Michael Yoshimi
Core Faculty, Clarinet Faculty, Colburn Community School of Performing Arts
Hawaii born clarinetist, Michael Yoshimi, is an active performer and teacher in the Los Angeles area. He frequently performs and tours as a guest player with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and has also performed with the Pacific Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, Boise Philharmonic and the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra, among others.
Michael holds a Doctor of Musical Arts and a Master of Music degree in clarinet performance from the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music under renowned master teacher Yehuda Gilad. He also has a Bachelor of Music degree from Northwestern University where he studied with J. Lawrie Bloom of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Since 2013, Michael has been a clarinet instructor at the Colburn Community School of Performing Arts where he has created one of the most successful private studios in the country. Teaching students from all over Los Angeles, Michael has cultivated some of the most talented young clarinetists who are now studying and performing from coast to coast. He has also traveled to give master classes and private lessons to students of his many colleagues in many of the universities and orchestras throughout the country.
His students have been accepted to top universities and conservatory programs at prestigious institutions including the Juilliard School, University of Southern California, Rice University, Eastman School of Music, Northwestern University, Stanford University, Columbia University and Brown University. Recent accolades include top honors in national and international competitions, such as the International Clarinet Association’s High School Solo Competition and the National YoungArts Foundation Finals, as well as performances on National Public Radio’s From the Top radio show. They have also been participants and have held principal chairs in prestigious summer festivals including the Verbier Junior Festival Orchestra, Yellow Barn Young Artists, Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra/National Youth Orchestra 2 (NYO/NYO2) program, Boston University Tanglewood Institute, and the Interlochen Arts Camp.
Michael’s teaching philosophy is rooted in the belief that teachers are not only integral in helping to build the fundamentals of music and singing through an instrument, but also in shaping the lives and aspirations of their students. From the clarinet perspective he seeks to build students with the strongest foundation in fundamentals, to allow them to create music as freely and effortlessly as possible, in their own unique and meaningful way. Michael is excited to connect with and help new students all over the country and world.