Yuko Kato
Piano
206 Altgeld
618-453-5819
Currently Assistant Professor of Piano at Southern Illinois University, Yuko Kato has performed as a soloist and collaborative musician in many prestigious venues across the U.S., including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and also at Carnegie Hall, where she gave her New York solo debut recital at Weill Recital Hall in 2004. The New York Concert Review as has described her playing as, “Powerful and the technical skill impressive…One could fully enjoy the richness of the performer’s imagination.” The recipient of numerous scholarships and prizes, Dr. Kato has been invited to perform and study in England at the Dartington International Summer Program on a full bursary, in Canada at the Aria International Music Academy, and has been a prizewinner in competitions, such as the Artists International Competition in New York.
A native of Los Angeles, Dr. Kato began her musical studies at the Colburn School of Performing Arts. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree with honors from Northwestern University, where she was the recipient of the Margaret E. Dadian scholarship, and Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from Manhattan School of Music. Her principal teachers include Jeffrey Cohen, David Kaiserman, Dorothy Hwang, and Louise Lepley, and she has performed in masterclasses with Claude Frank, Malcolm Bilson, David Dubal, Mikhail Kazakevich, John O’Connor, and Leonard Hokanson. In addition to her active schedule as a performer and pedagogue, her interest in creating modern learning and performing environments has led her to discuss the topics of new music, education, and concert programming with prominent musicians such as Leif Ove Andsnes, Anthony de Mare, David Dubal, Joseph Horowitz, Stephen Hough, Joanna MacGregor, Ursula Oppens, Frederic Rzewski, Andre-Michel Schub, Peter Serkin, George Steel, and Wu Han.