HIDETARO SUZUKI has a unique career as a widely diversified musician in distinctly varied areas performing as a soloist with a great many orchestras in the U.S., Canada, throughout Europe, Hong Kong, and Japan. He also has conducted orchestras in Québec, Indianapolis, Hong Kong, and Japan, and since 1961, he has been an international recitalist with his pianist wife Zeyda as collaborator. He combined those impressive artistic activities with 44 years as concertmaster of two major orchestras: the Indianapolis Symphony and the Québec Symphony.
As a chamber music performer, he created and participated in the Bay Chamber Concerts (Camden, Maine) with his string quartet, founded and performed in “Suzuki & Friends” chamber music series in Indianapolis for 27 years, and participated in the festivals of Marlboro (Vermont), Stratford (Canada), Chautauqua (New York), Grand Teton Music Festival (Wyoming), Vevey (Switzerland) among many others.
In addition, he has taught and coached aspiring young musical talents at Indiana University in Bloomington, Butler University in Indianapolis, University of Illinois, Florida State University, Lával University in Canada, le Conservatoire de Musique de la Province du Québec, Tōho School of Music in Tokyo, and others. During the past several years, he has repeatedly participated in benefit concerts to support the victims of catastrophic earthquakes and tsunamis, including displaced and relocated children and orphans. He and Zeyda are returning to Japan in October 2019 for a concert tour.
Suzuki is a laureate of the Tchaikovsky, Queen Elisabeth of Belgium, and Montréal International Violin Competitions. He studied the violin from age 4 with Shinichi Suzuki (no relation) before his famous Suzuki Method was launched; then, with Saburo Sumi and Paul Kling at Toho in Tokyo; and ultimately with the magnificent violinist Efrem Zimbalistat the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.