Born in Tokyo, bassist Shota Ito works across the full breadth of the repertoire — from early music to the contemporary avant-garde — with orchestral playing at the center of his activity.
He studied double bass with Shinji Nishiyama (Vice Principal Double Bass, NHK Symphony Orchestra) and Shu Yoshida (Principal Double Bass, NHK Symphony Orchestra), and chamber music with Hiroyuki Yamaguchi (former First Concertmaster, NHK Symphony Orchestra). He has taken part in masterclasses with Klaus Stoll (former Principal Double Bass, Berlin Philharmonic), Philipp Stubenrauch (Principal Double Bass, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra), and Edicson Ruiz (Berlin Philharmonic). After passing the audition, he was selected to join the Bayerisches Landesjugendorchester for its concert tour of Germany and Italy.
His video performance of John Cage's 4′33″, created for the Tokyo arts-support program "Art ni Yell wo! Tokyo Project," was warmly received. He performed Tetsuo Kawakami's Sonata for Double Bass and Piano at his debut recital in September 2022; his detailed musical analysis of the score prompted the composer to write (translated from the original Japanese):
For fifty years, this piece has been performed by many bassists around the world, yet I have never received musical analysis as meticulous and precise as Ito's. Almost all of his points are exactly right. I have the deepest respect for such keen insight.
— Tetsuo Kawakami
He served as an instructor for the Soma Children's Orchestra (El Sistema Japan) and took part in the activities of White Hands Chorus NIPPON (El Sistema Connect). He continues to teach students at schools, from elementary and middle school through university.