Riku Korenaga, 17, was born in New Haven, Connecticut. He is a junior at the Amity Regional High School. Riku began playing the violin at the age of 3, initially with the Suzuki method. In 2013, he became a student of Mr. Kikuei Ikeda and is currently taking lessons with Ms. Naoko Tanaka. He enjoys playing both solo pieces as well as chamber music, and he has spent two summers with Elm City ChamberFest in New Haven and last four summers at the Meadowmount School of Music. He is a member of the New York Youth Symphony, and for the 2019 through 2021 season, he also plays the violin for a piano trio under the coaching of Rebecca Patterson. He was a winner of the Hamden Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition in 2017 and received honorable mention at the American Chamber Orchestra Concerto Competition in 2019. He was the first prize winner of the 2019 Mitchell Family Fund Wallingford Symphony Orchestra String Concerto Competition and played the Dvorak violin concerto with the Orchestra for their children’s concerts. Riku also loves the piano, the instrument he started to play at the age of 6, and is currently a student of Joel Wizansky. During his free time Riku enjoys creating lofi beats and songs on FL Studio.
