Kaori Ishikawa began studying viola da gamba under Toshinari Ohashi at the Faculty of Education, University of Yamanashi. After graduating she entered the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis to study viola da gamba with Jordi Savall, Paolo Pandolfo, and Masako Hirao; fiedel with Randall Cook, and ensemble with Christophe Coin, Hopkinson Smith and Conrad Steimann. She also had lessons by Wieland Kuijken and Lorenz Duftschmid. She has performed with many leading musicians including Enrico Gatti and William Dongois. She performs regularly as soloist and as highly regarded basso continuo player. In 2009, she released the CD “Humorous Toby” (viol music of Tobias Hume). She works as an instructor at the Musashino Academia Musicae.