Vita

Michiru Matsuyama, born in Osaka in 1991 and raised in Kobe, is a distinguished violinist renowned for her exceptional talent and dedication. She began her musical journey at the Toho Gakuen High School of Music in Tokyo, studying under Prof. Koichiro Harada from 2007 to 2010. She then pursued a Bachelor of Music degree under Prof. Kolja Blacher at the Hanns Eisler School of Music in Berlin.

Michiru continued her advanced studies with a master’s degree at the Carl Maria von Weber College of Music in Dresden, studying under Prof. Natalia Prishepenko, a former member of the Artemis Quartet. She further refined her skills through the Meisterklassenexamen with Prof. Carolin Widmann at the University of Music and Theatre »Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy« Leipzig.

Michiru has enhanced her musical education through masterclasses at the International Mendelssohn Summer School in Hamburg and the Kronberg Festival Academy with Antje Weithaas. She also attended the International Summer Academy of the Mozarteum in Salzburg, studying with Dora Schwarzberg and Yair Kless.

Her outstanding achievements have been recognized with several awards. In 2013, she received the 2nd prize at the International "Königin Sophie Charlotte" Violin Competition and a special prize at the Ibolyka-Gyarfas Violin Competition. The following year, she won 3rd prize at the 33rd International Violin Competition "Rodolfo Lipizer" in Gorizia, Italy. Michiru was a semifinalist at both the prestigious »Queen Elisabeth Competition« in Brussels in 2015 and the »Concours musical international de Montréal« in 2019.

From 2015 to 2023, Michiru played a 1742 Camillus Camilli violin, on loan from the German Music Instrument Fund as a prizewinner of the 23rd competition by the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben.

Michiru's commitment to chamber music is evident from her participation in courses such as the Ozawa International Chamber Music Academy in 2014 and IMS Prussia Cove in 2019. In 2016, she performed at the Chamber Music Academy of the Heidelberg Spring Festival, recommended by the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben.

Michiru's orchestral career commenced as an academist with the Staatskapelle Berlin under Daniel Barenboim in 2016. From 2021 to 2023, she served as the first concertmaster of the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie Herford.
As a substitute, she performed with some of Germany's most esteemed orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, the WDR Symphony Orchestra, the HR Symphony Orchestra, and the Hanover State Symphony Orchestra.