Biography

Yukiko Kurakata, occupant of the Catherine A. Mueller Chair, joined the San Francisco Symphony in 1994. She studied with Jascha Heifetz at the University of Southern California, and after graduating, she taught as his assistant at USC. Prior to joining the SFS, she served on the faculties of UCLA and Pepperdine University. Ms. Kurakata has been a member of the Marlboro, Amsterdam, and Okinawa chamber music festivals, as well as the Sitka Summer Music Festival. She has performed as soloist with the Japan Philharmonic, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and the Seattle Symphony, and she has given recitals in Amsterdam, Los Angeles, and New York.

(September 2018)