Bruce Uchimura is a professor of music at Western Michigan University where he conducts the University Symphony Orchestra, teaches cello and coaches chamber ensembles. He joined the faculty in the fall of 1987, having taught previously at the Augusta College Center for Creative Arts, the Augusta Country Day School, Michigan State University and the Preparatory and Adult Education department of the Cleveland Institute of Music. He taught at the acclaimed ENCORE School for Strings, under the directorship of David Cerone, from 1985 to 2007.

Uchimura received a Bachelor of Music degree from The Juilliard School of Music where he studied cello with Leonard Rose and Channing Robbins and chamber music with Felix Galimir and the Juilliard String Quartet. He received a Master of Music degree with an Artists Diploma in Cello from the Cleveland Institute of Music where he studied cello with Alan Harris and chamber music with Koichiro Harada and Bernhard Goldschmidt. He has also studied at the Aspen Music Festival, the Meadowmount School of Music and the Banff School of Fine Arts and he has held an orchestral fellowship at the Spoleto Festival.

Uchimura has performed with the Charleston Symphony, the Honolulu Symphony, the Grand Rapids Symphony, the South Carolina Philharmonic, and the Macon (Ga.) Symphony. He served as Principal Cellist of the Augusta (Ga.) Symphony and was the first person ever to be named associate conductor of that ensemble. In that capacity he developed and created a highly successful Symphonic Pops and Youth Concert Series. He has also been Principal Cellist of the Greater Lansing Symphony and the Spoleto Festival Orchestra. His activities as a chamber musician include membership in the Augusta Symphony String Quartet and appearances in numerous recitals throughout the United States with the Seraphin String Quartet. As cellist of the Merling Trio for more than 20 years, he has performed in 37 states, Europe and Canada. The trio has appeared on prestigious series at venues such as Merkin Hall, the Cleveland Institute of Art, and the Columbus Museum of Art, to broad critical acclaim. The trio′s 2010-11 season included tours to Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Colorado, Utah, Ohio and Michigan. Their latest CD, postcards in e, featuring works of Dvorak and Shostakovich, was released by MSR Classics in 2009 to broad critical acclaim.

Uchimura has served on the Georgia Council for the Arts Advisory Panel for artist-initiated grants. In addition, he has adjudicated major string competitions throughout the United States including the Illinois Young Artist Competition, the American String Teachers Association Solo Competition, and the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition. His recent activities as a conductor include the Michigan Youth Arts Festival, the Vermont All State Orchestra, the Illinois All State Orchestra, and the Western States Honors Orchestra Festival in Colorado. Highly esteemed as a teacher, Uchimura was named 2010 Educator of the Year by the Michigan String Teachers Association. His students hold positions as educators and performers in orchestras around the world, as well as in chamber ensembles such as the La Catrina String Quartet and the Fry Street Quartet.

Website
Merling Trio website