Shohei Uwamori is a cellist. He pursued his studies in Germany after placing first at the Music Competition of Japan. He now continues his many activities as a soloist as well as a guest principal cellist with major orchestras. He is a member of Kansai String Quartet, including Nana Hayashi, Ayumi Tamura, Koichi Komine.
Michiaki Ueno was born in Paraguay and started to learn the cello at age of 5. He spent his childhood in Barcelona, Spain, where he either won or received prizes in numerous competitions. In 2009, at age of 13, he became the first Japanese person to win the International Tchaikovsky Competition for young musicians. The following year, he won 1st prize at the 6th Romanian International Music Competition, the Embassy of Romania Special Jury Award, and the Romanian Radio Culture Department award. He won 1st prize in the cello division at the 21st International Johannes Brahms Competition in 2014.
He has performed with both national and international orchestras, including the New Japan Philharmonic, the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, and the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia. He has also appeared on programs including TV Asahi's "Untitled Concert," NHK-BS's "Classic Club," and NHK FM's “Recital NOVA.” He is supported by the Yellow Angel Foundation and the Rohm Music Foundation, is an Ezoe Memorial Foundation scholarship student, and the recipient of a Nippon Violin Special Instrument Loan. He received the 1st Foundation for Youth Award, as well as the 6th Iwatani Tokiko Encouragement Award, both from the Iwatani Tokiko Foundation. He is currently a soloist and special diploma full-scholarship student at the Toho Gakuen College Music Department.
He is a scholar at the Toho Gakuen College Music Department under Hakuro Mori, while studying at Robert Schumann Hochschule Düsseldorf with Pieter Wispelwey.
The Tokyo based Hungarian clarinetist István Kohan is one of the most exciting wind instrumental soloist of today.
Kohán launched his career when he won 1st prize and audience prize at the 11th Tokyo Music Competition, Japan in 2013. In 2015 he won 1st prize and audience prize at Japan’s most prestigious music contest the 84th Japanese Music Competition. The same year he won 1st prize and audience prize at Japan Woodwind Competition, 1st prize and Grand Prix at Akiyoshidai Music competition. He won 24 prizes at 15 competitions. In 2013 he won the Junior Prima Award (Music Division). The "The Clarinet" magazine wrote about him as “The new hero of the clarinet world”.
In 2017 got the Aoyama Music Award.
In addition to his many concerts and activities he is teaching as a lecturer at Tokyo College of Music and hi is composing as well. On his concerts he plays his own compositions and arrangements and also improvises. Kohán is keenly expands the existing clarinet repertoire by writing new pieces what usually inspired by his musical roots. His father is an outstanding klezmer musician so this genre is like a native language for him. The characteristic and world famous Hungarian folk music is also a strongly inspirational source for him.
Kohán is a Yamaha Artist. This collaboration with the Japanese company let him to reach higher levels in his musicality with the best quality of instruments.
He has been invited to music festivals as Tokyo Spring Festival, KaposFest, La Folle Journée au Japon, Budapest Spring Festival.
He performed with orchestras in Japan as the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, the Kioi Sinfonietta with conductors as Antonio Mendez, Kazuki Sawa, Toshiaki Umeda, Masahiko Enkoji, Shigeo Genda.
KentoTakasugi graduated from Chuo University School of Commerce, then graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts and Music Department. He began learning electric bass at the age of 14 and started playing contrabass at the mandolin club the following year.
He has been performed at Tokyo Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, Yomiuri Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Japan Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Metropolitan Philharmonia, Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra Such as Sapporo Symphony Orchestra, Sendai Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, Gunma Symphony Orchestra etc
In 2006 he passed the audition held all over the world at the Pacific Music Festival and joined the PMF. After that, he participated in the Miyazaki International Music Festival, La Folle June Au Japon, Takefu International Music Festival, Tokyo Tango Festival, Tokyo Spring Music Festival, Ekoda Music Festival, Okayama International Music Festival etc.
Ryo Mikami leads career as an international soloist and chamber musician.
After performing in Europe as a member of Camerata Lysy, he returned to Japan to serve as a concertmaster of Sapporo Symphony Orchestra (2007-2011), including European tour 2011 in Munich, Dusseldorf, Rome, and London. Also, during this time he was a member of New Kitara Hall Quartet (2009 to 2011). In 2011, he made Tokyo his home base, and since, has been invited as a guest concertmaster of more than 10 orchestras such as Tokyo City Philharmonic, Kyoto Symphony, Osaka Philharmonic, Tokyo Mozart Players. He is an invited member of Saito Kinen Orchestra, voted the world's 19th greatest orchestra by a panel of critics assembled by Gramophone Magazine (2008), and in 2011, performed twice at the Carnegie Hall with Seiji Ozawa. He works with Maestro Ozawa in Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival, and has been invited by Maestro to the Mito chamber orchestra since 2016.
As a soloist, Ryo was featured with Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, Tokyo City Philharmonic, and Sapporo and Tokyo symphony orchestras. Ryo released numerous albums: his ‘Tzigane' in 2008 was named as an “overwhelming debut CD” in The Mainichi Japan, the French Sonata Album (2013) reviewed by "Music contemporary" focused on “particularly impressive elegant serenity and dynamics, showing the strength of the core,” Satie-sfaction (2016), and the new album with Violoncello to be released this year.
Ryo is a 1st violinist of the Virtus Quartet since its founding in 2008, receiving Vienna Philharmonic and Suntory Music Aid Award in 2013. In upcoming season, he will lead quartet performing all Beethoven quartets in public for the 2nd time. A prize winner of Stradivarius Competition (2005), Britten International Competition (2004), and the Music Competition of Japan (1998), he serves as a member of the juries of the Music Competition of Japan, the most prestigious competition in the country.
He studied with Alberto Lysy (International Menuhin Music Academy 2006-2007), Pierre Amoyal (Conservatoire de Lausanne 2004-2007), Eduard Schmieder (Meadows School of the Arts, Southern Methodist University 2001-2003), Seiji Kageyama (Tokyo University of the Arts 1995-1999). Since 2016 he has been playing on Nicolo Amati made in 1628.
Kaneko Ami (Oboe) was born in 1990 in Chiba Prefecture. In 2012, she graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts and Music, majoring in percussion instrument. She got Anke Award, Acanthus Music Award, and Mitsubishi Jisho Award. She ranked 3rd in the 79th Japan Music Competition in Oboe section; 1st place in the 28th Nippon-Dong Percussion Competition; 2nd place at 10th International Oboe Competition Karuizawa.
He studied oboe with Mr. Wakui, Yoshiaki Obata and Akiko Ikeda. Currently, is a leading oboe player of the Sapporo Symphony Orchestra, part-time lecturer at the Hokkaido University of Education.
Igor Levit is the 2018 Gilmore Artist and Royal Philharmonic Society’s “Instrumentalist of the Year” 2018.
In October 2018 Sony Classical released Igor Levit’s highly anticipated fourth album for the label: “Life” – featuring works by Bach, Busoni, Bill Evans. Liszt, Wagner, Rzewski and Schumann. Igor Levit is touring the program this season, amongst others at New York’s Carnegie Hall, at San Francisco Performances, the Lucerne Piano Festival, Lisbon’s Gulbenkian Foundation and at the Berlin Philharmonie. Further recital appearances see him perform in Vienna, Hamburg, Munich, Antwerp, Liège and Dresden. Spring 2019 will mark his Paris and Tokyo recital debuts followed by three recital evenings at Wigmore Hall.
After his debuts with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Ravinia Festival and the Vienna Philharmonic at the Salzburg Festival in summer 2018, orchestral debuts in the 2018-19 include appearances with the Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre National de France, Filarmonica della Scala and Leipzig’s Gewandhausorchester. He returns to the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Pittsburgh Symphony and joins the Vienna Philharmonic on tour which also comprises his highly anticipated New York orchestral debut at Carnegie Hall in March 2019.
Highlights of past seasons included debuts with the Royal Concertgebouw Orkest, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Berliner Philharmoniker, Staatskapelle Dresden, Cleveland Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra as well as the 2017 Opening Night of the prestigious BBC Proms alongside the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Edward Gardner and a tour of Asia with the Bavarian State Orchestra conducted by Kirill Petrenko.
An exclusive recording artist for Sony Classical, Igor Levit’s debut disc of the five last Beethoven Sonatas won the BBC Music Magazine Newcomer of the Year 2014 Award and the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Young Artist Award 2014. In October 2015, Sony Classical released Igor Levit’s third solo album in cooperation with the Festival Heidelberger Frühling featuring Bach’s Goldberg Variations, Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations and Rzewski’s The People United Will Never Be Defeated!, which has been awarded the “Recording of the Year” and “Instrumental Award” at the 2016 Gramophone Classical Music Awards.
Chika Edanami began playing violin at the age of four. She graduated from Toho Gakuen Music High School and Toho Gakuen College Music Department (violin).
In 1998, she won 1st prize in the junior high school section of the 52nd Student Music Concours of Japan and in 2001 won the 3rd prize in the violin section of the 10th Japan Mozart Music Competition. In 2003, she won 1st prize and the sonata prize at the 24thMichelangelo Abbado International Violin Competition and also performed at the award concert in Milan.
In 2004, she performed in Inoue Michiyoshi’s Noborizaka Concert as a soloist and also with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra conducted by Naoto Otomo. In April 2006, she became a member of the violin section of the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra. Since leaving the orchestra, she has been active as a soloist and chamber musician. She was also invited by the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra as a guest concertmaster.
In addition to performances, she released her first solo album “Après un rêve” in May 2006 and “naked,” her second album, in June 2013. In July 2013, she played with the Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra and the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra.
She previously studied under Kazuo Okumura and Akiko Tatsumi. She works as a part-time instructor at the Music School for Children affiliated with the Toho Gakuen College Music Department.
Born in Nagoya in 1975, Ms. Machiko Shimada graduated from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music with the highest achievement in the class in 1998 and received Ataka prize.
After her study with Prof. Chikashi Tanaka, Shimada went on her study with Prof. Marco Rizzi at the Hochschule fur Musik Detmold in Germany. Since 1999 she has studied in Europe for 6 years and taken master class by Isaac Stern, Dorothy Delay, Reiner Kussmaul, Herman Krebbers, Zakhar Bron and Michael Frischenschlager during that time. In 2005, Ms. Shimada graduated from Hochschule fur Musik Detmold with the highest record of Diplom “Konzert Examen”.
