Syoko Aki appointed Coordinator of Strings

The Yale School of Music is pleased to announce the appointment of faculty violinist Syoko Aki as Coordinator of Strings.

Upon joining the Yale faculty in 1968, Aki became a member of the Yale Quartet, which earned international praise for its performances and many fine recordings. She has also recorded music by faculty composer Martin Bresnick on Composers Records label, and has recently recorded a disc of works by Schumann, Schubert, Debussy, and Gershwin with her long-time faculty colleague, pianist Joan Panetti, on the Epson label. Another highlight of her collaboration with Panetti was a complete performance of Mozart's violin sonatas over two seasons as part of Yale's celebration of the 250th anniversary of the composer's birth. Syoko Aki appears regularly in Yale concerts, both in New Haven and at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. She was also the concertmaster and soloist with the New York Chamber Symphony and a founding member of the Saito Kinen Orchestra and Mito Chamber Orchestra in Japan.

Aki studied in Japan at the Toho Academy of Music and in the United States at Hartt College and the Yale School of Music. She has taught at the Eastman School and the State University of New York at Purchase. She has appeared as soloist with leading conductors such as Seiji Ozawa, Gerard Schwartz, Krzysztof Penderecki, and Kenneth Schermerhorn. As concertmaster and soloist with the New York Chamber Symphony, Ms. Aki has recorded extensively on several major labels including Delos and Pro Arte. She has served as concertmaster of the New Japan Philharmonic, Waterloo Festival Orchestra and the New Haven and Syracuse Symphonies, and has appeared in concerto and chamber music performances with Syzmon Goldberg, Henryck Szeryng, Broadus Erle, Leon Fleisher, Jaime Laredo, and many others.