Biography

Described as an artist with" radiant lyricism, elegance and warmth" and her performances as "a fine balance of sensitivity and virtuosity", Canadian pianist Christine Mari Yoshikawa has thrilled audiences around the world. In recent seasons her wide ranging recital and concerto repertoire from Beethoven to Nielsen has been applauded throughout, and her international career already includes performances in major cities such as New York, Boston, Chicago, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Madrid, Paris, Munich, Prague, Sofia, and Tokyo. After making her concerto debut with Beethoven’s First Piano Concerto with the London Westminster Youth Philharmonic at the age of 9, she has since appeared as soloist with major orchestras including the London Westminster Philharmonic (U.K.), Orchestre Philharmonie d'Avignon France, Kammerorchester Dusseldorf (Germany), Pazardjik National Symphony of Bulgaria, Olympia Symphony, Elkhart Symphony, Sydney Chamber Orchestra, Tokyo Youth Symphony, and Nagoya Gakuen Philharmonic (Japan) among others.

She has won first prizes in the Canadian Music Competitions, Kiwanis International Music Festival and Competition, the 7th Ehrhart International, the Concert Laureate from the 1998 Kromeriz International Music Festival and Competition (Czech Republic), the Young Concert Artist Guild, and Second-prize winner of the 2002 Yakov Flier International Piano Competition. Beginning her piano studies at age 2 with her mother, and later in Paris with Jean-Luc Pelletier, she won her first national competition at age 6 (Canadian Music Competitions) and by the age of 10, she had earned diplomas with first class honors from the Western Board and the Royal School of Music in London. In 1994, she was awarded a full scholarship to study with distinguished pianist Gyorgy Sebok of Indiana University Bloomington, at the Banff Centre of the Performing Arts, and in 2000, the Charter Fellow of the Toradze Institute at Indiana University South Bend organized by Martin Professor of Piano, Alexander Toradze.

An avid chamber musician, she is a co-founding member of the Cassals Piano Trio with upcoming engagements including tours of Canada, England & South America, and a collaboration with the Baughan String Quartet performing music by Bloch, Schumann, Chausson and Brahms, and trio concerti by Casella and Martinu. Solo highlights in past seasons include a recital debut in Spain, the Olomouc Philharmonic Hall (Czech Republic), Grand Théâtre de Québec, Steinway Festival (FL), and performances of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 and Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 with orchestras in Indiana, Fort Nelson, Penticton and London. Upcoming concerts include performances of concerti by Beethoven, Chopin, and Rachmaninoff, and a world premiere in Glasgow, Scotland in a performance of Andrew Albright's Six Vignettes for Piano and Chamber Strings with the Kensington Concertante (U.K.).

Dr. Yoshikawa has held teaching positions at the University of British Columbia, Grand Canyon University and Arizona State University, and in 2002, she was named the Mary Louise Remy Endowed Scholar, a recognition reserved for the top two of just 85 Research Scholars across North America selected from over 6000 nation-wide nominations. She is also the winner of the prestigious Kieckhefer Doctoral Dissertation Award, for her research on the music of Sergei Rachmaninoff, the Aiken-Rockfeller Concert Artist Career Grant and Medallion, British Columbia Arts Council Grant from the Government of Canada, Regent Scholar, the 2000, 2001 and 2002 Katherine K. Herberger Fine Arts Enrichment Grant, and the President's Scholar Award.

She received her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano performance from Arizona State University as a pupil of renowned American pianist Robert Hamilton. She holds additional performance degrees with distinction honours from the University of Victoria and the University of British Columbia where her former teachers include Arthur Rowe and Jane Coop. Her performance is archived at the Canadian Music Centre Toronto, Montreal, Halifax and Vancouver, and her concerts are broadcast on national radio across North America and abroad. She is currently on the roster of Recording Artists for Eroica Classical Recordings, and her CD is scheduled for release in the fall of 2007. She has recently been selected for publication in the 2006-2007 International Who’s Who of Professionals based in Washington D.C.