Yui Ito

Meet the Musicians

I’m from Sapporo in northern Japan. I studied music at the university there and then moved to Norway in 2010 to continue my studies. After six years in Oslo, I went to Umeå to audition for the Norrlandsoperan Symphony Orchestra. I won the audition and joined the symphony orchestra in 2016. I enjoy living in Umeå, especially in the winter, because the climate reminds me of home in Sapporo.

I started playing the piano when I was 3 years old and continued until I was thirteen. By then, I really wanted to keep playing—but not the piano. My mom suggested the oboe, so I tried it and quickly realized that was what I wanted to pursue. My sister continued with the piano and is now a professional pianist in Japan.

There are many oboists I really admire, but my oboe teacher at the university in Japan is my role model! I started taking lessons from him when I was 18, and we’re still in touch. In fact, whenever I go home to Sapporo, we always get together and play.

Playing the oboe makes me proud. I feel privileged to be able to play and convey that special sound, which to me is the most beautiful of all. It’s the sound that allows you to touch people in a special way. I really love how playing music allows us to communicate. How, in a wordless way, we can still sense what others are feeling! That’s how I experience it—that connection with the audience is special.

For me, it’s always especially fun when baroque music is on the program. The oboe has a vast repertoire from that period. My fondest memory from my time at the Norrlands Opera is when I was the soloist in Strauss’s Oboe Concerto in 2019—it’s truly a wonderful piece. My dream piece, however, is Mahler’s Ninth Symphony. It requires a huge orchestra… but maybe it will happen one day!