Yuyu I.,
Violinist Yuyu debuted at the age of ten as a soloist with the Bellflower Symphony Orchestra, and has since then performed with the Ueno no Mori Ensemble in Japan and the Orchestra Collective of Orange County. An avid ensemble musician as well, Yuyu has performed with the New York Classical Players, Continuum Ensemble New York, New World Symphony, and served as concertmaster in the 2022 Pacific Music Festival Orchestra. Her quartet at Juilliard was invited to perform in Joel Sach’s “Focus!” festival for contemporary music, and her performance of Brahms Quintet in F minor, Op. 34 was broadcast on WQXR-FM.
A passionate educator and outreach artist, Yuyu was a violin instructor and chamber coach in Juilliard’s Music Advancement Program, Midori and Friends, and the 2023 The Artists Program Chamber Music Festival. She also regularly performs in Carnegie Hall’s Link-Up concert series, an educational program to introduce classical music to youth. Yuyu also enjoys bringing her music to those who cannot access concerts easily, a project she started in middle school in Japan and continues both individually, and with organizations such as Concerts in Motion and Project Music Heals Us.
Yuyu holds a Masters degree from the Juilliard School where she studied with Laurie Smukler, and received Bachelor’s in biology and violin performance from the Oberlin College and Conservatory, under David Bowlin. Previously, she studied with Koichiro Harada and Linda Rose.
Teaching philosophy: I focus on creating lessons where students can have ownership over their improvement and is driven by self motivation. Depending on the students’ age/level and goals, I adjust assignments and expectations accordingly. I also always like to dedicate time to fundamentals so that a student can have a smoother learning process in the long run, and can avoid developing bad habits that can cause problems or injuries later on.
I grew up with both Suzuki and traditional method teachers, and am accustomed to both ways of teaching. I generally like to use Suzuki books for beginner-intermediate level players, alongside other materials to work on fundamental techniques. For advanced players, I assign pieces that I think the student is ready to learn.
Yuyu teaches Violin lessons and Piano lessons.