Ms. Shimada was awarded the 1st prize of all Japan student national music competition, the special prize from Japan Federation of Musicians, the 1st prize of Japan Mozart competition, the 2nd prize of Japan national music competition, the special prize of 45th International Violin competition“Premio N. Paganini”, the 1st prize of DAAD prize competition in Germany, Diploma from The Queen Elisabeth International music competition, 5th prize of the International J. S. Bach Competition Violin/Baroqueviolin.
In 2006, Ms. Shimada received the Aichi Prefectural Arts Encouragement Prize from the government of Aichi prefecture and In 2009, Received the Nagoya city Arts Prize from the government of Nagoya city in Japan.
She participated in the Aspen music Festival with scholarship. At the Saito Kinen Festival directed by Seiji Ozawa, she performed as a soloist Bach and Mozart concerti. Since 1998, she has been invited to the Saito Kinen Festival for many projects and recording sessions every summer.
In 2000 Ms. Shimada participated in the concert tour of “East West Baroque Academy” directed by Walter von Hauwe in Holland and Japan and performed as a soloist with a baroque instrument in the tour. In 2004 and 2005, Ms. Shimada made a concert tour in Chile as a member of Detmold Piano Quartet.
As a popular artist from Nagoya, Ms. Shimada plays a main role in a chamber music project at Shirakawa Hall in Nagoya since 2004 and is responsible for programming for concerts and recordings.
Ms. Shimada has performed as a soloist with many orchestras including the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra, Nagoya Philharmonic, Central Aichi Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Academy Sinfonia(U.K.), Detmold Academy Orchestra and Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie(Belgium), Neues Bachisches Collegium Musicum(Leipzig).
She has also given solo recitals and chamber music recitals in Munster and Detmold (title “Meister von Morgen”), Berlin, Tervuren(Belgium) and throughout Japan. She devotes her time in many different chamber music projects. Till now she has collaborated with artists such as Menahem Pressler, Nobuko Imai, Frans Helmerson, Michaela Martin, Friedrich W. Schnurr, Wolfgang Tomboeck.
After studying in Toho Sr. High School, OKADA Masaru went to Austria to study at Salzburg Mozarteum, and also Hochschule der Künste in Berlin from '95. He has been awarded 1st prize at A.Schnabel Competition in '97and at 5th F. Liszt Int'l Piano Competition in '99. He held recitals in Europe and U.S.A. He has performed successfully with Hungarian State Symphony Orchestra under Z. Kocsis. In '01, he was given a Jury Discretionary Award at 11th Van Cliburn Int'l Piano Competition. He also received many awards in Japan.
Richard Egarr is a British conductor and keyboard player, performing on the harpsichord, fortepiano, organ and modern piano. He is the director of the period instrument orchestra the Academy of Ancient Music. He received his early musical training as a choirboy at York Minster and at Chetham's School of Music in Manchester. Later he was an organ scholar at Clare College, Cambridge and studied at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama. Study with Gustav Leonhardt further inspired his work in the field of historically informed performance.
Egarr has worked with all types of keyboards and performed repertoire ranging from fifteenth-century organ intabulations to Dussek and Chopin on early pianos, to Berg and Maxwell Davies on modern piano.
In 2006 he was appointed to succeed Christopher Hogwood as Music Director of the Academy of Ancient Music with effect from the start of the 2006–07 season (Hogwood assuming the title of Emeritus Director). For many years he was director of the Amsterdam-based Academy of the Begijnhof. A regular guest director with such other ensembles as Handel and Haydn Society and Tafelmusik, he plays with various non-period orchestras ranging from the Scottish, Swedish and Australian chamber orchestras to the Rotterdam Philharmonic, Berlin Konzerthausorchester, and Dallas Symphony Orchestra. In the operatic field, he has planned to conduct Mozart's La finta giardiniera with the Academy of Ancient Music at the Barbican Centre and the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, and Rossini's Il signor Bruschino with the Netherlands Opera Academy.
He made his Glyndebourne debut in 2007 conducting a staged version of Bach's St Matthew Passion. As a chamber musician, according to Gramophone, he formed an "unequalled duo for violin and keyboard" with violinist Andrew Manze.
Shigeki Miyamatsu is a conductor in Japan. He graduates from the Tokyo National University of the Arts. He studied conducting with Mr. Kazuo Yamada and Masako Endo.
In 1989, he debuted with commanding the New Japan Symphony Orchestra. In 1992, he had an opera debut with the performance "Don Giovanni". Since then, he has directed numerous times, including the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra, Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra, Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra, Gunma Symphony Orchestra, Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra, Osaka Century Symphony Orchestra and Chubu Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition, he also conducted numerous opera performances throughout the country, including the New National Theater and the Bikai-kai.
Abe Maro graduated from National Music University and Toho Gakuen University. He got first prize at the 71st Japan Orchestra Strings Competition and Japan Music Competition. He has performed as a soloist with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, New Orchestra Chiba, etc. He also continues to perform including the appearance on NHK-FM broadcast.
After being a member of Togaku Gakuen University members, he became a member of Sight Ukinen Orchestra since 2000 and participated in tours and opera projects in the US and Europe. Currently he is a part-time lecturer at National Music University.
He studied Horn with Masayuki Yasuhara, Hiroshi Yamagishi, Masayuki Sakurai and Nobuyuki Mizuno.
Born in Sendai, Japan, Yuya Tsuda has won numerous prizes and awards, and performs regularly as both soloist and chamber musician throughout Japan and Germany. Beside his concerts, he teaches at the Tokyo University of the Arts since 2015.
Yuya Tsuda entered the Tokyo University of the Arts in 2001, and won 3rd prize at The Music Competition of Japan in the same year. Graduating from the Tokyo University of the Arts with top honors, he received many prestigious Awards such as the Ataka Award, Acanthus Award, and the Kreutzer Award. He went on to study at the Berlin University of the Arts, where he gained Diploma and Konzertexamen.
He has won many international prizes including 1st prize, the audience prize, and the French Ambassador to Japan Prize at the Sendai International Music Competition in 2007, and Special Prize for the interpretation of commissioned work at the ARD Wettbewerb München in 2011.
Yuya Tsuda founded the piano trio "Accord" together with violinist Kei Shirai and cellist Hiroki Kadowaki and they perform actively throughout Japan. As a chamber musician, he has performed with many renowed musicians such as Yuzuko Horigome, Roger Chase, Charles Neidich, Gerard Poulet, Jens Peter Maintz. The Orchestras he has performed with include Berliner Symphoniker, Deutsches Kammerorchester, Münchener Kammerorchester, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra, Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra and Hiroshima Symphonic Orchestra.
His teachers include Pascal Devoyon, Gabriel Tacchino, Miyoko Goldberg Yamane, Yu Kakuno, and Ruriko Shibuya.
Born in Tokyo in 1964, Yasushi Toyoshima studied under Toshiya Eto and Angela Eto at the Toho Gakuen School of Music. While studying at Toho Gakuen, he began performing as a soloist on both the violin and viola, as well as performing chamber music and as a concertmaster.
In 1986 he graduated was appointed principal concertmaster for the New Japan Philharmonic at the tender age of twenty-two.
He also served as the concertmaster for the Saito Kinen Orchestra, the Japan Virtuoso Orchestra, and others after that and earned the unwavering trust of many conductors and orchestras. From 1997 in response to their strong request, he has served as concertmaster at both the Kyushu Symphony Orchestra and the New Japan Philharmonic, which has gained him inordinate attention.
He made his recital debut as a soloist at Suntory Hall in 1988, and after that has performed together with the many Japanese and international orchestras including the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Bashmet & the Moscow Soloists, the London Mozart Orchestra. Also, be 1991, 1992 and 1994 he planned and performed self-produced concerts, showing his many talents.
As a chamber performer, he brought together the Halley String Quartet, and until 2000 was also a member of the resident quartet of the Casals Hall. Then, he began to actively participate in many chamber music projects with groups including the Mito Quartet, the Suntory Festival Soloists, the Virtuoso Ensemble Parthenon, the Ishihara Lyric Ensemble, Kamakura Solisten, JAYCMS, and the Yamagata Quartet. Also, he worked with some of the world’s top artists including Isaac Stern, Yo-Yo Ma, Martha Argerich, Pichas Zukerman, Mischa Maisky and Richard Stoltzman. Every year he is invited to music festivals in Japan and around the world including in Okinawa, Miyazaki, Kurashiki, Kita-Kyushu, Ogaki, Kirishima, Yatsugatake, Nagano Aspen, not to mention in 1995 and 1996 he performed as the only Japanese artist to be invited to the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival.
In March 2000 he held a recital at the Kioi Hall, and from October of that year until October of 2001 he performed a 3 concert series of Beethoven Sonata Recitals with pianist Takahiro Sonoda. In 2003 in “An Evening of Concertos with Yasushi Toyoshima” with the New Japan Phil he performed the violin concertos of Sphor, Vieuztemps, and Viotti in one evening. In 2004 he made his debut as conductor. He continues to develop his activities aggressively.
Currently, he is still serving as the concertmaster of both the Kyushu Symphony Orchestra and the New Japan Philharmonic. Since 2005, he has also served as the concertmaster of the Hyogo Performing Arts Center Orchestra. In 2006 he celebrated the 20th anniversary of his debut with a Kyushu tour of the Mozart Violin Concerto Zyklus and in October performed the Brahms Horn Trio MILOSBOK arrangement “Concerto for Horn and Violin”.
He has released 3 solo albums through Pony Canon and his chamber album has received great reviews and has sold well worldwide.
Toyoshima was the recipient of the Muramatsu Prize and the first Idemitsu Prize in 1991 and the Cultural and Education Ministry's New Artist of the Year Award in 1992. He also lectures at Toho Gakuin University and Graduate School. He is the Music Director of the Nagasaki Chamber Music Festival. He plays a 1719 Antonio Stradivarius.
The Japanese harpsichordist, Shinichiro Nakano, graduated from the department of musical performance of Toho Gakuen University in Tokyo (majoring in Baroque instruments). He challenged the unique trial of changing the way of tuning method according to the different period, style and area of each one of musical pieces that he played at the Four-Night-Serial Recital in 1990. It leads him to win in 1991 the Osaka Culture Golden Award and many other brilliant prizes.
In July 1991, Shin-ichiro Nakano performed at the Couperin cycle of the Versailles Baroque Festival in France, where he was chosen as one of the best 9 cembalists in the world together with the top European cembalists such as Kenneth Gilbert and Bob van Asperen. In 1991 he also appeared I London on the stage as a soloist and a duo-player with Simon Standage (violin) and his performance was broadcasted with its recording. In June 1992, he was invited to perform at Berkeley Baroque Music Festival in California, USA as the youngest soloist. In 1993, he made his Wigmore Hall debut in London and was exactly appraised: He has a rare personality for a Japanese player. In 1994 in Tokyo, he gave Three-Night-Serial Recital for the Harpsichord Story, and his rich musical expression and the ability of management of that program were highly evaluated.
