied under Eisuke Shinozaki, Tsugio Tokunaga, Alexander Arenkow. Was appointed assistant concertmaster of Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra in 1995 and principal 2nd violin of Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra in 2004. Member of String Quartet ARCO. Winner of 2004 Kita-Kyushu Citizen’s Award for Cultural Merit, Encouragement Prize.

Takahiro Tajima

Violin
Began violin in Nagano. Studied with Takayoshi Wanami at Toho Gakuen School of Music. Concertmaster at Sapporo Symphony Orchestra 2001–04 before moving to Germany to study with Rainer Kussmaul at Hochschule für Musik Freiburg. From 2008, first concertmaster of Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, performing in Germany and European cities. Reappointed concertmaster of Sapporo Symphony in September 2014. Concerto soloist with Sapporo Symphony, Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestras, and others. Performed in front of the emperor at Tokagakudo, Imperial Palace. Lecturer at Takayoshi Wanami Yatsugatake Summer Course.

Yasushi Toyoshima

Violin
Studied with Toshiya and Angela Eto at Toho Gakuen School of Music. Upon graduation, appointed principal concertmaster of New Japan Philharmonic. Soloist with Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Moscow Soloists, London Mozart Orchestra. Member of Alti String Quartet, concertmaster laureate of New Japan Philharmonic, Kyushu Symphony Orchestra, special honorary friendship concertmaster of City of Kyoto Symphony Orchestra, concertmaster of Hyogo Performing Arts Center Orchestra. Professor at Kyoto City University of Arts, lecturer at Toho Gakuen School of Music and Graduate School.

Tatsuya Yabe

Violin
Tapped as solo concertmaster of Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra at age 22 in 1990, where he is still today. Also performs chamber music and solo, and has collaborated with Takashi Asahina, Seiji Ozawa, Hiroshi Wakasugi, Jean Fournet, James DePreist, Eliahu Inbal, Gary Bertini, Alan Gilbert. Winner of the 1994 Idemitsu Music, 1996 Muramatsu, 1996 Hotel Okura Music Awards. He has released CDs from Sony Classical, Octavia Records, and King Records. Concertmaster of Triton Harumi Orchestra; leader of Mishima Seseragi Music Festival Ensemble.

Yoshiko Kawamoto

Viola
Winner of: 1992 Geneva Competition 2nd prize (no 1st); 1996 Muramatsu Award; 1997 Nippon Steel Music Awards Fresh Artist Award; 2015 TonenGeneral Music Awards Encouragement Prize. Member of ALTI String Quartet and AOI residence quartet, guest principal viola of Aichi Chamber Orchestra. Participates in: Tanglewood, Marlboro, Davos, and Martha Argerich festivals; Seiji Ozawa Music Academy; Mito Chamber Orchestra; and as soloist with renowned conductors. Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra principal 1999–2002 and NHK Symphony Orchestra guest principal 2017–21.

Ryo Muramatsu

Viola
Began violin at age six. Graduated from Tokyo College of Music High School and its university. 1st place, 2007 Tokyo College of Music Competition. Participated in the Okinawa International Music Festival, Spring Festival in Tokyo, OMF, among others. Participated in the NHK Symphony Orchestra Academy; now vice principal viola at NHK Symphony Orchestra. Member of the NPO HAMA no JACK. Is active as a guest principal at various orchestras, chamber musician, soloist, and more. Released Goldberg Variations (String Trio) from Virtus Classics.

Tomomi Shinozaki

Viola
Graduated from Toho Gakuen School of Music at the top of her class in 1995. Among her awards are: Hideo Saito Award, 1992 Tokyo International Music Competition Chamber Music Category; Special Prize, 1994 Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition; 3rd place, 1997 ARD International Music Competition. Principal viola of New Japan Philharmonic 2002–2021; currently principal viola at Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. Member of Kioi Hall Chamber Orchestra Tokyo and Triton Harumi Orchestra. Part-time instructor at Toho Gakuen School of Music.

Koichi Yokomizo

Viola
Alumnus of Toho Gakuen School of Music. Formed the Verus String Quartet in 2006, which won 3rd place at the 57th ARD Munich International Music Competition, the first time in 38 years as a fully-Japanese group since the Tokyo String Quartet. He left the quartet in 2009, returning in 2013. Was concertmaster for the Seiji Ozawa Music Academy Opera Project and a soloist at the Beppu Argerich Music Festival. Appeared as a violist on NHK FM Recital Passio. Currently vice principal violin of the NHK Symphony Orchestra and guest violist with various orchestras.

Haruma Sato

Cello
Was the first Japanese to win 2019 ARD International Music Competition. First and special prizes at 2018 Lutosławski International Cello Competition. 18th Hideo Saito Memorial Fund, 30th Idemitsu Music, 2021 Commissioner for Cultural Affairs, 32nd Nippon Steel Music Awards. 52nd Ezoe Memorial Recruit Foundation scholarship. Appears with leading orchestras worldwide including Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra; praised in recitals and chamber music. Released three CDs (Deutsche Grammophon). Student at Universität der Künste Berlin. Plays 1903 E. Rocca loaned by Munetsugu Collection.

Jing Zhao

Cello
The 1st prize winner of the prestigious ARD international competition in Munich in 2005, Jing Zhao received generous support from Maestro Ozawa throughout her career. She performed with prestigious conductors like Myung-Whun Chung, Lorin Maazel, Riccardo Muti, Seiji Ozawa, and with orchestras including Bayerische Rundfunk Orchestra, NDR Elbphilharmonie, Philharmonica della Scala, NHK Symphony, China Philharmonic. She is the co-artistic director of the Pietrasanta in Concerto Music Festival in Italy. She attends Argerich’s Music Festival every year and tours with her worldwide.

Hiroshi Ikematsu

Contrabass
Born 1964 in Brazil. Began contrabass at age 19. Toho Gakuen School of Music alumnus. Principal at NHK Symphony Orchestra before moving with his family to New Zealand in 2006, where he was principal at the NZ Symphony Orchestra. Returned to Japan in 2014 and became principal at the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. Eight solo albums released to date. Tokyo University of the Arts professor; Kunitachi College of Music visiting professor. Enjoys stream fishing and won the 2013 NZ National Fly-Fishing Pair Competition.