
Violin/Viola Instructor
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Violinist Yuriko Yasuda served as the Alabama Symphony Orchestra’s principal second violinist from 2005 until she joined ASFA’s music department faculty as the violin/viola instructor in August 2024.
Ms. Yasuda has performed with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago as its concertmaster, the New World Symphony in Miami, the Tanglewood Music Festival, the New York String Orchestra, and the Pacific Music Festival, among others. She has worked with many world-famous musicians, including Daniel Barenboim, Michael Tilson-Thomas, Seiji Ozawa, Paavo Järvi, Christoph Eschenbach, Yo-Yo Ma, and the Vermeer Quartet. She has also performed concertos with orchestras, given solo recitals, and participated in chamber music performances throughout the US and Japan.
Since 2005, Ms. Yasuda has maintained a private violin studio in Birmingham, teaching students of various ages, levels, backgrounds, and nationalities. Her students have won state-wide competitions and auditions, including top chair positions for AOA’s All-State Festivals, the Alabama Symphony Youth Orchestra, and the NYO2 festival in New York. She enjoys coaching chamber music and sectionals at various festivals.
A native of Sapporo, Japan, Ms. Yasuda received her Bachelor of Music degree in violin performance from the New England Conservatory in Boston, where she studied with Masuko Ushioda, and her Master’s degree from Northern Illinois University, where she studied with Shmuel Ashkenasi.
Ms. Yasuda resides in Hoover with her husband, three children, and two cats.