Felix Ayo, violin
Stephanie Gonley, violin
Esther Hoppe, violin
James Dunham, viola
William Coleman, viola
Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, cello
Israel Fausto Martínez, cello
Rubén Fornell, doublebass
Javier Arago, bassoon
Daniel del Pino, piano
Benedicte Palko, piano
Jan Inge Almås, piano technician
Thomas Bertrand, luthier


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Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi - cello

When Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi won the International Casals Competition in Budapest in 1963, the press called him a musician “whose discovery is comparable to that of David Oistrakh in the Brussels Competition in the 1930s.” Born in Tokyo, Mr. Tsutsumi's early training with Hideo Saito led him to his debut at the young age of 12 with Tokyo Philharmonic, performing the Saint-Saens concerto. Appearances with Japan's leading orchestras followed, as did several major prizes, including the Japan's most prestigious; the Mainichi (Japan) Music Competition.  

Audiences have since heard Mr. Tsutsmi's solo appearances with the ORTF in Paris, the Berlin Radio Symphony, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, London Symphony, London Philharmonia, the Czech and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, and many others. He has appeared with many great conductors and orchestras such as, Seiji Ozawa and the Toho Gakuen Orchestra at the United Nations; at Avery Fisher Hall with the NHK Symphony; Mustislav Rostropovich and the National Symphony.

He taught at the University of Illinois before joining the faculty of Indiana University as Professor of Music in the fall of 1988. He was frequently invited to conduct master classes at places like Talent Education Institute (Japan), Orford Arts Center (Canada),

Lyon Conservatoire (France), Banff Centre (Canada) and Holland music session (The Netherlands). He has also been invited as a jury member of prestigious international music competitions which include ARD in Munich, M. Rostropovich in Paris, CBC/SRC in Ottawa, Osaka International in Osaka and P. Casals in Kronberg.

Mr. Tsutsumi has various CD releases with Sony. He is also known as a recipient of the Suntory Award for his contribution to music in Japan and was presented National Academy of Arts Prize in music by the Emperor. In 1997 he was elected the first President of Japan Cello Society, and in 2000 elected Music Director of Kirishima International Music Festival and President of Suntory Music Foundation. He was also elected the President of Toho Gakuen School of Music in 2004 and the President of Suntory Hall in September 2007.