Toshiyuki Shimada

is a Japanese-born American orchestral conductor. He is Music Director of both the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra in New London, CT; the Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes in Corning, NY; and the New Britain Symphony Orchestra. He had been Music Director of the Yale Symphony Orchestra of Yale University from 2005 to 2019, and currently he is Director of Orchestral Activity at the Connecticut College. He is also Music Director Laureate of the Portland Symphony Orchestra, in Portland, Maine, of which he was Music Director from 1986 to 2006.

Recording activities Shimada is very active in the recording industry, namely with the Naxos, the complete Paul Hindemith Piano Concerti with Idil Biret and Yale Symphony Orchestra, and the Vienna Modern Masters label, conducting the Moravian Philharmonic, and currently he has fourteen Compact Discs. The newest CD titled "Toshiyuki Shimada Conducts" has been issued in April, 2007. He also records for the Capstone Records and the Albany Records labels. His recording of Renaissance, Baroque and Classical works with the Prague Chamber Orchestra and Prague Chamber Singers will soon to be released by the Trinity Music Partners, LLC, in the Vatican Music Library Collection label.

Education Shimada has studied with many conductors, including Leonard Bernstein, Herbert von Karajan, Herbert Blomstedt, Hans Swarovsky, Michael Tilson Thomas, Sergiu Commisiona and David Whitwell.

He was born in Tokyo and moved to the United States when he was 15. He has attended the University of Southern California, California State University, Northridge, and the University of Vienna for Music and Performing Art. He has also studied the clarinet with Dominick Fera in California and Rudolf Jettel in Vienna. He was selected as a fellow conductor for the Herbert Blomsted International Conducting Institute, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute.

Teaching positions In the educational field, he has held a position of Associate Professor of Conducting in both the Yale School of Music and Department of Music in Yale University from 2005 to 2019. In the past, he has taught at the University of Southern Maine and Rice University, and was Artist Faculty of the Texas Institute of the Aesthetic Study.