Yuki Ito
Yuki Ito was born in Tokyo in 1989 and began playing the cello at the age of 6.His teachers have included Sumiko Kurata, Alexander Boyarsky and David Geringas, graduating from the Royal College of Music, London with First Class Honours.
Since his very first public appearance in 1996, he has won numerous prestigious international awards and prizes, including 1st prizes as the first ever Japanese cellist at the UK's highest profile gateway to string players - the Windsor Festival International String Competition, the International Johannes Brahms Competition in Austria, the FLAME International Music Competition in Paris, and the Antonio Janigro International Cello Competition in Croatia.
At the age of 21 Yuki Ito launched an international career after making his professional début with the Philharmonia Orchestra of London, and he has since appeared regularly with major orchestras and renowned conductors, performing world-premieres of works dedicated to him at important music festivals and concert venues around the globe.
In The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Year 2012 HRH Prince Edward invited him to give a private recital at HRH's residence, and that same year he embarked on his career as a conductor, making his London conducting début at St. Martin-in-the-Fields.
His performances and recordings are frequently broadcast on the BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio Berkshire, KT-1 TV Austria, and NHK Radio and TV Japan.
"Even classical musicians nowadays have to look like a bankable, marketable star with Hollywood style charisma, and today I met a young man who clearly fits the bill already!" Anne Diamond - BBC
"Yuki Ito, cellist of an out-of-the-ordinary instinctiveness, natural affinity for music with great intuition, senses and spontaneous combustion, certainly has the long-range musical taste and intelligence that make all the difference in a lifetime's career" The Arts Desk