The violinist will give public performances on the ‘Playfair’ violin in Los Angeles and New York in December
Violinist Ray Ushikubo has been loaned the 1741 ‘Playfair’ Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ violin.
Ushikubo, 24, described receiving the violin as ’an extraordinary honour’.
‘To be entrusted with an instrument of such history and beauty is deeply humbling,’ he said. ’I’m profoundly grateful to Colin Maki Inc. for this generous loan, and to the Colburn community for nurturing an environment where young artists can explore, grow, and share music at the highest level.
‘I look forward to discovering how this remarkable violin will shape my sound and artistic journey.’
Ushikubo will debut the instrument in performances on 3 December at Colburn School’s Zipper Hall in a free concert, and 14 December in New York.
As well as a violinist, Ushikubo is also a pianist, and has performed on the stages of Carnegie Hall and Walt Disney Concert Hall, and appeared on NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Ushikubo made his orchestral debut at age ten with the Young Musicians Foundation Orchestra in Los Angeles’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion with Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 alongside conductor Teddy Abrams.
A recipient of the Davidson Fellow Laureate Award in 2014, Ushikubo was named a Young Steinway Artist and won the 2017 Hilton Head International Piano Competition and the 2016 Piano Concerto Competition at the Aspen Music Festival and School.
Ushikubo was featured as a young artist in residence of the national radio broadcast Performance Today with host Fred Child and he has been featured on NPR’s From the Top where he was named a Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist.
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