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Christine Mari Yoshikawa

Arts & Expression, East Asian, Music

Christine Mari Yoshikawa

In regular concerto engagements and recitals in major halls around the world, Canadian pianist Christine Mari Yoshikawa has quickly established herself as one of Canada's most sought-after young pianists. Critics have described her as a pianist of "pure power" (South Bend Tribune), "radiant lyricism, elegance and warmth" (The Observer) and her performances as "a fine balance of sensitivity and virtuosity" (Minami Shinbun, Japan) in her wide-ranging concerti and recital repertoire from Bach to Xenakis.

After making her concerto debut with Beethoven's First Piano Concerto at the age of nine, she has appeared as a recitalist and soloist with orchestras in cities such as Paris, London, Munich, Sofia, Prague, Tokyo, New York, Boston, and Chicago. Equally comfortable in both traditional and contemporary genres, she frequently performs chamber music with some of the world's finest musicians.

Winner of many national and international competitions including the Grand Prize winner and Laureate of the 1998 Kromeriz International Piano Festival Competition, Canadian Music Competitions, Young Concert Artist Guild, 7th Ehrhart International Competition, the Young Concert Artist Guild, and second-prize winner of the 2002 Yakov Flier International Piano Competition, she was awarded the 2002-03 Mary Louise Remy Endowed PEO Scholar for her doctoral research on the music of Sergei Rachmaninoff - a recognition reserved for the top two of just 85 Research Scholars selected from over 600 North American nominations. Additional awards include the prestigious Kieckhefer Doctoral Dissertation Award, the Aiken-Rockefeller Concert Artist Career Grant and Medallion, British Columbia Arts Council Grant, and the President's Scholar Award amongst others.

A native of Vancouver, British Columbia, Dr. Yoshikawa began her piano studies at age two with her mother. She holds top medals from the Western Board and Royal School of Music in London, and degrees with distinction honors from the University of Victoria (BMus), University of British Columbia (MMus), and Arizona State University (DMA) where her principal teachers were Arthur Rowe, Jane Coop and Robert Hamilton.

Additionally, she has studied with Gyorgy Sebok of Indiana University Bloomington at the Banff Center for the Arts and with Alexander Toradze as a charter fellow of the Toradze Institute at Indiana University South Bend. A committed educator, she conducts clinics and masterclasses internationally and has held teaching positions at the University of British Columbia, Arizona State University, Grand Canyon University, Gulf Coast Community College, and Chipola College.

Her live 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. She is currently on the roster of Recording Artists for Eroica Classical Recordings, and was added to the International Who's Who of Professional Artists.