The "Back to BACH" Project

Joshua Cai is a junior at Mount Sinai High School in Long Island, NY. Born in Akō, Japan to Chinese immigrants, Joshua spent his early childhood years in Hsinchu, Taiwan before relocating to Long Island at the age of six, where he began his music journey under his mother’s guidance on the piano and violin. He continued his violin study with Naoko Tanaka from 2012, and later found his passion in viola performance under Toby Appel of the Juilliard School. He was admitted to the Juilliard Pre-College Division in 2015, continuing his viola study with Toby Appel. His first competition appearance at the 2016 International Virtuoso Competition earned him a Gold Award. In the same year, he became an inaugural member of the National Youth Orchestra 2 (NYO2) and returned a second time, as the principal violist, in the summer of 2017, which brought him in contact with young and talented musicians from all over the country who share the same passion in music and performances alongside with the NYO-USA and the Philadelphia Orchestra in Philadelphia and at Carnegie Hall led by maestro Giancarlo Guerrero. Joshua attended the Curtis Summerfest in 2016 and was selected to play at the masterclass of Roberto Diaz. He participated in masterclasses and lessons with Kerri Ryan, Jonathan Vinocour, Sharon Wei, and Carla Maria Rodrigues, and others.   In 2017, Joshua won a top prize at the International Grande Music Competition and a solo performance at the Kaufman Center’s Merkin Concert Hall in New York City.