Hailed for his ability to perform with a “dazzling display of dexterity and panache” by the Baltimore Sun and acclaimed as “one of our great working bass teachers” by Double Bass HQ, Yoshi Horiguchi is an active double bassist and pedagogue who brings music to numerous communities in the DMV region and beyond. Although classically trained, his endeavors span across a broad spectrum of genres having performed in concert halls with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and Alarm Will Sound; hip-hop clubs with the Baltimore Boom Bap Society; dance halls with The Hungry Monks Swing Band; smoke-filled bars with Classical Revolution; and more. Yoshi has served as guest principal bass for the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, Apollo Chamber Orchestra, the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra, and the National Philharmonic. Yoshi is currently the bassist for the National Chamber Winds and a founding member of the award-winning Trio Jinx. He has collaborated with a broad range of artists such as Zuill Bailey, Judith Ingolfsson, Hal Robinson, Alex Fiterstein, Michael Kannen, Wendel Patrick, Shodekeh, Don Vappie, Tony Arnold, Lauren Ruth Ward, and more. Yoshi, not being a stranger to life on the road, has also performed around the United States at the Sitka Summer Music Festival, Mesa Arts Center, Iowa Great Lakes Music Festival, El Paso Pro Musica, the Kennedy Center, Fischoff Chamber Music Competition, and more.
In addition to being an active performer, Yoshi is an educator, pedagogue, and string specialist. He has served on the faculty for the Peabody Conservatory, Towson University, Baltimore Symphony’s, El Sistema inspired, ORCHkids program, Shenandoah Conservatory, Bass Works, the Peabody Preparatory, American Music System Camps, York College of PA, UMBC, the International Society of Bassists Young Bassists division, and more. He is also the double bass mentor for the National Music Festival. Yoshi has presented pedagogy research at the International Society of Bassists convention. Yoshi is certified in the Mark O’Connor string method and has studied string pedagogy under Christian Tremblay and Bai-Chi Chen from the Peabody Preparatory. His passion and drive for students to study pedagogically beneficial and accessible music has inspired him to arrange works that are being performed around the world.
Yoshi graduated with honors as a Linehan Artist Scholar at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County where he graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in double bass performance and music education. During his time at UMBC, he also earned his teaching certificate and won the 2011 concerto competition. Yoshi then graduated as an Aegon USA scholar at the Peabody Conservatory at the Johns Hopkins University for his Master’s Degree in double bass performance and pedagogy and he is currently pursuing his Doctorate of Musical Arts at Peabody. He has attended the Hot Springs Music Festival, National Music Festival, the Imani Winds Chamber Music Festival, and WaBass Festival. Yoshi proudly hails from the studios of Ed Malaga, Jeff Koczela, Laura Ruas, Paul DeNola, and Paul Johnson. In his free time, Yoshi enjoys wearing primary colors, playing ultimate Frisbee, swing dancing, and expanding his sock collection.