Thereafter Shin-ichiro Nakano has been performing very actively at major halls all over Japan giving solo concerts, playing in ensembles, and also collaborating with many distinguished foreign artists. These performances have establishing his constant reputation to be the representing Japanese harpsichord player. His repertory ranges almost all cembalo music of the Baroque era, and when he gives his solo recitals he performs in a very lofty, elegant style with the presence of a "Superstar" harpsicordist. At present, he is the solo harpsicordist of Telemann Institute Japan and director of Collegium Musicum Telemann.
Shin-ichiro Nakano has received numerous awards, including the Osaka Culture Festival Gold Award (1991), the Muramatsu Award (1992), the Kansai Artists Award - Silver Award (1992), the National Arts Festival New Artist Award (1996), and the National Arts Festival Grand Prize (2004). In many Japanese leading newspapers, he has been getting good reviews from distinguished music critics such as: His playing is very flexible and free with exquisite improvisation./When he plays, the time of "moments musical" passes quite naturally. The young musician himself doesn't seem to care so much but he surely is an accomplished harpsicordist whom Japan is really proud of.
Yoshiko Kawamoto (Kawamoto Yoshiko, July 20, 1966 -) is a Japanese violist.
Yoshiko Kawamoto is the winner of the highest prize (2nd prize without 1st prize winner) at the renowned Geneva Competition in 1992. She was also awarded Muramatsu Award in 1996 and the Fresh Artists Prize at the 7th Nippon Steel Music Prized in 1997. After serving as the principal player at the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Kawamoto is now active both in solo and chamber music activities. She is a member of the Kyoto Alti String Quartet and AOI residence quartet.
Kawamoto started her violin lessons at the age of 3. She studied at the Toho Gakuen School of Music and started playing at concerts while in the school. She won the 1st prize at the 6th Tokyo International Competition (chamber music division) with Y quartet. She was then invited to the Tanglewood Music Festival in 1989 and 1990.
She was awarded Grace B. Jackson Prize.
Kawamoto changed her instrument to viola when she joined the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra in 1991. She served as the principal viola player from 1999 until she left the orchestra in 2002.
She has participated in numerous renowned music festivals such as Marlboro (U.S.A.), Davos (Switzerland), Tokyo Summer Festival, and Kirishima. She has been regularly invited to Saito Kinen Orchestra, Ozawa Ongaku Juku, Mito Chamber Orchestra, and Marth Argerich Festival. Her performances with noted soloists such as Martha Argerich and Yuri Bashmet were highly acclaimed.
Kawamoto is also active as soloist and performed recitals at Nippon Steel Concert in November 1995 and at the 59th Promising Artists Series. Her recital series named “Haseko Classic Special / Yoshiko Kawamoto, the violist” which was held at Casals Hall, Tokyo for a year received acclaim both from public and critics. Kawamoto has performed as soloist under the baton of noted conductors such as Gary Bertini, Jean Fournet, and Peter Maag.
She was also invited to play at “Seven Stars Gala Concert” which was organized and performed by Mo. Myung-Whun Chung (conductor and pianist), and performed chamber concerts with the Maestro both in Korea and Japan. Her performance in July 2003 was reviewed in Asahi Newspaper, “Amazing flexibility. True viola virtuoso who can support other parts playing together with them”.
Two CDs have been released from Maister Music label (“Viola Baroque Music / MM-1028”with Shinichiro Nakano (cembalo) and “J.S. Bach: Sonata for Viola da gamba and violoncello / MM-1075”).
She is a lecturer at the string department of the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music.
Yuki Koyama started to play the flute when he was six years old, his teacher was Megumi Horii.
1999 he won the 1st prize at the 53rd Student Music Competition of Japan Junior High School Division. 2002 he won the 1st prize at the 56rd Student Music Competition of Japan High School Division and the 1st prize at the 7th Biwako International Flute Competition High School Division. 2004 he won the 1st prize, Iwatani Award (Audience Award), Kato Award and Yoshida Award at the 73rd Music Competition of Japan. 2005 he won the 1st prize at the 6th Kobe International Flute Competition.
While he is busy giving recitals in various parts of Japan, he repeatedly works with orchestras such as the NHK Symphony Orchestra, New Japan Philharmonic, Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Gunma Symphony Orchestra, Osaka Symphony Orchestra, Kobe City Chamber Orchestra and others.
Kuniko Kato studied under the legendary marimba player Keiko Abe at Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo, Japan and advanced her studies under Robert Van Sice at Rotterdam Conservatorium in the Netherlands. She graduated with the highest honour (summa cum laude) as the first percussionist in the institution’s history.
Her astonishing virtuosity, exquisite musical insight and expressive yet elegant performance style continues to attract not only audiences, but established conductors and composers too. She is renowned for her flawless technique when playing both keyboard and percussion instruments, which blends seamlessly with her profound musical intelligence.
After graduation she was based in Europe for over ten years, winning major awards including the Kranichsteiner Musikpreis from the Internationales Musikinstitut Darmstadt in 1996 and second prize at the International Leigh Howard Stevens Marimba competition in 1996. In 1997, Kuniko recorded James Wood’s Marimba Concerto in London where her performance was highly complimented by the BBC. In addition, Kuniko was a guest soloist at the James Wood Portrait concert at the 2001 Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival which was broadcast on BBC Radio 3. In 1999, Kuniko released her first solo album To The Earth.
Career highlights for Kuniko include the Japanese premiere of the music theatre production of The Pure Land (Jodo) in 2005 by James Wood. In May 2006, Kuniko revived the legendary percussion concerto Cassiopeia by Toru Takemitsu as a part of the Takemitsu Memorial Concert at Tokyo Opera City in Japan. The performance was recorded live and is available on a limited edition CD. During 2008-9 Kuniko showcased a solo recital at Sao Paulo University as part of the first International Percussion Festival, appeared at the historic Monday Evening Concert series in Los Angeles, performed a solo recital at Vancouver New Music Society and gave the Japanese premiere of Unsuk Chin’s Double Concerto at the Suntory Summer Festival.
In March 2009 Kuniko created a new live performance Sound Space Experiment – Steel Drum Works in Tokyo, Japan. At this performance she gave the world-premiere of Electric Counterpoint, transcribed for steel pans, marimba and vibraphone by Steve Reich. In 2010 she was invited to perform concerts and masterclasses in Canada, Australia, Portugal, Congo and South Africa. Kuniko also performed Steel Drum Works in Vancouver, Canada, Saitama and Itami, Japan, and at the international music festival Les Flâneries Musicales de Reims in France in 2011. Kuniko’s critically acclaimed recording kuniko plays reich was released on Linn in 2011 and was its bestselling album of the year. kuniko plays reich features unique multi-tracked arrangements of classic minimalist works from the 1980s by Steve Reich, personally endorsed by the composer. Kuniko performed her Reich arrangements live in Tokyo, New York, Modena, Reims and at the Cheltenham Festival in England in 2011. She conducted a world tour in 2012 including multiple performances in Japan, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona and Köln, a major residency in Armenia and a tour of Australia. ‘Kuniko plays Reich in Kyoto’ concert which was presented at Kyoto Arts Centre in 2012, received the prestigious 12th Keizo Saji Award by Suntory Arts Foundations.
In 2013 her eagerly awaited second album from Linn was globally released, featuring the premiere percussion arrangements of four of the great Estonian composer Arvo Pärt’s signature works. The album is entitled CANTUS and was in the UK’s Top 10 Specialist Classical Chart. This album also received the ‘Best Recording’ Award at Japan’s Music Pen Club’s 26th Music Awards.
In 2015 Kuniko globally released the major percussion works Pléïades and Rebonds by the great twenty-century composer Iannis Xenakis. The album was double-nominated in the ‘Best Contemporary Music’ and ‘Best Recording’ categories at the Japan Academy Awards.
2017 saw the release of B A C H Solo Works for Marimba, which saw Kuniko turn to the cello suites and violin sonatas of J.S. Bach. This album debuted at #2 on Japan’s Classical Billboard Chart and received The 10th Japan CD Shop Award 2018 Grand Prize in Classical Category. Also Linn Records named the album as the Best Selling Album of the year.
Kuniko is strongly committed to music education through percussion workshops, masterclasses and open rehearsals whenever possible in conjunction with her solo recitals. She has been working with learning-disabled children in Japan since 2004, including a series of log drum (slit drum) workshops.
Kuniko is the only Japanese artist signed to the world renowned audio label Linn Records (based in Scotland). Kuniko is endorsed globally by Pearl and Adams (NL).
She currently resides in USA.
Nobuaki Fukukawa is a Japanese Horn Soloist, Principal Horn of the NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo. Fukukawa feels audiences become too used to hearing the works by Schumann and Beethoven so he will introduce horn pieces that showcase the instrument’s charm and beauty, allowing him to demonstrate his originality through his own interpretation of the music. His incredible musicality transports audiences to another world with pieces by globally-acclaimed Dai Fujikura, British composer York Bowen, and additional contemporary composers.
Tetsuya Bessho debuted in Hollywood in 1990 with the US-Japan joint film "Solar Crisis." In recent years, he has performed in stage productions of "Les Miserables," "Nine the Musical," and "Urinetown." In 2010, he received the Iwatani Tokiko Award Encouragement Prize from the Iwatani Tokiko Foundation.
He founded Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia in 1999, which he remains the president of, and received an award from the chief of the Agency for Cultural Affairs. He has also assumed the position of "Visit Japan Ambassador," part of the Japan Tourism Agency initiative, and is a member of the expert panel to strengthen content at the Cabinet Secretariat’ s Intellectual Property Strategy Headquarters, Goodwill Ambassador to the Qatar Friendship Fund, City of Yokohama Committee Member, and EIRN(film classification and rating committee)commission of councilor.
Amihai Grosz, born in Jerusalem, started playing violin at the age of five and switched to the viola when he was eleven. He initially studied with David Chen at the Jerusalem Academy of Music, later continuing with Tabea Zimmermann in Berlin at the Academy of Music “Hanns Eisler” and with Haim Taub at the Keshet Eilon Music Center in Israel. In September 2010 he was appointed first principal viola of the Berliner Philharmoniker. As a concert soloist, he has already appeared with various renowned orchestras like the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, the Israel Chamber Orchestra, the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, and the Berlin Staatskapelle.
