Spotlight | Concertmaster, Miller Nichols Chair

Jun Iwasaki

Jun Iwasaki was appointed Concertmaster of the Kansas City Symphony by Music Director Michael Stern and will start at the beginning of the 2022/23 season. A graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music’s prestigious Concertmaster Academy, he has been hailed for his combination of dazzling technique and lyrical musicianship. In a review of Iwasaki’s performance at the Mimir Chamber Music Festival, the Fort Worth Star Telegram called him “the magician of the evening. He could reach into his violin and pull out bouquets of sound, then reach behind your ear and touch your soul.”

Prior to joining the Kansas City Symphony, Iwasaki served as concertmaster of the Nashville Symphony from 2011-2022 and the Oregon Symphony from 2007-11.  Throughout his career, he has appeared with numerous other orchestras, including the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Oregon, Symphony, Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Blossom Festival Orchestra, Rome (Georgia) Philharmonic, New Bedford Symphony, Canton Symphony, Richardson Symphony, Cleveland Pops Orchestra, Plano Symphony Orchestra and the Huntsville Symphony. In addition, he has served as guest concertmaster of the Pittsburgh Symphony, Gulbenkian Orchestra (Portugal), São Paulo Symphony Orchestra (Brazil), Santa Barbara Symphony, National Arts Center Orchestra (Ottawa), and Canton (Ohio) Symphony Orchestra.

As chamber musician, Jun has been a part of the Seattle Chamber Music Festival, La Jolla Summerfest, Chamber Music Northwest, Mainly Mozart, Chamber Music International, and Mimir Chamber Music Festival among others.

In addition to teaching at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music, Iwasaki also served as the artistic director of Portland Summer Ensembles in Portland, Oregon, a workshop for young musicians focusing on chamber music.