“ ...emotionally gripping.”
Award-winning Canadian artist Kumiko Sakamoto (she/her/hers) has thrilled audiences across North America, Europe, and China, including performances at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Massey Hall, and Teatro la Fenice in Venice. A celebrated violinist, vocalist, and dancer, Kumiko uses her wide range of artistic talents to impact audiences of all ages through the power of music, story-telling, and human connection.
Kumiko received her early training in her hometown of Medicine Hat, Alberta. She was fortunate to have the opportunity to explore her love of the violin, dance, and musical theatre in an environment that nurtured multidisciplinary practice and collaboration. Kumiko has won top prizes at the Alberta Provincial Music Festival, the Canadian National Music Festival, Morningside Music Bridge, and the Fischoff International Chamber Music Competition. Her debut album, featuring the first recordings of the works of composer Gino Gorini, was released under the Tactus (Naxos) label in 2015.
Kumiko pursued further studies in San Francisco, where she received Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in violin and chamber music at the San Francisco Conservatory with minors in vocal performance, while studying dance at Alonzo King’s Lines Ballet. She served as a member of the Grammy-winning San Francisco Symphony Chorus and appeared as both a violinist and dancer with the Joe Goode Performance Group in the 2017 premiere of “Nobody Lives Here Now”. Kumiko is currently pursuing her doctoral degree at the University of Maryland.
A passionate collaborator, Kumiko has performed alongside members of the Emerson, Kronos, London Haydn, St. Lawrence, Brentano, and Borromeo Quartets, as well as Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw, Eighth Blackbird, Leila Josefowicz, Lawrence Power, and the Joe Goode Performance Group.
Kumiko founded the Thalea String Quartet in 2014. Committed to the belief that chamber music can be a model for positive change and human connection, the ensemble strives to break the mould of the traditional Classical music ensemble. Over the past nine years, Kumiko has spearheaded several multidisciplinary projects and collaborations that combine elements of theatre, dance, and music. Most recently, Kumiko choreographed, directed, and starred in Creepy Carrots, the Thalea String Quartet’s staged adaptation of the award-winning children’s book by Aaron Reynolds.
Current projects include a newly commissioned work for the Thalea String Quartet by composer Akshaya Avril Tucker which features Kumiko as both violinist and coloratura soprano. The Thalea String Quartet served as the fellowship quartet in residence at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and the Young Professional String Quartet at the University of Texas at Austin’s Butler School of Music, where they were mentored by the acclaimed Miró Quartet. They were named Associated Artists at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel for the 2018/19 season, where they were mentored by the Artemis Quartet. Most recently they held the Doctoral Fellowship String Quartet position at the University of Maryland.
In addition to her activities with the Thalea String Quartet, Kumiko is a member of Colour of Anyhow, a multi-instrumental duo founded with her husband Christopher Whitley in 2020. Inspired by their shared love of Canadian folk music, pop, and Western classical music, Colour of Anyhow draws on a wide array of musical influences to celebrate the songs, stories, and experiences that bring us together. The duo’s original arrangements feature violin, voice, guitar, and electronic elements, creating musical and stylistic through lines that connect centuries of musical traditions.
Kumiko is a devoted educator and mentor, bringing her rich artistic training to all of her teaching endeavours. She has developed many innovative educational programs, including a strings program for young people with autism, a music program for students in underserved communities in San Francisco, workshops in non-verbal communication, and virtual offerings that have reached thousands of students across North America. Kumiko was recently awarded the Ann Divine Educator Award from the Fischoff National Chamber Music Association for her work in music education. Kumiko has coached chamber music at the University of Maryland and, along with her colleagues of the Thalea String Quartet, helped launch the inaugural Fischoff Chamber Music Summer Intensive in 2023.
Kumiko is committed to fostering creativity, health, and well-being amongst musicians of all ages. She is dedicated to sharing the power of music with people of all backgrounds and sees music as an essential tool for encouraging compassion, connection, and curiosity in her community and beyond.
Kumiko performs on an 1820 Joannes Franciscus Pressenda violin generously on loan from the Canada Council for the Arts Musical Instrument Bank.