Amihai Grosz is a founding member of the Jerusalem String Quartet and also plays in the Philharmonic Octet. In addition, the violist has performed as a chamber musician with partners including Yefim Bronfman, Emmanuel Pahud, Mitsuko Uchida, Janine Jansen and Julian Rachlin, at prestigious venues and festivals in Israel, the Netherlands and Switzerland and the UK. Amihai Grosz plays an instrument made by Gasparo da Salò from the 16th century which is on loan to him for life from a private collection.
Japanese guitarist Shin-ichiro Tokunaga began studying classical guitar at the early age of 9. He was a student of Michio Kawatake until 2007, when he moved to study in Strasbourg, France.
Shin-ichiro has studied in France for a period of no shorter than 10 years. Among his mentors in Strasbourg are Alexis Muzurakis (Duo Melis) and Yasunori Imamura, lutist at the Conservatoire de Strasbourg.
In 2011, he moved to Paris to study with Judicael Perroy. During at Paris, he completed his Bachelor’s Degree and also his Master’s Degree in which the latter he graduated being awarded 1st prize and highest honors at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris in the class of renowned French guitarist, Roland Dyens.
In 2016, he attended the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Italy studying with Oscar Ghiglia where he was awarded with a Diploma di Merito.
Shin-ichiro has been invited to play for numerous festivals throughout the world, such as Olsztyn Guitar Festival (2012), Les Rencontres de Calenzana with Marie Kobayashi, mezzo-soprano(2014), and Paris Guitar Festival (2016) to name a few.
In 2017 he was commissioned to give the world premier as a soloist for the ”Concertino for Guitar and small ensemble’’ by Japanese composer Keita Matsumiya, with Ensemble Sonido Extremo conducted by Jordi Frances at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia.
Being a prize winner of numerous international competitions, Shin-ichiro has received 1st prize in the Olsztyn Internatinal Guitar competition, Poland (2010), 2nd prize in the Veria International Guitar Competition, Greece (2018).
Also passionated in chamber music, In 2015 he founded the Tarrega Guitar Quartet with guitarists Kyuhee Park, Gen Matsuda and Takuya Okamoto.
He was the winner and benefited from the Yamaha Music Foundation Scholarship throughout years 2011-2014.
Takuya Okamoto was born in Urayasu (Japan) in 1992 and started learning guitar at the age of ten with Yasufumi Hiratsuka and Masashi Shinohara. He got many prizes in International competition in Europe and Japan. Scholarship student of Yamaha Musik Foundation, Cultural rookie award of Chiba. He has been invited to appear at Guitar Festivals in Austria, Hungary and Romania. Furthermore, he has appeared as soloist with New Philharmonie Chiba Orchestra Japan.
He is currently studying at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna with Alvaro Pierri.
Prizes:
2010 Scholarship student of Yamaha Musik Foundation, Cultural rookie award of Chiba, 2nd prize in Tokyo international Guitar Competition (Japan)
2016 2nd prize in Rust International Guitar Competition “Alirio Diaz“ (Austria), 1st prize in Altheim International Guitar Competition (Austria)
2017 2nd prize in Nordhorn International Guitar Competition (Germany), 2nd prize in Kutna Hora International Guitar Competition (Czech Republic), 2nd prize in Brno International Guitar Competition (Czech Republic)
2018 2nd prize in XIV Alhambra International Competition (Spain)
Atsushi Yamanaka was born in 1990 in Okazaki City, Aichi Prefecture. After graduating from Tokyo University of the Arts College of Music, he completed his master's course in music composition. While in school, he served as a teaching assistant in the department of strings. He was selected for the Tokyo University of the Arts College Thursday Concert (Chamber Music) and Morning Concert (Orchestra Music).
In 2013, he served as an official accompanist of "Danza", which was composed as a theme song for the Euro-Asia International Competition.
As a pianist, he has performed with domestic and foreign artists including Kohei Ueno, Asako Urushihara, Keiko Urushihara, Atsuko Kawai, Takashi Shimizu, Pierre Amoyard and Chieko Teratani. In 2014, he won the Grand Prix at the 2nd Design K International Music Competition with a duo with Kyoko Ogawa. He is active the field of arrangement range from classical music to pop music. He works as a pianist, a composer, and an arranger. He has appeared on NHK-FM "Recital Nova", TBS Radio "The Door of Literature", NHK "Classic Music Hall", "Musica Piccolina", Nippon Tele "Arashi ni Shiyare".
Mizuho Yoshii has been the principal oboist of the MCO since 2001. Her musicianship and distinctive tone have been acclaimed by critics and have delighted audiences worldwide.
Mizuho has played in the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, and many of the finest European orchestras have invited her to play as Guest Principal Oboist. She has worked closely with conductors Claudio Abbado, Gunter Wand, Simon Rattle, Pierre Boulez, Seiji Ozawa, Bernard Haitink, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, and Daniel Harding.
Mizuho has a flourishing career in Japan, both as a recitalist and as an ensemble player (with her group OBOE V FIVE). In 2013 she was selected as a leader in her field to represent the Future of Japan, by the Bungei Shunjyu newspaper group. Mizuho is a prolific and well-respected music journalist who writes a regular column for ‘Pipers’ and contributes articles to a variety of other Japanese music magazines. She is founder and producer of the Kamakura ReSonance Concert Series.
Yukino Kaihara is a pianist. She was born in Hiroshima and is studying at the Berlin University of the Arts after graduating from Tokyo University of Arts. Kaihara won the piano category at the 14th Tokyo Music Competition. She has played with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra and the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra under conductors Naoto Otomo and Kazumasa Watanabe. Kaihara has played solo and chamber music both in Japan and overseas and received many scholarships over her career.
Chihiro Kitada has taken part in such festivals and seminars, as Ishikawa Music Academy (2008, 2009, 2010), Music Academy in Miyazaki (2012, 2013, 2014), Kirishima International Music Festival (2014), and Wiener Meisterkurse (2015). Winner of 1st prize at 65th Student Music of Japan (2011). Her musical education includes Toho Gakuen Music High School (2013-2015) and Toho Gakuen College Music Department (since 2015), while her principal teachers have been Yoshiyuki Kawamoto, Eiko Komuro, Naoko Murakami and Isako Shinozaki.
Chihiro Kitada plays a 1949 Plinio Michetti violin.
Sumihisa Arima was born in 1965. He developed activities that cross genres such as contemporary music and improvisation, centering on acoustic expressions using electronics and computers. He participated in numerous domestic and foreign contemporary music festivals as soloists and members of room ensemble such as Tokyo Symphony Etta, and has gained a high reputation for handling sound technology and performances of over 300 works. He developed wide ranged activities including noise music, electronica and the Contemporary music utilizing the computer and electronics, performs both in Japan and Europe. His ways of presentations are also diversified such as sound installations, live performances, and CD releases.
He was the Prize Winner of New Artist Award of the 63rd Arts Election of Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Arts Promotion Division. From 2012, he started the contemporary music ensemble "Tokyo Konno Project" with performers active in contemporary music scenes both in and outside Japan, the first performance of which won the 13th Keizo Saji prize.
Kyoko Ogawa is a New York based soprano. She studied at Osaka College of Music and graduated from Manhattan School of Music.
She appeared in The Mariage of Figaro as Susanna, Die Fledermaus as Adele, The Magic Flute as The Queen of the Night and The Telephone As Lucy with the New York Lyric Opera Theatre.
She received glowing reviews for her appearance as Lady Thiang in the Arizona Broadway Theatre’s production of The King and I in 2015. Richard Schult from Echo Magazine described her voice as "mesmerizing” and her performance as “stunning. Her rendition of Something Wonderful is a show stopper”. David Appleford from Valley Screen and Stage wrote “…her performance of Something Wonderful brought the house down”. Other theatre roles include Cinderella in Cinderella and Belle in A Christmas Carrol with the Once Upon a Time Theatre Company.
In addition to her stage work she has recorded and released her solo album “The Moon Sings to the Sea” with a line up of some of New York’s most established jazz musicians in 2012, featuring Songs from the American Songbook. The CD release tour in Japan included performances in concert halls such as Ginza Yamaha Hall in Tokyo and The Phoenix Hall Osaka.
Born in Tokyo in 1994, Karen Kido began her violin training at the age of four. At the age of nine, she won the Grand Prize in the Kamakura City Student Music Competition. At the age of thirteen, she won 1st prize in the 61st Student Music Competition of Japan sponsored by the Mainichi Newspaper. The following year, she won 1st prize in the 28th Michelangelo Abbado International Competition for Violinists (Milan).
At the age of fifteen, in the Violin Section of the 2009 George Enescu International Competition (Bucharest), she was awarded the Premium Special ‘‘Remember Enescu’’ Award, and received encouragement from her jury. During her high school days, she won the 14th Matsukata Hall Music Award sponsored by the Kobe Newspaper, and 2nd prize in the 79th the Music Competition of Japan sponsored by the Mainichi Newspaper & NHK. She also performed a Beethoven violin concerto in the 80th music Competition of Japan, where she won 3rd prize. In 2013, she received the special ‘‘Youth Award’’ in the 8th Leopold Mozart International violin competition.
While Karen devoted herself to her studies at domestic and foreign seminars, including the Ozawa International Chamber Music Academy in Okushiga, she won the Ishikawa Music Academy IMA Music Award, an Award of the Förderverein der Carl Flesch Akademie, and a Miyazaki Music Academy Award. As a soloist, Karen has performed with the Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra, the Baden-Baden Philharmonie, the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, the Miyazaki International Music Festival Orchestra, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. From the age of eight, Karen studied under Prof. Yasuo Mito at the preschool for the Tokyo College of Music.
She has studied under Koichiro Harada, Asako Urushihara, and Masafumi Hori. She also takes lessons from Tsugio Tokunaga, Masao Kawasaki, and Pierre Amoyal. Currently a 4th-year student at Tokyo University of the Arts, she is supported by the Ezoe Memorial Foundation. She was awarded the Fukushima Award for the most excellent freshman in a string section in a University.
Yayoi Toda studied in the music department of the Toho Gakuen High School in Tokyo and after graduating as top student from the Toho Gakuen College Music Department, she went to Europe for further studies at Amsterdam’s Sweelinck Music Academy. In 1993 she came to the attention of classical music world when she was awarded first prize at the Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition in Belgium.
Her overseas performances have included concerts with the Chamber Orchestra of New York, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Moscow Philharmonic, the Prague Chamber Orchestra, the Bonn Beethovenhalle Orchestra, the Hague Residentie Orchestra, the Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Helsinki Philharmonic, the Singapore Symphony, the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, and the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen to name but a few, as well as many of Japan’s major orchestras.
