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Canadian pianist Christine Yoshikawa has established herself on the international stage as one of Canada’s exciting young pianists of her generation. Her performances have garnered international acclaim and critics have praised her as a pianist of "pure power” (South Bend Tribune), "remarkable endurance, refinement, precision and authority", and "radiant lyricism, elegance and warmth". (The Observer). In recent seasons her wide ranging recital and concerto repertoire from Beethoven to Xenakis has been applauded throughout, and her international career 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 Philharmonic at the age of 9, she has since appeared as soloist with major orchestras including the 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.
Winner of many national and international competitions including the Canadian Music Competitions, Grand Prize Laureate of the 1998 Kromeriz International Piano Festival Competition (Czech Republic), Young Concert Artist Guild, Kiwanis International Festival and Competition, Ehrhart Chamber International Competition, and Second-Prize Winner of the Yakov Flier International Piano Competition among others, she has graced the stages of some of the world’s top concert halls. 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.
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. Upcoming concerts include performances of concerti by Beethoven, Chopin, and Rachmaninoff, a world premiere in Glasgow, Scotland in a performance of Andrew Albright's Six Vignettes for Piano and Chamber Strings with the Kensington Concertante, and performances with violinist David Yonan in Mendelssohn’s Double Concerto for Violin and Piano under the baton of Philip Simmons in Chicago followed by an international tour performing Chausson’s Concerto for violin, piano, and string quartet.
Beginning her piano studies at age 2 with her mother, and later with Jocelyn Pritchard and Jean-Luc Pelletier in Paris, she won first place in a national competition (Canadian Music Competitions) at the age of 6, and by the age of 10, she had earned diplomas with first class honors and top medals from the Western Board and the Royal School of Music in London. Additionally, 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 was a Charter Fellow of the prestigious Toradze Institute at Indiana University South Bend organized by Martin Professor of Piano, Alexander Toradze. She received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano performance from Arizona State University as a pupil of renowned American pianist Robert Hamilton. Dr. Yoshikawa 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, and the President's Scholar Award. 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.
A committed educator, she conducts clinics and masterclasses internationally and has held teaching positions at the University of British Columbia and Arizona State University. Currently, Dr. Yoshikawa serves on the faculties of Chipola College and Gulf Coast Community College and has been recently selected for publication in Madison's Who's Who and the International Who’s Who of Professional Artists, she is on the roster of Recording Artists for Eroica Classical Recordings. Her performances are archived at the Canadian Music Centres across Canada and at Amsterdam’s Muziekgebouw, and her concerts are broadcast on national radio across North America and abroad.
©2010 Christine Yoshikawa. All Rights Reserved
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