Sean Takada

Violin II

A native of Mountain View, California, Sean Takada is studying under the tutelage of Professor Movses Pogossian at UCLA. A graduate of Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan, New York City, Sean lived in Manhattan for five years since 2014, where he was a student of Professor Li Lin at the Juilliard School Pre-College Division. Sean began the violin at the age of 5 and was accepted to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Preparatory Division four years later to study with Bettina Mussumelli. He was awarded First Prize in the Yehudi Menuhin – Helen Dowling Competition in 2012 and was also a winner of Pacific Musical Society later that year.

Throughout the 2013-14 season, he was the youngest member of the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra. Sean has won the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society Competition representing Stuyvesant High School in 2016, 2017, and 2019, and became the first concertmaster for the New York All-State Orchestra from his school. Sean also received an honorable mention award from YoungArts 2018-19. He has participated as a member of the National Youth Orchestra of The United States in 2019, performing at the BBC Proms and the Young Euro Classic in Berlin. He was also chosen as a fellow for the prestigious Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra at the Tanglewood Music Festival in Lenox, MA. He collaborated with artists such as Andris Nelsons, Thomas Adès, Emanuel Ax, and members of the Juilliard String Quartet. Aside from school and music, Sean grew up playing club soccer, and was the MVP for his high school varsity team during his senior year. He now plays for fun with his friends in the intramural league at UCLA.