Dr. Yoichiro ‘Yo’ Etsuki joined the violin and viola faculty of Opus119 in summer of 2013. Dr. Etsuki’s students are consistent winners of auditions for Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra, Pacific Symphony Santiago Strings, IUSD Honor Orchestra, and SCSBOA All-Southern Orchestra. His students are first prize winners at competitions such as SYMF and MTAC Irvine Branch Festivals. 

Dr. Etsuki earned his double Doctorate of Musical Arts in violin and viola performance from University of Oregon. His primary studies are with Dr. Leslie Straka, Kathryn Lucktenberg, Kevin Lawrence, and Elisabeth Small. He performed on both violin and viola in master classes of Joel Smirnoff, Lawrence Dutton, and Karen Dreyfus, among others. Dr. Etsuki was tenured as Assistant Principal Viola of the Eugene Symphony Orchestra from 2007 to 2009 and performed with numerous orchestras across Oregon, Tennessee, Alabama, and North Carolina. 

Dr. Etsuki’s teaching philosophy is that in private studio teaching, there is rarely one solution for a specific problem. Each situation brings its own unique set of variables and circumstances. He keep an open mind, while trying to pique his students' interests, so he can best meet his student's needs.

In his spare time, Dr. Etsuki likes to relieve stress from teaching by running. That's why he is gaunt and looks like he's been in the sun too much! Most mornings you can find him running the streets and beaches of Long Beach. He soon aspires to lower his marathon time to under three hours.