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Kumiko Sakamoto

@kumisaka

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violinist of @thalea.stringquartet
violinist and vocalist of @colourofanyhow
co-curator of @night_off_at_nickel9

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One of my favourite moments from the second movement of the Barber Violin Concerto. ❤️
I’m so excited to perform this monumental work with the @univofmaryland orchestra and Maestro @david_neely_conductor_ this Saturday!!!

🎫 link for tickets and livestream in bio

#barberconcerto #violinist #violin #orchestra #terpsmusic #goterps #canadianmusician #concerto #livemusic #dmvmusic #dcmusic #marylandmusic #umd #music #kumikosakamoto #universityofmaryland #pressenda #canadacouncilforthearts #instrumentbank #barberviolinconcerto by @kumisaka

Summer recap No. 2:
Our summer home at @lakesareamusic 🫶

This was our 5th summer as LAMF’s Ensemble in Residence! We look forward to our time at LAMF all year long and our experiences there fuel us through the fall and winter seasons. We are so thankful for our LAMF community + family!

This year’s Lakes Area highlights include:

- 10 concerts in 2 weeks! 👏
- collaborating with the endlessly inspiring and incomparable @colemanplayscello & @kirstendocter 💞
- quality time together on the water 🥰🚤
- reconnecting with friends from many stages of our lives 💫
- witnessing @_juliabullock and the LAMF ‘26 opera team bring their adaption of Carmen to life 🙌
- hangs with each other and our LAMF fam between and during the many events and performances 👯

Being surrounded by such magnificent and inspiring people and artists is such a joy and privilege. We love y’all!

We’ll see you soon for our winter residency!! ❄️ by @kumisaka

Thank you for the feature article @canadacouncil ! Link in bio to read 📰

I’m immensely grateful to have had the joy and privilege of playing on the incredible Joannes Franciscus Pressenda for the past three years.

This reliable and steady friend saw me through countless musical adventures including:

- Recording two albums
- Completing my DMA
- Commissioning new works for solo violin and beginning my project Tadaima
- Performing Barber’s violin concerto with orchestra
- Collaborating with bucket list colleagues
- Performing for hundreds of people across North America
- Setting up our home base in Toronto after 13 years in the US
- Starting a concert series
- Learning how to balance motherhood with my career and the many complexities that holds
- Navigating parenting on tour
- Finding my new voice after the transformation of motherhood ✨

What a wildly beautiful ride. A heartfelt thank you to @canada.council and the entire Musical Instrument Bank team including Sarah, Caroline, and Rick. I am forever grateful!

I can’t wait for y’all to see who this stunning violin goes to next!! 🥰 by @kumisaka

Thank you for the feature article @canada.council 🙏💞
I got to chat with them about some of the adventures I had while playing on the Joannes Franciscus Pressenda for the past three years, music and motherhood, + my introduction to chamber music as a little one and why community engagement is so important to me (pictured).

Forever thankful to Geoff Nuttall & the SLSQ for a lifetime of inspiration. 🧡

Link in bio for the full article! by @kumisaka

Reflecting on our spring travels as we head into our summer concert season! ☀️🎶

Touring with a toddler in tow is totally BANANAS and totally amazing at the same time 🙌.

A lot went on behind the scenes to make our spring tour happen…
Hours of driving each day, packing up and setting up all the gear every day in a new hotel room, constant nap and meal strategizing, an always late sitter (sometimes by multiple hours!), the stellar team at @debutatlantic , supportive colleagues (thank you @eomnomnom for stepping in for Alex on this trip!), many hours of planning, liters of coffee, reunions with friends to fill our cups, endless flexibility and as much patience as possible. There are many challenges to problem solve with creativity, but after each trip I still want to do it again!

I get a lot of questions about how we pull it off and I’m always happy to share details about this (reach out!), but in few words: flexibility, positivity, and a kick-ass partner @c_whit 🥰

Endlessly grateful to fellow mamas Liz and Erin at @debutatlantic for being so supportive of Chris and I as touring parents. 🙏❤️

I’m so grateful to do what I love while experiencing it with our lil’ one. It IS possible!
On to the next 🚐 🧩 by @kumisaka

Meet our 2026 Violins!

