When Joy Yamaguchi graduates from the University of Colorado Boulder鈥檚 College of Music next week with a Doctor of Musical Arts degree (violin performance + Music Theory Certificate), the work she started here will continue well beyond her official stint as a student.
鈥淚鈥檓 looking forward to further developing the projects I started through my research here at CU Boulder,鈥� says Yamaguchi. 鈥淐ompleting this degree has helped me realize my strength and solidify my focus as a multifaceted artist.鈥�
Yamaguchi came to CU Boulder as a doctoral student with credentials as an accomplished teacher, performer and entrepreneur. She started playing violin at age 8 (she describes her musical roots as being a 鈥淪uzuki violin kid鈥�), and went on to earn a bachelor鈥檚 in music from the University of Minnesota and a master鈥檚 from Florida State University.
Our College of Music offered Yamaguchi opportunities to expand her already refined approach as a musician, educator and artist. Thanks in part to the mentorship of top-notch faculty and the availability of top-tier academic resources, Yamaguchi has deepened her connection to music鈥攁nd to the history of the art form.
Her time at CU Boulder saw Yamaguchi researching and creating a new edition of two violin sonatas by Nobu K艒da, a Japanese composer of the Meiji era whose works were historically excluded from the classical canon, due in part to the fact that she was a woman.听
The DMA program also offered Yamaguchi the chance to create a new curriculum for beginning string students. This curriculum, which focuses on teaching music theory through composition and improvisation, wasn鈥檛 just theoretical: Yamaguchi had the chance to put the system into practice with students at El Sistema Colorado.
In addition, Yamaguchi鈥攚ho鈥檚 also the inaugural recipient of the Andr谩s Szentkir谩lyi Memorial Scholarship鈥攆ound opportunities to present her research, insights and innovations to an audience beyond our campus. In 2023, she presented during the National American String Teachers Association鈥檚 annual conference, specifically detailing research that drew connections between bell hooks鈥� pedagogical framework and music education.
All of these accomplishments听align听with the mission that Yamaguchi had in mind when she decided to pursue her doctoral work at CU Boulder.听鈥淚 was looking for a program that would allow me to gain hands-on teaching experience and explore my interdisciplinary research interests,鈥� she says.
鈥淚 was very fortunate to have a graduate teaching assistantship throughout my degree,鈥� she adds, explaining that the assistantship allowed her听to interact firsthand with students, and to learn the ins and outs of the academic world. 鈥淚 taught lessons to undergraduate and graduate students, assisted with music theory courses and grew my understanding of the inner workings of academia.鈥�
All of this valuable experience is set to pay off in very practical ways. This spring, for example, Yamaguchi will head directly from Boulder to Wisconsin where she鈥檒l manage this year鈥檚 Blackbird Creative Lab, a prestigious musical immersion event hosted by Grammy Award-winning musicians鈥攕urely only the first of many ways that she鈥檒l听carry what she learned at our College of Music into the wider world.
鈥淭he DMA challenged me in ways that were expected and unexpected,鈥� she concludes. 鈥淭hroughout, I鈥檝e been very grateful for the community of teachers and colleagues who have supported me. The relationships I鈥檝e formed at CU will continue.鈥�
Congratulations, Joy鈥攁nd to all our fantastic 2024 graduates!
