One of the leading Japanese conductors of the younger generation, YASUO SHINOZAKI made his mark at the Second International Sibelius Con-ducting Competition in Helsinki in 2000. Awarded Second Prize, Shinozaki's performance of Sibelius' Symphony No. 2 with the Helsinki Philharmonic met with praise from orchestra members and the jury. As a result, he was immediately invited to conduct the Helsinki Philharmonic in a performance of Dvor?ák's Symphony No. 9, and the Turku Philharmonic with a program including Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4 and the Dutilleux Cello Concerto with Steven Isserlis as soloist.

As Assistant Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic during the 2003/04 season, Shinozaki conducted a subscription program during the inaugural season of Walt Disney Concert Hall, led regional performances, concerts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group, and education and community concerts, and two programs at the Hollywood Bowl during the 2004 summer season. He made his German conducting debut with the Nuremberg Symphony and returned to Japan to lead performances of the Tokyo Philharmonic and the Osaka Symphony Orchestra. In recent seasons Shinozaki has made his conducting debuts with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, and the Tapiola Sinfonietta.

Yasuo Shinozaki completed his conducting studies in 1998 at the Vienna Musikhochschule with Leopold Hager. He also studied with Myung-Whun Chung at Siena Chigiana, and with Seiji Ozawa and Bernard Haitink at Tanglewood. Shinozaki made his opera debut with Mozart's Marriage of Figaro in Tokyo in 1993 and has subsequently conducted at several opera houses in Japan, including the Tokyo Nikikai Opera and the Japan National Opera Theater.