A passionate advocate of the chamber music of all eras, violinist Keiko Tokunaga has already established a formidable reputation as a soloist and a chamber musician across the United States, Australia, Canada, Italy, Mexico, and in her native Japan. As a member of the New York-based Attacca Quartet, an internationally acclaimed string quartet praised as “…in a word, sensational” (The New York Times) and for its “musical maturity far beyond its members’ years” (The Strad), Ms. Tokunaga has soloed with orchestras including the Amherst Symphony Orchestra and Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra. She has performed both as a soloist and a chamber musician in such major venues as Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Rubin Museum, the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, the Banff Centre in Canada, Ohji Hall and Suntory Hall in Tokyo, and Izumi Hall in Osaka.
Since Ms. Tokunaga joined in 2005, the Attacca Quartet has won numerous prestigious awards, including the First Prize of the 7th Osaka International Chamber Music Competition in 2011; the Third Prize and the Australian Broadcast Corporation Classic FM Listener’s Choice Award of the 6th Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition in 2011; Harvard Musical Association's 2012 Arthur W. Foote Prize; Silver Medal of the Chesapeake Chamber Music Competition in 2007; and the Grand Prize of the Coleman International Chamber Music Competition in 2006.
When she is not touring with the quartet, Ms. Tokunaga enjoys her career as an educator. She has been on faculty at The Juilliard School’s Pre-College Division since 2008. She has also served as violin faculty at the Hunter College of New York, the Port Townsend Chamber Music Festival, and Boston University’s Tanglewood Institute.
Ms. Tokunaga holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees from The Juilliard School, where she studied solo violin and chamber music with Hyo Kang, David Chan, Ronald Copes, Robert Mann, and Joel Smirnoff. Her quartet was appointed as Juilliard’s Graduate Resident String Quartet in 2011.
Ms. Tokunaga is under sponsorship by the Information Development Co., Ltd. and ARUMA Inc. She plays on a Stefano Scarampella violin from 1900.
Keiko's blog (Japanese):http://keikotokunaga.tumblr.com/
Attacca Quartet's blog (English):http://attaccaquartet.tumblr.com/
Attacca Quartet's website: http://www.attaccaquartet.com
LINKS to reviews:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/24/arts/music/24gard.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/08/arts/music/08gard.html
http://cvnc.org/article.cfm?articleId=872
http://cvnc.org/article.cfm?articleId=5019
http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/music/music-review-melbourne-international-chamber-music-competition-finals-20110717-1hk2y.html
Biography
