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Toru Yamamoto is one of the most important cellist in Japan as he specialized both baroque cello and modern cello. Now he plays regularly with many leading orchestras and ensembles with historical instruments in Japan, namely Bach Collegium Japan, Orchestra Libera Classica, Classical Players Tokyo, Les Boreades, Gamut Bach Ensemble and L'orchestre d'avant-garde.

He has also worked with many orchestra and ensembles in Europe, including Orchestra La Scintilla (Zuerich, Switzerland), Gli Angeli Genève, Stradivaria (Nantes, France), and has performed with such distinguished artists as Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Cecilia Bartoli, Viktoria Mullova, Christpher Hogwood, Stephan MacLeod, Sebastien Marq, Walter van Hauwe, Stanley Hoogland.

Toru was awarded quite many prizes such as 2nd prize at the Yamanashi Early Music Competition Japan in 2006, 2nd prize 16th International Bach-Leipzig Competition in 2008, Honorable mention at MA competition in Brugge, Belgium 2011. He also won 1st prize at International Van Wassenaer Competition, Amsterdam 2011 with Den Haag Piano Quintet, which is a historical piano quintet consisting of violin, viola, cello, double bass and fortepiano, whose focus is to introduce rarely played works composed for this specific formation.

Toru started to study the cello with Takashi Dohi when he was 16 years old. He studied the modern cello also with Fumiaki Kouno and Hideki Kitamoto at Tokyo National University of Arts.

After his undergraduate studies, he entered Hidemi Suzuki's class to pursue his postgraduate studies in the baroque cello at the same university, where he also benefited from the teaching of other professors at the school, namely Masaaki Suzuki, Natsumi Wakamatsu, Michio Kobayashi.

Toru entered ZHdK(Zuericher Hochschule der Kuenste) in 2010 with scholarship from Japanese agency for cultural affairs and from Rohm Music Foundation, to study with Roel Dieltiens as he wanted to study more about romantic repertoire with historical instruments. In 2013, he graduated his master degree with honors (“mit Auszeichnung”).

Bach Suite No.3 Prelude