Japanese violinist Mako Ochiai is a member of Quartet Fugue.

She spent part of her childhood in Los Angeles and began studying the violin at the age of five. After graduating from Shiga Prefectural Ishiyama High School, she entered the Tokyo University of the Arts as a Munetsugu Tokuji Scholarship student, ranking first in her class. During her studies, she received the Fukushima Prize, the Acanthus Music Award, and the Mitsubishi Estate Award, and graduated at the top of her class.

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She has won numerous prizes, including Second Prize in the Violin Division at the 90th Japan Music Competition. She received First Prize at the Osaka Competition and Second Prize at the National Finals of the 70th All Japan Student Music Competition, where she was also awarded the Suntory Arts Foundation Instrument Loan Special Prize.

Her achievements further include First Prize at the 18th KOBE International Music Competition, First Prize at the 22nd Japan Performers Competition, and the 24th Matsukata Hall Music Award.

 

Her experience as Concertmistress of “Yutaka Sado and Super Kids Orchestra” led to a deep interest in chamber music, and in 2023 she formed Quartet Fugue. The quartet won First Prize and the Beethoven Prize at the 13th Akiyoshidai Music Competition (String Quartet Division), as well as the Grand Prix (Yamaguchi Prefectural Governor’s Award), and First Prize with the Beethoven Homage Prize at the 5th Munetsugu Hall String Quartet Competition. She has also participated in Project Q (Chapters 22 and 23) and is a Fellow of the Suntory Hall Chamber Music Academy (Seasons 7 and 8).

 

She has received awards including the Kirishima International Music Festival Award, the Music Academy in Miyazaki Excellence Award, the Otsu Cultural Encouragement Award, the Kyoto Arts Festival Music Division Encouragement Award, the Heiwado Foundation Arts Encouragement Award, the Shiga Prefecture Next Generation Culture Award, and the Tokiko Iwatani Foundation for Youth Award. 

Scholarship recipient of the Rohm Music Foundation, the Fukushima Foundation, the Matsuo  Foundation, and the Iwatani Tokiko Foundation for Youth.

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She has appeared at major festivals such as International Music Festival NIPPON, the Miyazaki International Music Festival, Tokyo Spring Festival, and the Kitakyushu International Music Festival. She has appeared as a soloist with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, The Geidai Philharmonia Orchestra Tokyo, Aichi Central Symphony Orchestra, and the Kansai Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition to her activities as a soloist and chamber musician, she has appeared as a guest concertmaster. 

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She studied violin under  Seiji Kageyama, Takako Yamazaki, Gérard Poulet, Asako Urushihara, Keiko Urushihara, Kei Shirai, Masafumi Hori, and Koichiro Harada, and chamber music under Toshihiko Ichitsubo, Katsuya Matsubara, Yukiko Yoshida, Kazuki Sawa, Nobuko Yamazaki, Kikuei Ikeda, and Koichiro Harada.

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She is currently in the second year of the Master’s program at the Tokyo University of the Arts Graduate School of Music. She is the First Violinist of Quartet Fugue and a Resident Member of the  Japan National Orchestra.