Michael Yoshimi

Hawaii born clarinetist Michael Yoshimi is an active performer and teacher in the Los Angeles area.  He is currently completing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in clarinet performance at the University of Southern California, under the tutelage of Yehuda Gilad.  He previously completed a Master’s of Music degree at USC and a Bachelor’s of Music from Northwestern University while studying with J. Lawrie Bloom of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.  At 17, Michael made his solo debut performing the Mozart Clarinet Concerto with the Honolulu Symphony as a winner of their Young Artists Concerto Competition.  Since then, as a soloist and chamber musician, he has participated in the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival and the Marrowstone Music Festival.  In 2010, he performed the world premiere of Morton Lauridsen’sCanticle for Solo Clarinet, as part of USC’s Contemporary Music Ensemble.  As an orchestral clarinetist, Michael has performed with the Hyogo Performing Arts Center Orchestra in Hyogo, Japan, the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra, the Evanston Symphony, Lakeshore Symphony and the Marrowstone Festival Orchestra, among others.

Michael was recently appointed to the faculty of The Colburn School’s School of Performing Arts (CSPA) in downtown Los Angeles.  He also maintains a successful private studio of students from all over the Los Angeles area.  During summers, he returns to Hawaii to serve on the faculty at the Hawaii Youth Symphony’s Pacific Music Institute.