Hideaki Kotera was born in Kyoto, Japan on the 15th of May 1992. At the age of 10, he started learning to play the violin under the guidance of his teacher Ikuko Tajima. In 2014, he entered the “Antonio Stradivari” International Violin Making School in Cremona. During his school time, he studied Lutherie guided by Vanna Zambelli and Massimo Negroni, and Instrument set up and Repair under Dario Occhipinti and Alessandro Voltini. In 2015, he began his professional apprenticeship in the workshop of Maestro Alessandro Menta, becoming his student and refining his style and technique in the construction of bowed instruments. In 2019, he graduated from the “Antonio Stradivari” Violin Making School of Cremona and he began playing violin in the Parma Conservatory Orchestra, while continuing to build violins, violas, and cellos, listening to practical feedback on acoustic performance. In 2022 he opened his own activity within Alessandro Menta’s workshop, and became a professional member of A.L.I. He has participated in various international competitions. In 2021, he was awarded the Gold Medal for a cello at the 12th ANLAI International Violin Making Competition in Pisogne, Italy. Then again in 2022, he received the Bronze Medal for a viola at the 13th edition of the same competition.
Listen to an audio sample
