Born in Tokyo, Joji Hattori was raised in Vienna and received his musical training from top musicians including Yehudi Menuhin and Vladimir Spivakov. Since winning the Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition in 1989, he has pursued a very successful career as a concert violinist. He is now a visiting professor of violin at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He made his conducting debut with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in 1996, and has since established close relationships with the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, the London Mozart Players, and the New Japan Philharmonic, all of which he now conducts on a regular basis. He is also Music Director of the Tokyo Ensemble, which he founded last year with leading young musicians from Japan. Next year, Mr. Hattori will conduct the Vienna Chamber Orchestra both at the Vienna Konzerthaus as well as on various tours. He will also conduct a subscription concert of the Tokyo City Philharmonic and tour Portugal with the Tokyo Ensemble. Mr. Hattori is Artistic Director of the International Violin Festival “Genius of the Violin” in London. In April, he served as the official conductor for the finals of the Menuhin International Violin Competition. Mr. Hattori’s recordings include violin concertos of Bach and Mozart (as conductor and soloist) as well as a Kreisler album for BMG Classics and Brahms’ Violin Concerto for Fontec.