Instrument/Department: Violin, Chamber Music Connection
Joined Hochstein faculty in: 2021 - 2023
Miya Saito-Beckman earned both her BM in Violin Performance and her MM in Violin Performance/Pedagogy from the University of Oregon, studying under Fritz Gearhart. During her time at UO, she graduated summa cum laude and was also awarded the “Graduate Performer Award.” As a graduate student, Saito-Beckman was teaching assistant in the pedagogy department teaching private lessons, Music Mind Games, fiddle, and group classes, while also coaching chamber ensembles and orchestral sectionals.
She has been a soloist with the Sunriver Music Festival Orchestra and a two-time soloist with the Central Oregon Symphony. Having studied with the Calder Quartet and the Ariana String Quartet, she has also taken master classes with James Ehnes and Rachel Barton Pine.
Miya is deeply passionate about traditional folk music and has studied with members of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble while attending the Global Musician Workshop. A four-time finalist at the National Fiddling Championship, she is also the four-time Oregon State Fiddle Champion. Her students have also won state and national titles in various competitions around the country.
Miya has performed alongside musicians Darol Anger, Abigail Washburn, Hanneke Cassel, Alex and Tatiana Hargreaves, Bruce Molsky, Roy “Futureman” Wooten, and Ali Shaheed Muhammad (A Tribe Called Quest). She has been on faculty at the Chamber Music Camp of Portland, University of Oregon Symphony Camp, Fiddlestar Youth Camp, Corvallis Youth Symphony Camp and the Northwest Suzuki Institute. Additionally, she serves as the secretary and sits on the Board of Directors for the Redfish Chamber Music Festival.
More About Miya Saito-Beckman
What Inspires Me: During my time off, I love to escape into nature and the wilderness. So much music and art has been created with inspiration from the natural world and I love to be reminded of its influence on us all.
Why the Arts Matter: Art allows us to gaze inward exploring our emotional depth, while simultaneously connecting with the others in ways that language cannot communicate. “Music begins where the possibilities of language end” – Jean Sibelius
When I’m not at Hochstein, you can find me: Watching a soccer game or hiking/camping/canoeing/skiing (anything outdoors) with my husband, Nicholas, and our Border Collie, Hudson.
Favorite place(s) to travel: Vienna, Austria (I studied abroad there and look for any excuse to go back)!
Favorite Movie: Amélie