biography

Embracing a vibrant freelance career, violinist Kiyoe Matsuura thrives as both a performer and educator. Specializing in historical instruments, she performs across the country on both violin and viola in groups such as Ensemble Affect, Apollo’s Fire, Haymarket Opera Orchestra, Callipygian Players, the Bach and Beethoven Experience, Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra, Bella Voce Sinfonia, and the Madison Bach Musicians. As a chamber musician, one of her main projects is Ensemble Vitelotte, a duo with keyboardist Sun Chang, dedicated to showcasing works by historical women composers. The duo has performed for the Landowska Harpsichord Society and the Marilyn Horne Museum, and was recently awarded a grant by Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.

Kiyoe’s skills are the product of extensive training, having studied historical performance at institutes including ‘Juilliard at the Piccola Accadamia,’ the Chamber Music Collective, American Bach Soloists Academy, Amherst Early Music Festival, and Oberlin’s Baroque Performance Institute. She received professional training and lessons as an Apollo’s Fire Young Artist Apprentice and as a Callipygian Players Apprentice. Kiyoe holds a Master’s Degree from DePaul University’s School of Music, where she studied violin with Ms. Janet Sung. With fellow DePaul students, Kiyoe co-founded DePaul’s first period-instrument ensemble, which was featured on the Pegasus Rising Young Artist concert series. Prior to that, she earned her Bachelor of Music degree from California State University, Long Beach, studying on a full scholarship under the guidance of Dr. Lorenz Gamma. During her time there, she was a member of the University String Quartet and served as concertmaster of the University Symphony Orchestra. Kiyoe further honed her orchestral skills as a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and in American Youth Symphony and Debut Orchestra in Los Angeles.

In addition to performing, Kiyoe enjoys sharing her knowledge with others. She completed Suzuki teacher training in violin units one through six under the guidance of Rolando Freitag. Her dedication to teaching has yielded notable successes, with her students achieving acceptance into the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra and winning prizes in the Chinese Fine Arts Society violin competition. For seven years, Ms. Matsuura served on the violin faculty of DePaul University’s Community Music Division, where she taught both individual and group classes. Along with in-person teaching, Kiyoe has created over 200 YouTube videos about violin student repertoire, which have received hundreds of thousands of views. Outside of her musical activities, Kiyoe is also a certified yoga instructor and has been teaching yoga classes throughout Chicago since 2017.