Michael Yokas, a member of the New Century Chamber Orchestra since 2003, moved to Berlin in the summer of 2004. In addition to travelling back and forth to the Bay Area for New Century several times a year, he is steadily building a mostly freelance career in Germany. His most recent engagement was as guest concertmaster in the Berliner Symphoniker's production of Mozart´s The Magic Flute, performed underground in a new U-Bahn subway station. Michael was hired by the Brandenburger Symphoniker, just outside of Berlin, for their 2008-2009 Season.

Also, in addition to teaching a small private studio, he has performed regularly with the Deutsches Kammer Orchester and the Neues Kammer Orchester Potsdam. In 2007-2008 he performed the solo part of Vivaldi´s Four Seasons concerti with a small chamber orchestra for the Atze Musik Theater in their production of Thomas Sutter´s The Four Seasons.

Formerly a resident of San Francisco, Michael was a member of the Santa Rosa Symphony, and played with the Oakland and Berkeley Symphonies, as well as with the San Francisco Symphony. He was a member of the Pacific Piano Trio and the Chamberlain String Quartet, and holds degrees from the New England Conservatory of Music (BM, 1996) and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (MM, 1997), where he studied with Camilla Wicks. Michael and his partner Matthias Erbe, also an active violinist as well as a respected teacher in Berlin, return to the Bay Area each summer to renew friendships and maintain connections with the west coast music scene.

What is your hometown?

Peabody, MA 

How long have you performed with New Century?

Since 2001

What do you love about New Century?

I love everyone's joyful spirit, engagement, and commitment 

What is your favorite New Century memory?

So many: concert in Herbst Theater with Simon Rattle playing Schönberg's Verklärte Nacht; recording Piazzolla's Four Seasons at Skywalks with Nadja Salerno Sonnenberg; USA tour with Strauss' Metamorphosen.

How did you start learning your instrument, or who inspired you to begin?

In second grade there was a demonstration of all the string instruments in school. I went home all excited and told my mom I wanted to learn the violin. She was very surprised as her dad(who passed away when I was two years old)had played the violin in a greek band. So she went down to the cellar in the house where she grew up, found my grandfather's violin- it needed a bit of fixing up- brought it to a violin shop- and that's the violin I played on through high school. 

What do you like to do when you're not being a musician? What are your hobbies?

Swimming, hiking, learning languages, going to art exhibitions, trying new restaurants

What's your favorite Bay Area place (restaurant, park, etc.)?

Zuni Cafe in SF for their amazing chicken (well actually more for the bread stuffing). Driving down highway 1 to Gray Whale Cove Beach.