Tsuna Sakamoto
Strings Coach

Tsuna Sakamoto, violist with the National Symphony Orchestra since 1998, was born in Tokyo. Before her arrival in Washington, D.C., she was a member of the violin section of the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra. She performs with Saito Kinen Festival Orchestra during the summer. As an active chamber musician, she has collaborated with many chamber groups in the area including 21st Century Consort, Smithsonian Chamber Players, Eclipse Chamber Orchestra, Kennedy Center Chamber Players. She is a founding member of the Potomac String Quartet. Their critically acclaimed recordings of 11 string quartets of David Diamond and 9 string quartets of Quincy Porter were released by the Albany Records label. She is the violist of the Beau Soir Ensemble, Flute, Viola, and Harp Trio.

Ms. Sakamoto is a passionate educator. Outside of her private teaching and the NSO fellowship program, she is one of the longest serving artistic staff members of the American Youth Philharmonic Orchestra. She taught as an adjunct faculty at the Catholic University of America and University of Maryland. She has given master classes at universities and high schools throughout the United States and Japan. As an energy healer and educator, she strives to assist each individual student to find their unique voice and embrace who they are, in order to use music as a tool to express life and connect with others. Ms. Sakamoto studied at the Toho Academy School of Music, Cincinnati Conservatory, and the Ohio State University. Her teachers include Edward Adelson, Allyson Dawkins, Heidi Castleman, Masumi Ogawa, Kenji Kobayashi, Naoko Tanaka, Kurt Sassmannshaus, Dorothy DeLay, Larry Shapiro, and Michael Davis.