Yukitada Onitsuka
Tuba
Principal Tuba at South Bend Symphony Orchestra
Yukitada Onitsuka, DMA is the principal tubist of the South Bend Symphony Orchestra and the
Youngstown Symphony Orchestra. He also frequently performs with the Dayton Philharmonic,
Columbus(OH) Symphony and Springfield Symphony(OH) Orchestras. In addition, he has played with
the Chattanooga Symphony, the Louisville Orchestra, Lexington Philharmonic, and Sendai
Philharmonic Orchestra in Japan. He has received the Orchestra Fellowship from the Aspen Music
Festival in 2012 and 2013 and performed with the Aspen Festival Orchestra as the principal tubist.
In addition to his orchestral career, Dr. Onitsuka been a faculty member of Youngstown State
University Dana School of Music since 2019. His duties at YSU include teaching private lessons and
directing the Tuba/Euphonium Ensemble. He also served as the acting director of YSU Wind Ensemble
during 2020-2021 academic year. In 2022, he received the Distinguished Professor Award from the
Youngstown State University.
Prior to the YSU, Dr. Onitsuka has taught at the Northern Kentucky University and the University of
Dayton. Yukitada has appeared as a guest soloist both in the United States and Japan. He has also
played solo and chamber recitals in both countries. He was the winner of the Harvey Phillips Big Brass
Bash XVIII solo competition in 2004 and finalist of ITEC Arnold Jacobs Orchestra Excerpts Competition
in 2010.
Yukitada holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Oregon, Master of Music, Artist Diploma and
Doctor of Musical Arts from The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. He has
studied with Timothy Northcut, Warren Deck, Yasuhito Sugiyama, Anthony Kniffen, Peter Link, Michael
Grose, and Floyd Cooley.