Aiko Goto

Aiko began violin lessons at the age of three with the Suzuki Method, the world-famous music education program created by her grand-uncle, Dr Shinichi Suzuki. She went on to study at the Toho Gakuen School of Music in Japan, before moving to New York to take up a scholarship at the Juilliard School to study with the renowned violin teachers Dorothy DeLay and Masao Kawasaki. Upon graduating from Juilliard, Aiko made her New York debut at the Carnegie Weill Recital Hall to critical acclaim.

It was while living in New York that Aiko came across an advertisement in an industry newspaper for a position in the ACO. Following the lengthy audition process, which included travelling to Australia to participate in a two-month trial, Aiko was offered her position in the ACO in 1998 and has remained a core member with the Orchestra ever since.

In addition to performing with the ACO, Aiko greatly enjoys teaching and sharing her love of music with young musicians. She has been the director of the ACO Academy Program, the ACO’s annual program for talented young string players, since 2012 and is a mentor for the ACO Emerging Artist Program.

Aiko maintains a strong connection with her home country of Japan. She has been a member of the Saito Kinen Orchestra, an orchestra formed annually during Japan’s Saito Kinen Fesitval Matsumoto, since 1995, including performing as Concertmaster for several of its programs. In addition to this, she regularly performs at violist Nobuko Imai’s Viola and Chamber Music Festival in Japan and holds an annual charity concert at the Japanese Embassy in Canberra.

In August 2016, Aiko received a commendation from the Japanese Foreign Ministry on the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Basic Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between Japan and Australia.

Aiko performs on a 19th century violin made by the French instrument maker Jean Baptiste Vuillaume.