Subscribe for updates
Ray Iwazumi, violinist, is widely respected as a performer of uncommon musicianship and integrity. Guided by the artistic principles of his mentors Dorothy DeLay and Igor Oistrakh, his dedication to music finds expression in a multi-faceted career as a violinist, composer, lecturer, writer, editor, and teacher.
Ray performs worldwide as soloist and chamber musician, and is frequently invited to present lectures and masterclasses at prestigious institutions in the U.S.A., Europe, and Japan. He pursues a concert career that is highly unusual with its intense combination of virtuosity, scholarship, research, and performance.
With a keen interest in musicological research, Ray’s in-depth research on Eugène Ysaÿe’s Six Sonates pour violon seul, Op. 27 has brought forth significant findings on these landmark masterworks, and his concerts and recording of these works have been critically acclaimed. He also shares his leading expertise of this repertoire through lectures and lecture-performances and has written several articles on the subject, featured in The Strad, MLA Notes, along with a multi-year series in the Japanese journal String.
Ray has cataloged the rare materials and manuscripts related to Ysaÿe at The Juilliard School, is active as an editor and music research consultant, and is faculty at The Juilliard School. He has edited the Scherzo-Tarantella of Henryk Wieniawski, and is currently editing the Concerto in A minor of Henry Vieuxtemps for G. Henle Verlag.
Ray completed his B.M., M.M., and D.M.A., degrees, and was awarded the Richard French Prize at The Juilliard School, under the guidance of Dorothy DeLay and Hyo Kang, and also completed two Masters degrees awarded “with highest distinction” in violin and chamber music at the Brussels Royal Conservatory under the guidance of Igor Oistrakh.