She has also performed to rave reviews with artists including Seiji Ozawa, Yuri Simonov, Jean Fournet, Gary Bertini, Kenichiro Kobayashi, Martha Argerich, Stanislav Bunin, Peter Eötvös, Shlomo Mintz, Jean-Jacques Kantorow, Alexander Schneider and Abdel Rahman El Bacha.
In 1996, Ms. Toda received the Delay Scholarship to study for one year at the Juilliard School and won the Young Concert Artists International Audition. A year later she made her highly acclaimed New York debut and performed the Violin Concerto No. 2 by the Dutch composer Tristan Keuris (1946-1996), of which she is the dedicatee, at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. In 1999 she curated a recital centering around chamber music entitled “Yayoi and Friends” at Carnegie Hall.
2009 was the year for Ms. Toda to expand her career in Asia, performing chamber music concerts and collaborating with the Wuhan Symphony Orchestra in Shanghai and participating in the Jeju Festival in South Korea. The following year, after giving master classes in the Netherlands and Spain, she toured in Japan as a duet with the pianist Valery Afanassiev. As the year 2013 was the 20th anniversary since her debut, she performed concertos as soloist, duet concerts and solo recitals in Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe and Fukui. Recently in 2017, she was invited by Akiko Suwanai’s International Music Festival NIPPON and in 2018 she gave a highly acclaimed duet performance with Ryusuke Numajiri at his Omi Spring Classical Festival of the Biwako Hall.
Ms. Toda has released recordings such as “Enesco, J.S. Bach” and “J.S. Bach: Sonatas & Partitas for Solo Violin BWV1001-1006” from the Ongaku-no-Tomo label. She also recorded albums entitled “Ysaÿe: Six Sonatas for Violin Solo”, “RÊVE D'ENFANT” with her favorite short pieces and “20th Century Solo Violin Works” on the EXTON label. Her newest release is “Franck: Violin Sonata, Schumann: Violin Sonata No.2” with the pianist El Bacha.
Ms. Toda has also been invited as a jury member of music competitions inside and outside Japan including the violin portion of the Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition 2005. She is currently a professor at the College of Music of the Ferris University and an adjunct lecturer at the Toho Gakuen College Music Department.
Reina Suzuki is a soprano singer. She is from Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture. She graduated from Tokyo Music University. She studied with Rinko Ichikawa and Yoko Tachibana. She trained in Munich and Vienna as an Oversea Trainee from the Agency for Cultural Affairs.
She won the 86th Japan Music Competition Voices category; No.1 in Ljuba Welitsch International Voice Competition; Asia representative of the 15th World Opera Singing Contest "New Voice 2013"; No.3 at the 49th Japan-Italian Music Concerto and got the Yomiuri Shimbun Award and the Japan-Italy Music Association Award. She also got many other awards.
She sings opera at the Nissei Theater with many performances, including "The escape from Gomiya"; "L'Ammère mall's Lucia", "La Boheme", Musetta, "the drug of love", Jannetta, "BLACKJACK".
She was one of the singers singing the national anthem in 2018 Jingu opening series.
She also performed at various concerts such as the 81st Yomiuri rookie concert, the 27th Chiba Prefecture Young Bud α concert, and the German Tegernsee concert...
So far, she attended Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Yomiuri Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra, Japan Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, Chiba Symphony Orchestra, Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra, Kyushu Symphony Orchestra, Yokohama Symphonietta, Munich Performed with the Philharmonic Orchestra.
Yuko Mahara is from Kagoshima prefecture. She graduated from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. She received the 1st place and the Nakata Kakunaka Prize at the 14th Song of the Japanese Music Competition; first place at the 3rd Nagakute Opera Vocal Competition; the third prize at the 77th Japan Music Competition.
Matsumura Ryo is a violin player. He is from Saitama prefecture. He graduated from the Tokyo Music University. He appeared as the Yomiuri Newcomer Concert, participated in Okinawa International Music Festival, Seiji Ozawa music opera project etc. He studied violin with Mr. Inoue Takeshi, Shimizu Takashi, Kubo Yoko, Viola with Shoumura Shozo and Kawai Kiko. He is also a member of NHK symphony.
Ikeda Shoko is an oboe player in Japan. She graduated from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. At the time of graduation, she performed in front of the Imperial family at the Touka Music hall, located inside the Imperial Palace. She studied under many famous players such as Tomoyuki Hirota, Yoko Kojima, Fumiaki Miyamoto and Francois Leleux. She studied abroad at Munich Richard Strauss School of Music as overseas research personnel of the Cultural Affairs Agency.
She won first place both at the Double Reed contest of the 4th International Music Festival Tsuyama and the oboe division of the 13th Japan Wind and Percussion Competition. After performing in the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, she joined the NHK Symphony Orchestra in 2004.
In 2008, she released her first solo album “CAPRICCIO” from Meister- Music. Currently, she is the oboist of the NHK Symphony Orchestra and a member of Trio Cinq Anche.
David Afkham has just been announced as Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Orquestra y Coro Nacional de España from September 2019. This position will build on the success of his tenure as Principal Conductor of the orchestra since 2014, which has featured critically acclaimed performances of Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder, Mahler’s Symphony No. 6, Bruckner Symphony No. 9, Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique, Brahms’ Requiem, Haydn’s Die Schöpfung, as well as several world premieres and semi-staged projects with Wagner’s Die fliegende Holländer, Strauss’ Elektra, Bach’s St. Mathew Passion and Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle. Born in Freiburg, Germany, in 1983, David Afkham is in high demand as a guest conductor with some of the world’s finest orchestras and opera houses, and has established a reputation as one of the most sought after conductors to emerge from Germany in recent years.
Highlights of recent seasons have included debuts with the Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, London Symphony, Cleveland and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin as well as return engagements with the Rotterdam Philharmonic, Orchestre National de France, Gothenburg Symphony and the Orchestra of Accademia Santa Cecilia.
David Afkham began piano and violin lessons at the age of six in his native Freiburg. At 15, he entered the city’s University of Music to pursue studies in piano, music theory and conducting and continued his studies at the Liszt School of Music in Weimar. David Afkham was the first recipient of the ‘Bernard Haitink Fund for Young Talent’ and assisted Maestro Bernard Haitink in a number of major projects including symphony cycles with the Chicago Symphony, Concertgebouworkest and London Symphony Orchestra. He was the winner of the 2008 Donatella Flick Conducting Competition in London, and was the inaugural recipient of the ‘Nestle and Salzburg Festival Young Conductors Award’ in 2010. He and was Assistant Conductor of the Gustav Mahler Jungendorchester 2009-2012.
Ken’ichi Nakagawa is a pianist. Born in Miyagi pref., Japan, Ken’ichi Nakagawa graduated from Toho Gakuen School of Music.. He majored piano and conducting. He moved to Belgium to study piano under Robert Groslot and pianoforte under Jos Vam Immerseel at Kroni nkijk Vlaams Concervatorium van Antwerpen, where he finished the High Diploma with Great distinction in 1995, and the Specialization also with Great distinction in 1997.
Nakagawa was awarded the third prize at the Gaudeamus International Competition in interpreting works in Rotterdam.
He plays in Belgium as soloist, chamber music and contemporary music as well as with the Ictus Ensemble, Champ d’action as pianist and assistant conductor. He participated in the Ars Musica Festival in Brussels and Roymont Festival in Paris.
In Japan, he is on high demand as a concert of soloist, chamber musician, and as a conductor in chamber ensemble and chamber operas as well as a member of the Ensemble Nomad, contemporary music ensemble.
Marumo Sasaki was born in Japan and has lived in Italy since she was four years old. She graduated at the Conservatory in Padua and at the Conservatoire Superieur de Lausanne, where she awarded the “first prize for virtuosity with a unanimous mention”. (Premier Prix à l’unanimité avec félicitations)
She took part in master classes with D.Geringas, K.Georgian, M.Flaksman, Ph.Muller and Z.Nelsova and she attended the “Solistenklasse” of Prof. W.Boettcher at the University of the arts in Berlin.
She has been awarded numerous first prizes and awards in Italy (1.prize “Strumenti ad arco” competition in Genoa, 1.prize and “press prize” in “città di Cento” competition in Ferrara, 1.prize in the “international selection competition for soloists” in Ancona, etc.) and also in “Domenico Gabrielli” competition in Berlin. She received also a prize from the patronat association for theatre and orchestra of Baden-Baden.
As soloist with the orchestra she performed in Italy, Germany, Slovenia, Austria, Switzerland and Japan, with the Baden-Baden Philharmoniker, Orchestre de chambre de Lausanne, Sapporo Symphony Orchestra and orchestra Donizetti of Bergamo.
Highlights of her performances are in the chamber music hall of the Philharmonie in Berlin for the abbonament chamber music concert of the Germany symphony orchestra-Berlin DSO (Ravel duo violino-cello); the invitation to the Festival des Alizées in Marocco; the regulary tournée in Japan and the tournée in the USA with the Jacques Thibaud Trio.
Marumo Sasaki plays together with prominent musicians like Wolfgang and Marianne Boettcher, Antje Weithaas, Hartmut Rohde, Alois Brandhofer; she is a member of the “Padova Trio”.
She recorded for the Germany television WDR in front of the Berlin Brandenburg Gate, performing Piazzolla for cello and orchestra with the United World Philharmonic.
Radio recording for the Italian RAI, Radio3, and Telecapodistria (Slovenia) as a soloist of the orchestra Alpe-Adria, as well as for the Tokyo Metropolitan Television and the Deutschland Radio Kultur (duo cello-piano) and for American radios as a string trio.
Marumo Sasaki recorded with the “Padova Trio” a world premiere CD (the four+four seasons of Vivaldi and Tchaikowsky) that was awarded from the critic of the music magazine “Compact disc classica internazionale” as best CD of the month.
She was principal cellist of the Scheswig-Holstein Music Festival Orchestra, of the United World Philharmonic Orchestra, of the RIAS Orchester Berlin and of many Italian chamber orchestras.
She played also with DSO Berlin, Sinfonietta de Lausanne, Berliner Sinfonie Orchester, Pacific Music Festival, Staatskapelle Dresden and as sub-principal cellist in the State Theater in Hannover.
2004 she won the audition and became a regular member of the Berlin state opera orchestra (D.Barenboim).
2009 she gave up her position to dedicate her music life as soloist and chamber music player.
