Alexandra Gardner | Building Noises

photo by Steve Gong

Yuki Numata is a violinist with “virtuosic flair and dexterous bravery,” according to the New York Times.

Ms. Numata is rapidly gaining attention as a charismatic virtuoso, having performed as a soloist with the New World Symphony, the University at Buffalo’s Slee Sinfonietta, the Wordless Music Orchestra, the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra and the Eastman Philharmonia Orchestra.

As a result of her avid interest in new music, she has had the opportunity to work closely with some of today’s foremost composers including Charles Wuorinen, Steve Reich and John Zorn. Ms. Numata performs frequently with the American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME) which had its Carnegie Hall debut this past spring.

Born in Vancouver, Canada, Ms. Numata holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music and the University of Michigan. Her principal teachers include Andrew Jennings, Zvi Zeitlin and Gwen Thompson.

How did you get started playing your instrument, and how did it turn into a career?
I began playing the violin at the age of 3 because my parents told me to! According to my dad I sounded so bad that he wanted to let me quit playing, but my mom wouldn’t let that happen. She said that if they let me quit I would forever think that anytime something is difficult, I can just walk away. Talk about learning life lessons at an early age! I never hated the violin but I didn’t begin to really enjoy it until I started playing in the orchestra at the Vancouver Academy of Music. My first experience playing a Brahms symphony blew me away and I was hooked. When I graduated from high school, my parents said that I could study music in college if I also took on another degree, so I went to the Eastman School of Music and began a double major in English Lit at the University of Rochester. After a few months at Eastman I knew that I wanted to focus on the violin, so after many months of pleading and arguing with my parents, I dropped the second degree and put all of my time into music. It was there that I met the conductor Brad Lubman and began playing in Musica Nova, the school’s new music ensemble. I was so inspired by Brad and by the other players who were into new music that I never looked back. I’ve loved playing contemporary music ever since my undergrad and it has now become the bulk of the playing that I do professionally. After 3 years at the New World Symphony, I recently moved to New York and have been trying my hand at the freelancing scene here. So far I’m loving the freelance life!

Talk about one of your most satisfying musical performance experiences.
I have been very lucky to be part of the Tanglewood Music Center for 4 years – 2 years as a fellow and 2 years as a Fromm player, specializing in the performance of contemporary music. In my 2nd year as a Fromm player, I performed Charles Wuorinen’s Rhapsody for Violin and Orchestra with Kazem Abdullah conducting the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra. This experience was so exciting to me because I rarely have the opportunity to perform with orchestra, and especially with one that is as responsive and as dedicated as the TMCO. Although they were coming off of some very demanding weeks, the orchestra sounded incredible in the performance and I felt honoured and proud to be their soloist. Charles Wuorinen and James Levine were both in the audience and they were very complimentary and gracious afterwards. To have such pillars of the contemporary music world take the time to speak with me made the whole experience unforgettable.

What gets you interested in/inspired by/excited about playing a new piece of music?
There is such a long lineage of wonderful violinists dating back hundreds of years that along with the tradition and history also comes a certain amount of intimidation. For me, it’s difficult to find concrete reasons for why the world needs to hear me play the Tchaikovksy concerto for the millionth time when there have been so many thoughtful and historic performances in the past. I get excited about playing a new piece of music because of the freedom that I have in interpreting it, and because I like to discover new ways to communicate and connect with an audience.

What is your listening “guilty pleasure?”
Lately, I love listening to Ne-Yo!

What projects do you have coming up that we should know about?
I play a ton with ACME (American Contemporary Music Ensemble) and we’ll be performing this summer in the Berkshires. The program uses Bach as inspiration and we are commissioning quartets by Timothy Andres and Ryan Streber. Very exciting stuff!

Please answer: If I were not a musician, I would be a ________, because _________.
If I were not a musician, I would be a personal trainer because I enjoy working out and would love to have more time to do it!