Bruce J. Uchimura is professor of music at Western Michigan University, where he 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, Michigan State University, and the Preparatory and Adult Education Department of the Cleveland Institute of Music. He served as Principal Cellist of the Augusta (Georgia) Symphony and was the first person ever to be named Associate Conductor of that ensemble. He served as head of chamber music and member of the cello faculty at the legendary ENCORE School for Strings, under the directorship of David Cerone, from 1985-2007.

Uchimura’s leadership as a conductor garnered wide recognition for the Western Michigan University Symphony Orchestra, which was named “Best Classical University Symphony Orchestra” in DownBeat magazine’s 2005 national student music awards competition. In 2003, the Kalamazoo Gazette’s classical music reviewer picked the orchestra’s WMU centennial celebration concert as the most memorable performance of the year. The orchestra performed to much acclaim at the opening concert of the 2008 Michigan Music Conference in Grand Rapids, and has performed on music series around the state, such as the Community Arts Series in Hart, and the South Haven Performance Series.