Born in Oita, Akira Mizutani began playing the violin under Jiro Kimura’s tuition at the age of three. He won 1st prize at the 56th Japan Student Music Competition in Nagoya and graduated top of his class at Toho Gakuen School of Music where he studied violin under Kenji Kobayashi, and chamber music under Koichiro Harada, Hakuro Mouri and the Tokyo Quartet.
While in the college, he formed the Verus String Quartet, which received a Matsuo Foundation scholarship to participate in the Morse Summer Music Academy at Yale and the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. He won 3rd Prize in the String Quartet division of the 57th ARD International Music Competition in Munich, becoming the first Japanese medalist since the Tokyo Quartet 38 years previous. He is currently a member of the Virtus Quartet.
Akira Mizutani became the youngest concertmaster in recent Japanese history when he began leading the Gunma Symphony Orchestra in April 2010. In addition to playing with various orchestras as guest concertmaster, he has performed at the Miyazaki Music Festival, Kiso Music Festival, Saito Kinen Orchestra, and the Kamakura Geijutsukan Solisten. He became concertmaster of the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra inApril 2013 and also leads the Tokyo Mozart Players.
Elisabeth Kulman (born 28 June 1973) is an Austrian classical singer who has performed operatic roles in soprano, mezzo-soprano and contralto repertory. She has appeared at opera houses in Vienna and internationally. She has performed early operas such as Legrenzi's Il Giustino as well as new works, creating the role of Gora in the premiere of Reimann's Medea at the Vienna State Opera. She recorded Lieder by Mussorgsky, Bach's Christmas Oratorio with Peter Schreier and Beethoven's Missa Solemnis with Nikolaus Harnoncourt. From 2015, she has focused on concert singing.
Born in Oberpullendorf, Kulman achieved the Matura in 1991. She studied Russian, Finno-Ugristics [de] and musicology. She was a choir singer in several notable choirs in Vienna, including Arnold Schoenberg Chor, Concentus Vocalis Wien, Wiener Singakademie, Wiener Kammerchor and Chorus sine nomine. She began voice studies in 1995 at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien with Helena Lazarska. She completed her studies in both Oper and Lied und Oratorium as a master of arts mit Auszeichnung. She was immediately engaged to appear as Pamina in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte at the Wiener Volksoper in 2001, followed by other Mozart roles such as the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni.
In 2004, Kulman changed to mezzo-soprano, with the title role of Suppé's Boccaccio, staged by Helmuth Lohner. She appeared as Orpheus in Gluck's Orphée et Eurydice at the Opéra National de Paris in June 2005. In the New Year's Eve 2006 production of Die Fledermaus, she was Prince Orlofsky, a performance that garnered her the Eberhard-Waechter-Medaille [de].[2][3] She sang the title role of Bizet's Carmen at the Staatsoper Berlin in 2007. In 2010, she appeared as Gora in the premiere of Aribert Reimann's Medea at the Vienna State Opera.[2] In 2011 she appeared in Berlin again as Smeton in Donizetti's Anna Bolena, alongside Anna Netrebko in the title role and Elīna Garanča as Giovanna Seymour.[1]
In the field of historically informed performance, she appeared in two opera revivals at the Schwetzingen Festival, both conducted by Thomas Hengelbrock, in 2005 in Alessandro Scarlatti's Telemaco, and in 2007 in the title role of Giovanni Legrenzi's Il Giustino.
As a Lied singer, often with Walter Moore as the pianist, she has focused on unusual repertories such as Mussorgsky Dis-Covered, a project of Tscho Theissing and Mahler arrangements with the ensemble Amarcord Wien. She recorded Bach's Christmas Oratorio on DVD, conducted by Peter Schreier who also performed the part of the Evangelist, with the Münchener Bach-Chor, the Bach Collegium München, Sibylla Rubens, Martin Petzold, and Andreas Scheibner. In 2013, she recorded Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt, with the Netherlands Radio Choir, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and alongside Marlis Petersen, Werner Güra and Gerald Finley.
From April 2015, she has focused on concerts.
Hiroyuki Matsuda is a violinist. He is from Yamaguchi Prefecture. He graduated from Toho Gakuen University. He studied violin with Mr. Atsuko Tatsumi and Masafumi Hori. He joined the NHK Symphony Orchestra in 2000 as a violin player. He formed a room orchestra "ARCUS" and debuted in March 2005. He also appeared as a guest performer at the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, the Kyushu Symphony Orchestra, etc. He focuses on solo, chamber music, orchestral conductorship, and guidance. Currently, he is a performer of the NHK Symphony Orchestra, a lecturer at Showa Music University, a lecturer at Taku Gakuen University Orchestra, a lecturer at Tsubaki Gakuen Orchestra Academy.
So far he has studied violin with Akiko Tatsumi, Hori Masafumi, conductor Yamamoto Yamamoto, Koizumi Hiroshi
Takeshi Hidaka is a Japanese horn artist. After graduating with a degree in economics from Nagasaki University, Mr. Hidaka went on to study horn at the Tokyo University of the Arts. In 1996 he continued his studies at the Conservatorium Maastricht in the Nerherlands. He studied under Prof. E. Penzel and Prof. W. Sanders at Maastricht, and Prof. Kozo Moriyama, Makoto Yamada, and Yasunori Tahara in Japan. Upon returning home to Japan.
In 2000, he joined the Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra. He was also a member of the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra and Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, before joining the NHK Symphony Orchestra,Tokyo in 2005. He was the acting principal horn of NHK from 2008-2013.
He has been a part of many projects and performances which collaborate the horn with the fine arts. Including one program entitled "The Harmony of the Horn and Sculpture". In April of 2013, Mr. Hidaka became an associate professor at the Tokyo University of the Arts. He also is on faculty at the Senzoku Gakuen College of Music as a visiting professor.
Riccardo Muti, (Italian: [rikˈkardo ˈmuːti] ; born in Naples 28 July 1941) is an Italian conductor. He holds two music directorships: the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini. Previously he held posts at the Maggio Musicale in Florence, the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Teatro alla Scala in Milan and the Salzburg Whitsun Festival. Muti has been a prolific recording artist and has received dozens of honours, titles, awards and prizes. He is particularly associated with the music of Giuseppe Verdi.
Muti was born in Naples but he spent his early childhood in Molfetta, near Bari, in the long region of Apulia on Italy's southern Adriatic coast. His father was a doctor in Molfetta and an amateur singer; his mother, a Neapolitan woman with five children.
Muti graduated from Liceo classico (Classical Lyceum) Vittorio Emanuele II in Naples, then studied piano at the Conservatory of San Pietro a Majella under Vincenzo Vitale; here Muti was awarded a diploma cum laude. He was subsequently awarded a diploma in Composition and Conducting by the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory, Milan, where he studied with the composer Bruno Bettinelli and the conductor Antonino Votto. He has also studied composition with Nino Rota, whom he considers a mentor. He was unanimously awarded first place by the jury of the "Guido Cantelli Competition for Conductors" in Milan in 1967 and became, the next year, principal conductor and music director of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, a post he held for eleven years.
Takeshima Satoshi (January 22, 1976 -) is a percussionist, marimba player, pianist, composer and arranger of the NHK Symphony Orchestra. He graduated from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music Department of Instrumental Music Instrumental Percussion Instrument.
In 1992, he played his own songs with the Goddam Symphony Orchestra conducted by Tadeusz Strgawa. In 1995, he entered Tokyo Institute of Music Department. In the following year, he won the second prize at the 13th Nippon Kessan Percussion Percussion Percussion Instrument Division.
From 2003, he is a percussionist in the NHK Symphony Orchestra. Currently, he is active in the front lines of various music scenes as a percussionist of classical music, he is also actively working as a pianist, composer and arranger.
Ryutaro Maki (Heyu Rurouro, February 22, 1981 -) is a Japanese contrabass player. In 1999, he graduated from the department of music at Nishinomiya High School in Hyogo Prefecture and then entered Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music.
In 2005, he graduated with the highest score at the same college diploma exam and entered the graduate school master course. In the same year passed the Academy exam of the Berlin State Opera Orchestra (Staatskapelle · Berlin), studying as a member of the orchestra under the direction of the chief conductor Daniel Barenboim.
In 2007, he joined the SWR Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, one of the German public broadcaster orchestras, under the lead conductor Sir Roger Norrington. In 2009, he received an invitation as a soloist from the Danish "Spor festival", as a contemporary composer Beat Fuller composer: "Solo control trabus" and "Roto Fagos" for soprano.
Graduating from the Tokyo University of the Arts at the top of his class, Rei Tsujimoto received the Acanthus Award. Since then, he has won numerous prizes and awards including 2nd prize and the Iwatani (audience) prize in the 72nd Music Competition of Japan, Best New Artist award in the 2007 Kyoto Aoyama Music Award and 3rd prize in the 2009 Gaspar Cassadó International Violoncello Competition.
He studied abroad at the Sibelius Academy and Berlin University of the Arts. In 2011, he held debut recitals in five locations throughout Japan including the Suntory Hall in Tokyo. In addition to his participation as a member of the Saito Kinen Orchestra and quartet in residence of the Arkas Sasebo, every summer he attracts attention as a talented musician of the Koji Oikawa Trio “Bee” and Yuzuko Horigome chamber music performance series.
In June 2015, he joined the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra as solo cello. To date, he has played with the New Japan Philharmonic, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Kansai Philharmonic Orchestra, and Japan Century Symphony Orchestra. He studied under Metta Watts, Orlando Cole, Yorimitsu Kawamoto, Noboru Kamimura, Nobuko Yamazaki, Arto Noras, and Antôni Meneses. He plays cello built by Antonio Stradivarius in 1724 provided to him on loan by NPO Yellow Angel.
Kyoko Takezawa (竹澤 恭子 , Takezawa Kyōko) is a prominent Japanese-born violinist. She has recorded for the RCA Victor Red Seal label. Born in Ōbu, Aichi, she started her training in Japan as a part of the Suzuki Method program and was part of a tour of the United States. She is a graduate of the Juilliard School (1989) where her teacher was Dorothy DeLay. Ms. Takezawa won the gold medal in 1986, and served as a judge for the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis.
She played on the Stradivarius loaned to her by the Nippon Music Foundation until it was sold at auction in 2006 for US$3,544,000.
Kanami Araki was born in 1993, she grew up in Tokai-mura, Ibaraki Prefecture, and started an oboe at the age of 9. She graduated from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. In 2016 she entered the graduate school.
So far, she has studied oboe with Maki Sakamoto, Keiko Narita, Hitoshi Wakui, Yoshiaki Obata and Ayama Seiichi, studied chamber music with Masaharu Yamamoto, Ayako Takagi, Tsuyoshi Hidaka and Ryosuke Mizuno.
