A graduate of the Tokyo University of the Arts, Seiji Okamoto studied under Kimiko Nakazawa, Gerard Poulet, and Kazuki Sawa. He currently lives in Berlin, where he is studying under Antje Weithaas at the Hochschule fur Musik Hanns Eisler. In 2014, he won first prize and the audience prize at the Bach Competition Leipzig, becoming the first Asian winner of the violin category. In 2016, he won sixth prize and the audience prize at the Sendai competition ; later that year, he took second prize at the Wieniawski Competition in Poznań, which was followed by an extensive tour of Europe, including St Petersburg. He frequently performs as a guest soloist with orchestras, in recital, and in chamber music in Japan, Europe, and the United States and has appeared at various festivals, including the Bachfest in Leipzig and La Folle Journee in Japan.

Teachers

2017 - : Prof. Antje Weithaas
2010 - 2017: Prof. Kazuki Sawa
2006 - 2010: Prof. Gerard Poulet
2000 - 2009: Prof. Kimiko Nakazawa
1997 - 2000: Mr. Kan Tomikawa

Degrees

2017 - : Master Violin, Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler" Berlin
2013 - 2017: Bachelor Violin, Tokyo University of the Arts (Tokyo Geidai)

Concerts

2018: Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre (Tokyo Geijutsu Gekijo), Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Cond: Takeshi Ooi
2018: Schloss Agathenberg (Niedersachsen, Germany), Schloss Agathenberg, recital with Natsumi Ohno (Pf)
2018: Teatr Szczawno Zdroj (Poland), Wieniawski Festival in Szczawno Zdroj (Poland) 2018, Opole Symphony Orchestra, Cond: Przemyslaw Neumann
2017: Chateau du Lac (Brussel), Musica Mundi Festival 2017 in Brussel, Maxim Vengerov, Huseyin Sermet
2017: Tokyo International Forum, La folle journee au Japon 2017, (solo recital)
2017: Opole Philharmonie (Poland), 66th season opening concert of Orkiestra Symfoniczna Filharmonii Opolskiej, Opole Symphony Orchestra, Cond: Przemyslaw Neumann
2016: St. Petersburg Philharmonie Grand Hall, St. Petersburg Philharmonie, St. Petersburg State Academic Symphony Orchestra, Maxim Vengerov, Petr Sulkovsky
2015: Leipzig, Alte Börse (Germany, 90th Bachfest Leipzig 2015, (solo recital)
2016: Poznan, Wroclaw, Olszyn, Katowice, Lodz, Plock (Poland), Henryk Wieniawski Society, Poznan Philharmonic Orchestra, Olszyn Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra Symphony Philharmonie Lodz, Plock Orchetra Symphoniker
2013: Matsushima, Lucerne Festival in Matsushima 2013, Yokohama Sinfonietta

Competitions

2016: 2nd prize, 15th International Henryk Wieniawski Competition in Poznan (Poland)
2016: 6th prize, audience award, 6th Sendai International Music Competition
2014: 1st prize, audience award, 19th International Bach Competition in Leipzig