Cameron Alan-Lee
Justin Bruns
Cynthia Burton
Melissa Deal
Alexandra Early
Rebecca Edge
Ann Fink
Sarah Grimes
Angela Waterman Hanson
Qianru Elaine He
Jeremy Lap Hei Hao
Faustina Housner
Beatrice Hsieh
Eunice Kim
Eunae Koh
Hanna Landrum
Jessica Ling
Hannah Linz
Julian Maddox
Rannveig Marta Sarc
Kayla Moffett
Jeffrey Multer
Ben Odhner
Kina Ono
Hugh Palmer
Gabriela Peña-Kim
Sarah Peters
Elina Rubio
Kumiko Sakamoto
Pablo Sánchez
Alexandra Switala
Benjamin Thacher
Wyatt Underhill
Chase Ward
Christopher Whitley
Natalie Yu
Maia Zander
Steven Zander
Sherri Zhang

To learn more about these musicians, visit: www.lakesareamusic.org/musicians/violin

Experience PASSION this summer. Tickets are on sale now for LAMF's 18th season: LakesAreaMusic.org/2026 by @kumisaka

More highlights from the past month:

- bringing a new song cycle to life by our friend Greg Morrison - composer of the Tony award winning musical The Drowsy Chaperone. My younger self wouldn’t have believed it!

- presenting @lukakuplowsky at @night_off_at_nickel9 . Luka’s music is some of my favourite (especially during my early pp days) and it was an honour to host him.

- little moments of family time among all the travel by @kumisaka

Another highlight from last month: the @chamberfest holiday show with a dream team crew of friends and colleagues, celebrating the @canada.council instrument bank 🙌
So grateful to connect and collaborate with these friends old and new ❤️ by @kumisaka

November was filled with so much joy, love and reflection as we celebrated Tadao’s 1st birthday (Nov. 9th). Words can’t express the life altering and stunning change you have brought into our lives, baby T. I have never known such a joy filled, friendly and loving person. You are filled with such wonder, curiosity, determination and kindness. You already have a strong intuition, and the ability to make everyone you meet feel your warmth and joy. You have brought so much good to the world in your first year of life. Your light and love shines brighter than the warmest sun ☀️. Thank you, thank you, thank you for making me a mamma. by @kumisaka

Had a blast in Saskatoon last week with my @thaleastringquartet besties 💞

Highlights = getting to see my parents!, playing on this special quartet of Amati instruments, good food, time with my colleagues/friends, and experiencing it all with Tadao and @c_whit ❤️

All the love and thanks to @susan.sakamoto.art for joining us in Toronto and SK to help out with baby T 🥰 by @kumisaka

Throwback to the last two stops of our summer on the road 🚀

A week of catching up with all of our Austin family ❤️
followed by a week teaching and performing with @thaleastringquartet at @interlochenarts

A huge thank you to grandma @susan.sakamoto.art for joining us to help with T for our last week of summer concerts!
(And for being on the road with us right now!)

So much love and thanks to our colleagues and everyone involved in making our 7 weeks of summer work travel possible. This was a big first for us and we managed to pull it off with a lot of patience, planning, trust, and support.

I get a lot of questions from other musician parents and I’m here to share in all of the tips and tricks from each other! It IS possible!

Bringing this energy into our current fall / winter touring adventures 👏⚡️✨ by @kumisaka

🎻 Gala Noël Artist Spotlight:
 Kumiko Sakamoto | 1820 Joannes Franciscus Pressenda violin | Musical Instrument Bank laureate

Born in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Kumiko is an award-winning violinist, chamber musician, and educator. She has performed across North America, Europe, and China, including Carnegie Hall, La Fenice, and St. Sulpice. As a member of the Thalea String Quartet and the duo Colour of Anyhow, she explores music across genres while mentoring the next generation of musicians.

Celebrate the season with Kumiko at Gala Noël – Sat, Nov 22 | Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre
 🎟️ Tickets: chamberfest.com

⎯

🎻 Portrait d’artiste – Gala Noël :
 Kumiko Sakamoto | Violon Joannes Franciscus Pressenda de 1820 | Lauréate de la Banque d’instruments de musique

Née à Medicine Hat (Alberta), Kumiko est violoniste primée, chambriste et pédagogue. Elle s’est produite en Amérique du Nord, en Europe et en Chine, notamment à Carnegie Hall, La Fenice et l’église Saint-Sulpice. Membre du Thalea String Quartet et du duo Colour of Anyhow, elle explore des répertoires variés tout en formant la prochaine génération de musicien·ne·s.

✨ Célébrez la saison avec Kumiko au Gala Noël – Sam 22 nov | Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre
 🎟️ Billets : chamberfest.com
 ⎯  Photo : Donna Santos by @kumisaka