She passed the audition round while studying in the third year, and since June 2015 she served as the principal of the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra.
In the same year, she won the first Japanese prize (Oga Award), Karuizawa Mayor Prize (audience award) at the 11th International Oboe Competition at Karuizawa.
Hansjörg Schellenberger is a German oboist and conductor born in 1948.
He won the first prize at the German Jugend musiziert Competition at seventeen, which led to a scholarship enabling him to further his education at Interlochen (Michigan, USA). He continued his studies in Munich with Manfred Clement and he attended master classes with Heinz Holliger. During this period he took part in numerous concerts, many of them dedicated to contemporary music, and obtained prizes in several international competitions, among them, second prize in the ARD International Music Competition in Munich.
In the seventies he was soloist of the Cologne Radio Orchestra and from 1980-2001 of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Between 1980 and 2001 he has played under conductors such as Karajan, Leinsdorf, Giulini, Muti, Mehta and Abbado. He has dedicated a great part of his artistic activity to chamber music with groups such as the Wind Ensemble of the Berlin Philharmonic and the Vienna-Berlin Ensemble.
From 1981 to 1991 he taught at the Berlin Music Academy. He has also been Guest Professor at the Chigiana Academy in Sienna, Italy and participated with his master classes in the Magister Musicae project. Currently he is principal professor of oboe at the Reina Sofía School of Music in Madrid.
In 1991 Schellenberger founded the Berliner-Hadyn-Konzerte cycle, which he continues to conduct himself. He has recorded Beethoven's and Mozart's Piano and Wind Quintets and Poulenc's Trio for piano, oboe and bassoon with J. Levine and M. Turkovic.
Japanese countertenor Daichi Fujiki is a Prizewinner of 31st International Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition World Finals in 2012 and First Prize winner of 81st Music Competition of Japan in 2012.He graduated from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music in 2002. He then went on to complete his studies at the Operastudio of New National Theatre Tokyo, and Reale Accademia Filarmonica di Bologna.
Daichi Fujiki had his professional debut as a Tenor in Andreas Homoki's new production of Le Nozze di Figaro (Don Curzio) that opened the 2003/2004 season of the New National Theatre in Tokyo (conductor Ulf Schirmer). In October 2005, Daichi performed at the Melbourne International Arts Festival.
Yurie Miura (三浦 友理枝 Miura Yurie) is a Japanese pianist and actress born in 1981. Yurie Miura started her piano studies at the age of three. After graduating from Ferris High School in Yokohama and later studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London. In 2001, she won first prize of the Maria Canals International Music Competition.
As a result of these successes, she has performed in some of the most prestigious concert venues as well as at international music festivals around the world, many of which have been broadcast or televised in over fourteen countries. As a soloist, Yurie Miura has performed with the Tokyo Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, the Pomeranian Philharmonic Orchestra.
Rokuoka is a Japanese violist, born in Tagajo-shi, Miyagi prefecture in 1993. He won the 1st prize at The Youth Classic Competition in 2004 and ranked the 1st place in 58th All Japan Student Music Competition National Competition. He also is the winner in the 11th Yudi Menu Inn Youth International Violin Competition Junior category in 2006. Currently, he is one of the young violinists who are most noticed domestically and internationally.
Until now, he is a member in New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Sapporo Symphony Orchestra, Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra, Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra, etc,. In 2011 and 2012, he appeared in Stravinsky "Story of Soldiers" at Saito · Kinen · Festival Matsumoto.
In 2014 he released his debut CD from the EXTON label, and in 2015 he plays Brahms 'violin · sonatas collection from the nascor label, and in November 2017 the third collection of Bach and Bartok' s EXTON label was released.
Hiroyuki Kato is a Japanese pianist. He graduated from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. He won the Yasu Award while in college. After studying at the Geneva International Music Competition in 1990, he went to Hungary National List Conservatory and studied under Istvan Landtosh.
In 1996, he moved to Cologne in Germany and studied under Paver Gililov. He frequently co-stars with the members of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, especially with the lyric concertmaster Liner Kuhill as a duo partner. Beethoven's piano and violin sonata full-song concert organized by Musikverein society in Vienna Musik Feller In Saar in 2010 was a great success.
Yasuhiro Suzuki is a violinist. He began playing the violin at the age of 5 and graduated from Toho Gakuen University. He won No.1 at the 7th All Japan Student Music Competition and got highest ranked at national tournament Viola category.
In 2001, he has studied at the Karajan Academy in Germany and then became a contract member of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2003, he played in various parts of Germany as a soloist of Klazzet Philharmonic Bonn and gained popularity.
As a soloist of Krassy Philharmonic Bonn in 2003, he has performed well in various places in Germany. Yomiuri Japan Symphony Orchestra solo chief viola player from 2006. He has been active in various fields such as the Saito Kinen Festival and the Miyazaki International Music Festival. He often appears in Toppan Hall as a member of
Mie Kobayashi is one of Japan's leading violinists. Her refined but dynamic performances have won high acclaim in Japan and elsewhere.
Mie Kobayashi studied at the high school attached to the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music and continued to study at the university, from which she graduated at the top of her class. She won the Ataka prize and the Fukushima prize while studying at the university. She received the Kawai Overseas Competition Award in 1984, and Second Prize at the Louis Spohr International Competition, also earning a prize for sonata interpretation in 1988.
In 1990 she became the first Japanese to win the top prize of the violin division of the Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud International Competition for Piano and Violin, and from that point, she began her professional career inside and outside Japan.
Kobayashi has performed as a soloist with leading Japanese orchestras including NHK Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, New Japan Philharmonic, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra, and Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa, as well as Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra and Prague Symphony Orchestra, all to high acclaim.
She is also active in the field of chamber music, performing with prominent musicians and as a member of the Shizuoka AOI Quartet, at festivals including Karuizawa International Music Festival where she appears every year.
Kobayashi has released numerous CDs including ”Plays Kreisler”, a duo with Pascal Rogé “Fauré” and “Ravel & Enescu”, and a collection of famous violin pieces including “Zigeunerweisen”.
In 2010, she gave an outstanding performance in a recital at Kioi Hall marking the 20th anniversary of her debut and was invited to become a jury member of the violin division of the Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud International Competition. In 2012, Kobayashi performed at the concert in Pakistan to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between Japan and Pakistan. She has also performed in France, England, Thailand, China, Korea, and New Zealand, and fascinated the audience.
Kobayashi’s recitals, chamber music concerts, and performances with orchestras are scheduled nationwide for the coming years.
In 2015 commemorating the 25th anniversary of her debut, a three-year series of six concerts was planned and successfully completed. In February 2018, a new series of recitals to explore the multi-faceted allure of the violin has started.
Currently, she is a guest professor at the Showa University of Music.
Michie Koyama (May, 3 1959) is a Japanese classical pianist.
In 1982, she ranked the third place at Tchaikovsky International Competition, the fourth place at the Chopin International Piano Competition in 1985 and she is the only Japanese pianist who wins both big international competitions.
Michie Koyama was born in Sendai city, Miyagi prefecture, and raised in Morioka city, Iwate prefecture. The pianist graduated from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and began playing the piano at the age of 6 and prepared to become a pianist after participating in the Tchaikovsky international competition. It is unusual that despite being a award-winning pianist at a prominent foreign competition, she has still not studied overseas. Michie Koyama also has performed numerous collaborations with domestic and international orchestras and well-known conductors.
Michie Koyama was the judge of the International Competition, the Sendai International Music Competition, the 10th Tchaikovsky International Competition (1994), the Ron-Tibaud International Competition (2004), the 16th Chopin International Piano Competition (2010), the Munich International Music Competition (2014).
Ryotaro Ito (Ito Ryutaro, May 21, 1973 -) is a violinist from Chiba Prefecture .
He participated in various contests since elementary school students, go to Toho Music School, Toho Gakuen University .
After studying abroad in London for one year since 1992, he completed the same soloist diploma course at the same university.
He studied the violin with Toshiya Eto , George Pauk , Masafumi Hori , Kazuki Sawa .
In 1997, they formed the string quartet "ARCO" (1st violin: Ryotaro Ito, 2nd violin: Masaya, viola: Shota Yanase, Cello: Furukawa).
He won the No. 3 prize at the Osaka Chamber Music Competition in 1999, then released "Andante Cantabile" (September 2000 ) and "Haydn Emperor" (March 2002 ).
In 2002, he won the 1st Chiba City Art and Culture Freshman Prize . From 2005 to 2015 he was a concert master of the Sapporo Symphony Orchestra .
In 2015, he became a concertmaster of the NHK Symphony Orchestra .
Yoshida Shu graduated from Tokyo College of Music in 1986. After joining the NHK Symphony Orchestra in 1991, he became the principal player of the university orchestra research department. In the field of chamber music, he co-starred with Augustin Dumay, Pincus Zuharman, Liner Kuhill, Maria João Pirès, Wolfgang Svaldsch, Malta Argerich. He also works as a member of the Oiros Ensemble, Tokyo Sinfonietta, Izumi Sinfonietta Osaka, KYoshida Shu graduated from Tokyo College of Music in 1986.
He participated in Kirishima International Music Festival, Miyazaki International Music Festival and others. He is an associate professor, Tokyo National University of Fine Arts, visiting Professor at Tokyo College of Music, Part-time lecturer at Kyoto City University of Arts and College of Liberal Arts.
Shoumura Shinzo (Masumi Tanamura, August 31, 1948) is a viola player from Kyoto Prefecture. He is a professor of Tokyo College of Music, professor at Toho Gakuen University. He began playing violin at the age of 6. After studying with Pioro Faruli who was a viola player of the Italian String Quartet, he was appointed Riccardo Muti and served as Principal Viola player of Florence City Opera Orchestra. After returning to Japan in 1984, he became a solo viola player of the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra.
Since 2001 he has served as the principal soloist of the NHK Symphony Orchestra. In June 2011, he was a special chief player of the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. Currently, he is Mito Chamber Orchestra, Saito Kinen Orchestra member. From September 2012 he worked as Kyoto City Symphony Orchestra Solo chief viola player.
Kohta Nagahara born in 1981 is a violinist.
He was born in Kure City, Hiroshima Prefecture. He graduated from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music in 2005. He is the youngest artist participating in Saito Kinen Orchestra. From September 2004, he is Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra 's Chief Concert Master, and became Principal Concert Master from April 2006.
He has many activities such as performing concerts at jazz live houses, recording on the CD of the drama "Nodame Cantabile" and animation related (such as the characters of "Onegai My Melody" and the debut album "Keiichi Hiragi" "The Devil's Trill"). He also served as a concert master in "Nodame Orchestra". In March 2012, he retired from the Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra. As of October 1, 2014, he became a Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra concert master.
