Yoshi Ishikawa, Professor of Music, Bassoon
University of Colorado Boulder, College of Music
Yoshiyuki Ishikawa is a leader in the double reed community. He is the founder and the president of the Asian Double Reed Association (ADRA), which maintains memberships in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. He has served for over thirty years (1990-2020) as a member of the IDRS Executive Board. During his tenure, Ishikawa held the position of President, Secretary, and the Editor of IDRS Online Publications. He is the founder and creator of the original idrs.org, which he launched in 1995, three years before the introduction of Google, PDF and Yahoo! Search. Idrs.org has been online continuously since its inception and is one of the oldest public web sites dedicated to a music organization. In 2001, Ishikawa introduced the IDRS video archive of unique performances masterclasses, and presentations from IDRS conferences. Since then he has produced and edited 525 archival videos. Additional accomplishments include: hosting the 1987 IDRS conference in Las Vegas, Nevada; co-sponsoring the 2015 IDRS conference in Tokyo under the auspices of the ADRA; and spearheading the 4th conference of ADRA in November 2019 at the Minzu University in Beijing. The ADRA Mizu conference showcased artists and pedagogues from China, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, and the US. Ishikawa, with his colleague Peter Cooper, will host the 50thanniversary conference of IDRS at the University of Colorado Boulder in July 2021.
As a bassoonist and pedagogue, Ishikawa has been invited to present solo recitals, masterclasses and workshops at prestigious musical venues, including: Sydney Conservatorium and Australian Double Reed Association Conferences; Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Lyon; Moscow Conservatory and St. Petersburg Conservatory; Tokyo School of Music; Somos la Asociación de Fagotistas y Oboístas de España (afoes), annual conference; Central Conservatory in Beijing and Shanghai Conservatory; Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester; Australian National Academy of Music; Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts; Taipei National University of Arts; and Mahidol University College of Music in Thailand.
Ishikawa has presented world premieres of numerous works for bassoon, including: Daniel Kellogg’s Quartet for Bassoon and Strings and Respiratus for Bassoon and Orchestra; Bill Douglas’ Partita No. 2 for Oboe, Bassoon and Piano and Quartet for Flute, Oboe, Bassoon and Piano; Falling Water by Barry Conyngham; and Ishikawa’s realization of the Concerto for Oboe, Bassoon and Basso Continuo by Handel.
Ishikawa serves as an advisor for international competitions and has served as a judge for: the IDRS Gillet and Young Artists Competition; the Tokyo Wind and Brass Competition; the Rimsky-Korsakov Competition and the Moscow Conservatory Wind and Percussion Competition; and the Asian Double Reed Association International Competitions.
Ishikawa has been the professor of bassoon at the University of Colorado at Boulder, College of Music since 1991. In addition to bassoon performance, his specialties include chamber music and pedagogy. He performs often with his pianist wife, Dr. Brenda Ishikawa (DMA in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Colorado Boulder). His daughter, Dr. Marisa Ishikawa (DMA in Violin Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Colorado Boulder) is a member of Carpe Diem String Quartet and is a founding member of Austin Camerata.