"It is with great admiration for Mr. Suzuki that we announce his departure," said president and CEO Simon Crookall. "His contributions to the orchestra have been enormous—as a leader for nearly 30 years—and I must also mention his dedication to bringing music into the community, not only as an orchestral musician, but as a recitalist, a chamber musician, and as a recording artist. The city of Indianapolis has greatly benefited from his presence."

Born in Toyko, Suzuki studied at the Curtis Insitute with Efram Zimbalist. He was a prizewinner at the Tchaikovsky, Montreal, and Queen Elisabeth competitions in the 1960s. From 1963-77, he served as concertmaster of the Qu_b_c Symphony.

Suzuki and his wife, pianist Zeyda Ruga Suzuki, have run the chamber series Suzuki & Friends in Indianapolis since 1980.

According to the Indianapolis Star, Suzuki's departure had been rumored for months, but the violinist said as recently as July 5 that there was "no change" in his status. In an interview with the paper yesterday, he said that he and the orchestra had come to an agreement on his retirement benefits, suggesting that negotiations over the benefits accounted for the unusual timing of the announcement.