New England Conservatory Announces New Scholarship for String Students

The Masuko Ushioda Dean’s Scholarship Fund was created with the generous gifts from the Japanese violinist's family

The New England Conservatory (NEC), in Boston, Massachusetts, has announced the creation of the Masuko Ushioda Dean’s Scholarship Fund.

The scholarship fund will support promising string students in honor of the Japanese violinist Masuko Ushioda.

The fun was established with generous gifts from Masuko Ushioda’s husband, cellist Laurence Lesser, and their children Erika Lesser and Adam Lesser, along with their families.

Ushioda and Lesser joined NEC’s faculty in 1974, and as a faculty member for more than 39 years, Masuko taught 140 students at NEC.

"Her dedication to her art touched the lives of all who knew her. Her approach to teaching, encouraging self-discovery and individual artistry, was transformative — showing music’s incredible power and expressive capabilities," wrote NEC.

“Masuko’s work as an educator was inseparable from her extraordinary life as a performer," Lesser said. "Her playing evoked a wealth of adjectives — warm, personal, direct, and profoundly touching — all underpinned by unparalleled instrumental mastery. She was honest, vibrant, and courageous, always striving to share her deep love for the music that inspired her.

"Our children, Erika and Adam, join me in hoping that the Masuko Ushioda Dean’s Scholarship will empower future generations of passionate young artists to embrace the same unwavering dedication to music that defined Masuko’s remarkable life,” he added.

Ushioda performed with major international orchestras and appeared at the Marlboro and Spoleto festivals. She was the first prize winner of the 1956 Mainichi Competition in Tokyo and second prize winner at the Tchaikovsky Competition in 1966. She made recordings for Angel, Toshiba, and Melodiya. A graduate of the Toho Gakuen School of Music, she also studied with Joseph Szigeti in Switzerland, Mikail Weiman at the Leningrad Conservatory, and Anna Ono in Japan.

To learn more about the fund, click here.