Natsuko Yoshimoto

Education: Yehudi Menuhin School; Royal Northern College of Music, England; Curtis Institute of Music, Philedelphia

PROFESSIONAL BIOGRAPHY
Born in Japan, Natsuko began playing the violin at the age of three. She studied at the Yehudi Menuhin School and Royal Northern College of Music in England and the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. She received direct guidance and teaching under Lord Menuhin and Wen Zhou Li.

She has won many awards and prizes in international competitions including the Gold Medal in both the prestigious 1994 Shell/London Symphony Orchestra Competition and the Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa Award and the Iwaki Award for outstanding achievement as a Japanese artist.

In great demand as a soloist, she has appeared with many world renowned orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia (London), Halle Orchestra, Odense Symphony (Denmark), Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic, Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Melbourne Symphony and Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.

Natsuko is currently the Co-Concertmaster with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and a member of the prominent chamber group, Ensemble Q. She frequently guests as a Concertmaster with other major orchestras in Australia and Asia. Previously she was the Concertmaster with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and she was also leader of the Australian String Quartet and the Grainger Quartet. She regularly performs chamber music as a guest artist with various groups and at many festivals.

Natsuko is also a passionate teacher and is a staff member at the Conservatorium of Music in Queensland and is a frequent tutor at AYO.

She has given many world premieres of works by Australia’s most prominent composers and has recorded for Virgin Classics, ABC Classics, Melba Records and Tall Poppies.

Natsuko plays on a Giovanni Battista Guadagnini generously on loan from the South Australia Guadagnini Violin Trust and Ukaria.

Last updated 2022