Coco Tomita, violin; Yume Tomita, violin; Kan Tomita, piano

Event information

Programme:

Debussy: Sonata in G minor for violin & piano
Chausson: Poeme, Op.25
Prokofiev: Sonata in C for 2 violins, Op.56
—
Prokofiev: Violin Sonata No.1 in F minor, Op.80
Wieniawski: Variations on an original theme, Op.15
Sarasate: Navarra for 2 violins & piano, Op.33

Hailed by critics and audiences alike, Japanese violinist Coco Tomita first gained recognition after winning
the BBC Young Musician 2020 Strings Category. She was subsequently invited to record her debut album,
‘Origins’ with Orchid Classics, which received a succession of rave reviews from The Strad, Gramophone
Magazine, BBC Music Magazine and The Guardian, among others, and was selected as ‘Disc of the month’
by Apple in April 2022. Coco has since received over 5.5 million streams on Apple Music alone and
released her follow up album ‘Echoes’ in September 2024.

Coco continues to perform around the UK with pianist Simon Callaghan, the 2024/25 season included
recitals at Saffron Hall, Bechstein Hall, Harrogate International Festival and St George’s Hall, Bristol. The
duo has also made their debut at the Dubai Opera.

Based in London and Berlin, Coco recently completed a triumphant debut tour of Japan, highlights of
which included her concerto debut with Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Masahiko Enkoji,
and Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Axelrod at the Suntory Hall. She has also
appeared as a soloist with London Mozart Players, Philharmonie Baden-Baden and Bath Philharmonia.
Named as ‘One to watch’ by Gramophone Magazine and ‘Young Classical Star’ by Classic FM, Coco has won
numerous prizes at international competitions and festivals, including Golden Medals at the Vienna
International Music Competition and Berliner International Music Competition, Carl Flesch Prize at the Carl
Flesch Academy, and 1st prize at the Eastbourne Symphony Orchestra Young Soloist Competition where
she also won the Duke of Devonshire Award.

A passionate chamber musician, Coco is a member of the ‘Euphorie’ Piano Quartet who were recently
awarded the ‘’Fernandes Selvaggio’’ prize at the Trio di Trieste competition. Coco has just returned from a
hugely successful tour of Japan with the all-violin group, QUADPHONICS. She has also appeared at
chamber music festivals such as Prussia Cove and Marryat Festival and took part in the prestigious Villars
Music Academy.

Born into a musical family, Coco began to play the violin when she was four years old. At age ten she made
her debut at Cadogan Hall, London, with Southbank Sinfonia and has performed in Austria, Belgium,
Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, UAE and the UK.
Coco began her early training at the Yehudi Menuhin School with renowned pedagogues Natasha
Boyarsky and Lutsia Ibragimova. Since 2021, she has been studying under the guidance of Professor Kolja
Blacher at the Hochschule fur Musik Hanns Eisler, Berlin.


Sixteen-year-old violinist Yume Tomita is a grand prize winner of the “Il Piccolo Violino Magico”
International Competition for Young Violinists in Italy. She is also a former prize winner at the Ilona
Feher International Violin Competition in Hungary (1st prize), Andrea Postacchini International
Violin Competition in Italy (2nd prize) and Grumiaux International Violin Competition in Belgium
(3rd prize).

Yume was born in the UK in 2008 and began to play the violin when she was five years old. She
was invited to give her first recital at the age of seven in Italy, and in the following year she was
awarded a place at the Yehudi Menuhin School where she studied with Natasha Boyarsky, Diana
Galvydyte and Ning Kam. Yume is currently studying with Dr. Robin Wilson. She has also received
guidance from renowned violinists including Kolja Blacher, Zakhar Bron, Alina Ibragimova, Jonian
Ilias Kadesha, Clara-Jumi Kang, Barnabás Kelemen, Katalin Kokas, Shlomo Mintz and Qian Zhou in
various international masterclasses.

Yume’s concerto debut came in 2019 with Anima Musicae Chamber Orchestra in Budapest and her
recent highlights include appearances at Cremona Mondomusica in Italy, numerous concerto
engagements with Accademia d’Archi Arrigoni also in Italy and an appearance in Klassiek Leeft
Festival in Belgium. She is also a keen chamber musician and is one of the founding members of
the all-violin group, QUADPHONICS which has just returned from its hugely successful tour in
Japan.

Yume has recorded Sarasate Navarra for 2 violins with her sister Coco Tomita and YMS Orchestra,
and was also featured in Coco Tomita’s second album both released from Orchid Classics in 2024.

Yume performs regularly on a violin made for her in 2020 by Frédéric Chaudière of Montpellier.
On a number of other occasions, she has also performed on violins by G.B. Guadagnini and A.
Amati kindly loaned to her by a generous sponsor through the Beare’s International Violin Society.


Kan Tomita has won numerous international awards and prizes. Since his concerto debut at the Royal Festival Hall, London at the age of 15, he has been in demand both as soloist and chamber musician performing in the UK (Southbank Centre, Barbican, LSO St Luke’s, Bridgewater Hall etc.), Europe (Austria, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Romania and Ukraine) as well as Japan; where music critics praised him as “Stunning performer with superb technical accomplishment and poetry” (“Ongaku-no Tomo” Music Magazine, Japan).