Shiho Toyonaga
Shiho Toyonaga, a native of Japan, has been performing the viola with orchestras in Chicago area. She is the assistant principal violist of the Northwest Indiana Symphony and her chamber music performances have been broadcasted live on WFMT. She is currently on the faculty of North Park University in Chicago and holds a Master’s degree in viola performance from the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University.
Updated April 2009
Stories from This Author
The Clear Sounds of Tetsuo Matsuda
April 30, 2009 • Shiho Toyonaga
The first time I heard of Tetsuo Matsuda was in 1992 in Tokyo. I was a violin student at a music conservatory in Tokyo and had just discovered and become infatuated by the dark rich sound of the viola. This is an often overlooked instrument of the string family. The viola is larger than a violin with a different set of strings but still played on the shoulder. A Japanese professor from the Julliard Conservatory in New York City was …