Ayako Yonetani, violin

Japanese-born violinist Ayako Yonetani began her violin studies at age five with the famous Saburo Sumi. After winning the Japan National Competition at age nine, she quickly ascended to the top ranks of Japan’s violinists, performing as a soloist with renowned Japanese orchestras. Since moving to the U.S. in 1982, she has performed numerous solo recitals, solos with orchestras, chamber music and ensemble performances in major cities like New York, San Francisco and Chicago. Yonetani has also performed in Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Salzburg’s Mozarteum, Vienna’s Musikverein, Tokyo’s Kioi Hall, among other prestigious venues. In 2012 and 2013, Yonetani performed for the President of Panama and the Japanese Ambassador to Panama in an event to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Japan’s earthquake/tsunami and for the Japanese emperor’s birthday event. Yonetani received her bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from The Juilliard School where she studied with Hyo Kang and the late Dorothy DeLay, world-renowned violin pedagogue who also taught artist Itzhak Perlman. www.ayakoyonetani.com