Blake Kitayama

About Blake

Blake Kitayama is a chamber musician, orchestral cellist, and music educator who strives to foster an accessible musical dialogue. Kitayama made his solo debut with the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra in 2003. Alongside positions with the Jackson Symphony and Huntsville Symphony, he most recently held a position with the Winston Salem Symphony and has recorded for Navano Records. In addition to performing recitals across the United States, Kitayama has appeared on national broadcasts APM’s Performance Today, KING FM Classical Northwest, and NPR Live Sessions. He currently enjoys performing concerts and outreach nationally and internationally with the Kodak Quartet.

An advocate for collaboration and new music, Kitayama has continuously worked across genres. Providing cello and vocal harmonies, for songwriters such as Sofie Zamchick and Anna Schofield. In the classical world he has also debuted dozens of new classical works for mixed ensembles written by his contemporaries.

As an educator, Kitayama has extensive experience working with all ages and backgrounds. He has maintained a private studio for over eight years, and has taught at summer festivals including Peaks to Plains Suzuki Institute and Interlochen Center for the Arts. He seeks to build curiosity and engage his students in the awareness and process that is cello playing.

He earned a Bachelor of Music from Vanderbilt University under the instruction of Felix Wang and his Master of Music at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts with Brooks Whitehouse. He is currently studying under the JACK Quartet at Mannes School of Music, as a member of the Cuker and Stern Graduate String Quartet.