Violin
(Gary, Suite for Violin and Winds)
Raika Yamakage, born November 19, 1999 in Tokyo, began playing the violin at the age of 6. In 2009 he joined the class of Prof. Tsugio Tokuna and since 2018 he has been studying at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (mdw) in the class of Prof. Christian Altenburger.
Raika has won several prizes at national and international competitions. In 2015 he was awarded first prize at the Student Music Concours of Japan and won the third prize at the International Ysaye Competition in 2022.
As a soloist he has already gained experience with the Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra and the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra. He has also performed as a chamber musician at music festivals such as the St. Gallen Festival 2022, the Loisiarte 2021-2023, Beethoven Spring 2022 and the Weißensee Klassik Festival 2022.
In 2021 he held a scholarship granted by the Japanese Cultural Affairs Agency, from 2023 he was a scholarship holder of the Yamaha Music Scholarship. In the academic year 2021/2022 he passed the small diploma examination for violin concerts with unanimous distinction and won the Benjamin Prize from the Wolfgang Boesch Private Foundation.