Album Notes

Masatoshi Mitsumoto - cellist, conductor, and composer - studied with Paul Tortelier at the Paris Conservaotry, André Navarra at the Nice International Academy, and Gregor Piatigorsky at the University of Southern California.

Mitsumoto has performed as a soloist, as well as a chamber and orchestral musician in Japan and the United States. A long-time resident of the Los Angeles area where he freelanced as a cellist, Mitsumoto was the music director and conductor of the Laguna Beach Summer Music Festival (1977-84) and the Concordia Orchestra of Los Angeles (1986-98). He was also a faculty member at California State University, Los Angeles, and Artist-in-Residence at Whittier College. Mitsumoto now lives in Maryland.

Mitsumoto’s recordings as conductor include Leo Arnaud compositions for the Cambria label, five CDs for the Monster Movie Music label, and a Stravinsky/John Scott album for the Hollywood Symphony label. His compositions, “Songs of Innocence” and “Elegy” have been performed many times in the Washington area including the Kennedy Center. Other compositions performed in recent years include “Cello Concerto,” “Washington Triptyque/Violin Concertino,” “Violin Sonatina,” “Clarinet Sonatina,” “Songs of Experience,” “Two Japanese Songs,” and “Fantasy on Leo Arnaud’s Olympic Fanfare” for eight wind instruments.