Born in Saitama, Japan, Ikuko Kanda began her violin studies at the age of four. Two years later she began studying with Toshiya Eto, a former faculty member of the Curtis Institute of Music. She holds a bachelor’s degree in performance from the Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo. In 1984, having won the Saitama Prefecture New Figure Concert Audition, she played the first movement of Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole. In 1994, she performed Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto with the University of Wyoming Symphony Orchestra. In Japan, she has performed with the Shinsei Nihon and Gunma symphony orchestras. Currently, Ikuko Kanda is a member of the Santa Fe and New Mexico Philharmonic orchestras. In the summer, you can find her at the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra in Boulder. She enjoys motor travel and playing with her very cute cats, Katrin and Katja.
