Remembering Caroline Yoshimoto
February 11th, 2015
Caroline Yoshimoto, age 28, alumna of the Music Institute of Chicago, died February 26, 2015.
A student of Shigetoshi Yamada and Almita Vamos at the Music Institute (1999-2005), she went on to study at Northwestern and was a doctoral student at Rutgers' Mason Gross School of the Arts at the time of her passing.
Yoshimoto was an accomplished violinist, passionate about chamber music and teaching. She was a violinist in the Rutgers Symphony Orchestra and taught violin and viola through the SpeakMusic Conservatory where she offered lessons in both English and Japanese.
She began violin at age seven. She performed for the Young Steinway Concert Series at 17 and was a finalist for the Northwestern Concerto Competition, co-concertmaster for the Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra and member of Civic Orchestra of Chicago.
Vamos remarked, "She was one of the nicest, sweetest students...incredible. As perfect an individual as I have ever known. I think of her as an angel who left us too soon. She was going to devote herself to teaching young children and doing charitable work. Caroline was one of our dearest friends."
The Bienen Strings performance on Saturday, March 14 at Lutkin Memorial Hall, Northwestern, will be dedicated to her memory.