Akemi Takayama, Concertmaster, Roanoke Symphony Orchestra
Akemi Takayama, Violin
Friend, colleague, leader, mentor, international soloist and collaborator, Akemi Takayama is an icon and musical pillar for the RSO family as the concertmaster since 2004. Akemi’s most recent solo appearances with the RSO includes Brahms Double Concerto with a Grammy-winner Cellist, Zuill Bailey and Mozart Sinfonia Concertante with the New York Philharmonic violist Rebecca Young. As a chamber musician, Akemi most recently collaborated and performs in duo with renowned Irish pianist John O’Conor and she previously performed in the Audubon Quartet, of which she was a member for fourteen years. Akemi’s recordings with the quartet include four CDs, available on the Centaur and Composers Recordings labels. She also has a CD “Preludes & Lullabies” recorded with Maestro Wiley.
In addition to her leadership role as concertmaster of the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra, Akemi holds concertmaster positions with the Williamsburg Symphonia and the New Orchestra of Washington. She serves as an associate professor at Shenandoah University Conservatory of Music. Akemi has served on the faculties at Oberlin Conservatory, Virginia Tech, the Chautauqua Institute in New York, the Idyllwild School of the Arts in California, the Brevard Music Center in North Carolina, and the Shenandoah Performs Festival. She plays on a Gennaro Gagliano violin made in 1755 kindly loaned by Japanese-American collector and philanthropist Dr. Ryuji Ueno.