When Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi won the International Casals Competition in Budapest in 1963, the press called him a musician “whose discovery is comparable to that of David Oistrakh in the Brussels Competition in the 1930s.” Born in Tokyo, Mr. Tsutsumi’s early training with Hideo Saito led him to his debut at the young age of 12 with Tokyo Philharmonic, performing the Saint-Saens concerto. Appearances with Japan’s leading orchestras followed, as did several major prizes, including the Japan’s most prestigious; the Mainichi (Japan) Music Competition.

Audiences have since heard Mr. Tsutsmi’s solo performances with such prestigious orchestras as the ORTF in Paris, the Berlin Radio Symphony, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, London Symphony, London Philharmonia, the Czech Philharmonic, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, and most recently, the Vienna Philharmonic. He has also appeared on many special occasions such as, with Seiji Ozawa and the Toho Gakuen Orchestra at the United Nations, at Avery Fisher Hall with the NHK Symphony, with Mustislav Rostropovich and the National Symphony.

After teaching at the University of Illinois, he joined the faculty of Indiana University as Professor of Music in 1988. He has been invited frequently to conduct master classes at places like Talent Education Institute (Japan), Orford Arts Center (Canada), Lyon Conservatoire (France), Banff Centre (Canada) and Holland Music Session (The Netherlands). As a jury member, he has participated in many prestigious international music competitions such as the Grand Prix Emanuel Feuermann, ARD in Munich, M. Rostropovich in Paris, CBC/SRC in Ottawa, and Osaka International.

In 2009, he was awarded Japan’s Medal with Purple Ribbon, the highest honor in Japan. Since the same year, he is also a member of the Japan Art Academy.

He has been the President of Suntory Hall since 2007, and currently teaches at the Toho Gakuen School of Music as Specially Appointed Professor after serving as the President for nine years (2004-2013). He also visits Seoul regularly as Visiting Professor of Korea National University of Arts.