ROBERT UCHIDA

Canadian violinist Robert Uchida has been hailed by The Strad for his “virtuosity” and by Strings Magazine for his “eloquence and hypnotic intensity”.  Regarded as a musically sensitive and cerebral performer, Uchida has performed as a soloist, chamber musician and concertmaster across North America and Europe to great critical acclaim.

A frequent soloist with Symphony Nova Scotia, Uchida has performed the Prokofiev 2nd Concerto, Mozart  5th Concerto and Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons in recent years. In November 2009 he will perform the Violin Concerto of Andrew MacDonald conducted by Music Director Bernhard Gueller.  He has been a guest soloist with several orchestras including the National Arts Centre Orchestra of Canada, Symphony New Brunswick and the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra among others. His recent recital and chamber music performances have included such prestigious venues as Barge Music, Rose Studio at Lincoln Center, Muziekgebouw (Holland), Fondazione Kriester (Italy) and the Glenn Gould Studio (Toronto).

Uchida has been the recipient of many prizes and awards, most notably the prestigious Hugo Kortschak Award from the Manhattan School of Music in New York, first prize in the Lillian Fuchs Chamber Music Competition, and first prize in the National Arts Centre Orchestral Bursary Competition. 

Uchida recently recorded his highly praised debut CD for Innova Records featuring the premiere of the Sonata for Unaccompanied Violin by New York composer Andrew Violette. A devotee of new music, Uchida has worked with many prolific composers including Richard Danielpour and John Corigliano. He has given the Canadian premieres of numerous pieces by Augusta Read-Thomas, the world premiere of Scott Wollschleger’s Solo Sonata (a piece composed for Uchida), and John Frantzen’s In Canon.

In 2006, at age 27, Uchida was selected as the top candidate for Symphony Nova Scotia’s concertmaster position by unanimous decision of the orchestra’s musicians and conductors, making him, at that time, the youngest concertmaster of a major Canadian orchestra. In the 05/06 season, Uchida served as Associate Concertmaster of the Rotterdam Philharmonic. He has been guest concertmaster of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic.  He has served as concertmaster for many esteemed conductors, including Frans Burggen, Jean-Claude Cassadesus, Valery Gergiev, George Manahan, Kurt Masur, Christoph Poppen, Marcello Viotti and Pinchas Zukerman. 

An avid chamber musician, Uchida has been a guest violinist at several festivals across the country including the New Brunswick Summer Music Festival, the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival and the Brott Festival.  He has studied with members of the Guarneri, Juilliard, American, Emerson and Tokyo string quartets and has collaborated with such artists as Peter Allen, Philippe Djokic, Lawerence Dutton, David Geber and Pinchas Zukerman. 

Currently, Uchida is a member of the violin faculty at Acadia University. Between 2004 and 2007, Uchida was on the violin and chamber music faculty of the Manhattan School of Music Precollege and has also served on the faculty of the National Arts Center’s Young Artists’ Program.  He is frequently invited to give masterclasses at Universities and Conservatories across Canada.  

Uchida holds a Bachelors degree from the University of Ottawa and a Masters degree from the Manhattan School of Music. His teachers include Morry Kernerman, Hratch Manoukian, Patinka Kopec, David Stewart and Pinchas Zukerman. 

** September 2009 -  Please discard any previously dated materials.