Tomoko Kato (Kato Tomoko, September 6, 1957 -) is a Japanese violinist. She was born in Tokyo. She is professor at Toho Gakuen University.
She started playing the violin at the age of four. In 1969 when I was in elementary school (6th grade), she won first prize in the 23rd All Japan Student Music National Competition. In 1976, she entered Toho Gakuen University and studied with Toshiya Eto. In 1978, she won the first prize at the 47th Japan Music Competition, 1979, a special prize at the overseas dispatch contest.
After graduating from college in 1980, she joined the Tanglewood Music Festival and studied under Lawrence Lesser. In 1981, as a temporary trainee for the Agency for Cultural Affairs, she studied at the Juilliard School for 2 years and studied under Dorothy Delay. In 1982, she won the second prize at the 7th Tchaikovsky International Competition. The first place in this round was Victoria Murova, Sergei Stadelle and two Soviet leaders.
She returned to Japan in 1983 and opened a Japanese debut recital. In 1996, she became Toho Gakuen University Associate Professor, later Professor.
Megumi Ito (Ito Kei, January 6, 1959 -) is a Japanese pianist from Nagoya city , Aichi Prefecture. She is a professor of Tokyo Institute of Music, Faculty of Instrumentation. She learn at Toho Girls High School, Salzburg-Mozarteum College of Music, Hanover National College of Music. In 1983, she won the Munich International Music Competition piano division and co-starred with the Bavarian National Orchestra. She has kept many CD recordings on Fontech Label. Among them is the recording of all Schumann's piano works entitled "Shu Mania" (which was recorded over 13 CDs from 1987 to 2007).
Mr Masanori Kato is a composer / pianist, graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts with a first-class honors degree and then finished the master’s degree. He has written lots of works such as opera, orchestral works, chamber music works, songs and chorus for a various musicians, which have been highly-praised ever abroad.
He released the first piano solo album titled “SOLO” in 2001 and the music books of that CD also came out. “Five Sonnets” for a female chorus, and “ASHITA NO UTA”, a suite for chorus, words by Masumitsu Miyamoto and his other pieces also have been published in Japan. Mr Kato composed “Slovakian Rhapsody for Alto saxophone and Orchestra” commissioned by a fantastic saxophone player, Mr Nobuya Sugawa in 2005. It took a world premiere at Suntory Hall in Tokyo performed by Mr Sugawa and Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra. Mr Sugawa recorded this Rhapsody in his album as a soloist (Seikyo Kim, conductor and Tokyo Symphony Orchestra). This work was also performed in Bratislava, Slovakia in 2009 and got a highly acclaim by full audience there.
Mr Kato’s first opera “YAMATANOOROCHI” (2006) had a great reputation on mass media such as Nikkei newspaper. Recently his new opera “Byakko” (2012) as a tribute to Fukushima recovery project won the 11th Yoshio Sagawa Music Award. His works have always beautiful and fresh lyricism inside keeping a distance from contemporary music and have broadcasted many times by NHK-FM radio. His producing ability and lecture skill have been highly praised so he deserves to be called a multi artist. He has appeared in many concerts so far as a pianist playing with so many famous musicians, too.
Sumire Kudo was born in Tokyo, Japan. She began cello studies at age four with her father, cellist Akiyoshi Kudo. She came to the United States in 2000, after establishing herself in her native country through solo performances and recordings. Her honors include the Hideo Saito Memorial Fund Award, which she received from the Sony Music Foundation after being chosen by Seiji Ozawa and Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi as the most promising cellist in 2005, and prizes at the Sapporo Junior Cello Competition and 62nd Japan Music Competition.
Ms. Kudo is a graduate of Tokyo’s Toho School and The Juilliard School. She has participated in the Nagano-Aspen Music, Aspen Music, Santa Fe, and Marlboro Music festivals. Record Geijutsu, Japan’s leading classical music magazine, named her second solo CD, Love of Beauty, Best Recording. Sumire Kudo joined the New York Philharmonic as a cellist in June 2006. Previously she taught at Indiana University–South Bend and was the cellist of the Avalon String Quartet.
Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (13 September 1874 – 13 July 1951) was an Austrian, and later American, composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He was associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School. With the rise of the Nazi Party, Schoenberg's works were labeled degenerate music, because they were modernist and atonal. He immigrated to the United States in 1934.
Schoenberg's approach, both in terms of harmony and development, has been one of the most influential of 20th-century musical thought. Many European and American composers from at least three generations have consciously extended his thinking, whereas others have passionately reacted against it.
Schoenberg was known early in his career for simultaneously extending the traditionally opposed German Romantic styles of Brahms and Wagner. Later, his name would come to personify innovations in atonality (although Schoenberg himself detested that term) that would become the most polemical feature of 20th-century art music. In the 1920s, Schoenberg developed the twelve-tone technique, an influential compositional method of manipulating an ordered series of all twelve notes in the chromatic scale. He also coined the term developing variation and was the first modern composer to embrace ways of developing motifs without resorting to the dominance of a centralized melodic idea.
Schoenberg was also an influential teacher of composition; his students included Alban Berg, Anton Webern, Hanns Eisler, Egon Wellesz, Nikos Skalkottas, Stefania Turkewich, and later John Cage, Lou Harrison, Earl Kim, Roberto Gerhard, Leon Kirchner, Dika Newlin, and other prominent musicians. Many of Schoenberg's practices, including the formalization of compositional method and his habit of openly inviting audiences to think analytically, are echoed in avant-garde musical thought throughout the 20th century. His often polemical views of music history and aesthetics were crucial to many significant 20th-century musicologists and critics, including Theodor W. Adorno, Charles Rosen, and Carl Dahlhaus, as well as the pianists Artur Schnabel, Rudolf Serkin, Eduard Steuermann, and Glenn Gould.
Schoenberg's archival legacy is collected at the Arnold Schönberg Center in Vienna.
Sir Bryn Terfel Jones, CBE (Welsh pronunciation: [ˈbrɨn ˈtɛrvɛl]; born 9 November 1965) is a Welsh bass-baritone opera and concert singer. Terfel was initially associated with the roles of Mozart, particularly Figaro and Don Giovanni, but has subsequently shifted his attention to heavier roles, especially those by Wagner.
In 1990 Terfel made his operatic début as Guglielmo in Così fan tutte at the Welsh National Opera, and later in the same season, he sang the title role in The Marriage of Figaro, a role with which he made his debut with the English National Opera in 1991.
His international operatic career began that same year when he sang the Speaker in Mozart's The Magic Flute at the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels and he made his United States début as Figaro at the Santa Fe Opera.
In 1992 Terfel made his Royal Opera House, Covent Garden début as Masetto in Don Giovanni, with Thomas Allen in the title role. That same year he made his Salzburg Easter Festival debut singing the role of the Spirit Messenger in Die Frau ohne Schatten. This was followed by an international breakthrough at the main Salzburg Festival when he sang Jochanaan in Strauss's Salome. He went on to make his début as Figaro at the Vienna State Opera and his debut at Covent Garden as Masetto in Don Giovanni.
That year he also signed an exclusive recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon, and returned to the Welsh National Opera to sing Ford in Falstaff. In 1993, he recorded the role of Wilfred Shadbolt in The Yeomen of the Guard, by Gilbert and Sullivan and sang Figaro to acclaim at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.
In 2000 Terfel said that he would like to record "an album of Gilbert and Sullivan arias".
External audio Terfel may be heard as Jochanaan, in Richard Strausss opera Salome, Op. 54, with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Christoph von Dohnányi, and with Catherine Malfitano, in 1995 Here on archive.org
In 1994 Terfel sang Figaro at Covent Garden, and made both his Metropolitan Opera and Teatro Nacional de São Carlos débuts in the same role. He also sang Mahler's Eighth Symphony at the Ravinia Festival under the baton of James Levine. However, back surgery in 1994 (and again in 2000) prevented him from performing in several scheduled events.
In 1996 he expanded his repertoire to include Wagner, singing Wolfram in Tannhäuser at the Metropolitan Opera, and Stravinsky, singing Nick Shadow in The Rake's Progress at the Welsh National Opera. These performances won him the Royal Philharmonic Society Award for the singer of the year.
In 1997 Terfel made his La Scala début as Figaro. In 1998, he had a recital at Carnegie Hall which included works by Wolf, Fauré, Brahms, Schumann, Schubert, and others. In 1999, he performed in Paris the title role of Don Giovanni for the first time and sang his first Falstaff at the Lyric Opera of Chicago; the latter of which he reprised in the inaugural production at the newly refurbished Royal Opera House.
In 1999 Terfel performed the Rugby World Cup anthem "World in Union" with Shirley Bassey at the Millennium Stadium before the 1999 Rugby World Cup Final.
2000s
In 2003, Terfel hosted and performed on the stage with opera tenor José Carreras and soprano Hayley Westenra in front of the capacity crowd of 10,000 people from Faenol Festival in Wales.
In 2007 Terfel performed at the opening gala concert for the re-dedication of the Salt Lake Tabernacle with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir on 6–7 April. Later, he performed the title role in a concert version of Sweeney Todd that had four performances from 5–7 July at London's Royal Festival Hall. This idea came from Terfel and his fellow bass-baritone and friend, the Irishman Dermot Malone.
Terfel has not shied away from popular music either. He has recorded CDs of songs by Lerner and Loewe and Rodgers and Hammerstein. In 2001 he commissioned and performed 'Atgof o'r Sêr' ('The Memory of Stars') in the National Eisteddfod with the composer Robat Arwyn.
In September 2007 Terfel withdrew, to severe criticism, from Covent Garden's Der Ring des Nibelungen when his six-year-old son required several operations on his finger. But he did successfully return to the Met in November 2007 to sing the role of Figaro. He told reporters in New York City that he would retire Figaro from his repertoire. But he did sing the role of Wotan in Covent Garden's revival of the Der Ring in September to November 2012.
Terfel intended to take 2008 as a sabbatical from opera performances, but broke this to take the title role in WNO's revival of Falstaff. He had sung in this production in 1993, when he played the role of Ford.[9] In 2009 Terfel sang Scarpia and the Dutchman for the Royal Opera House.[10][11]
Since 2010
In 2010, Terfel made his debut as Hans Sachs in Wagner's Die Meistersinger in a production for Welsh National Opera, in Cardiff and on tour.
On 17 July 2010, the cast of this production gave a "concert staging" at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the 2010 BBC Proms, which was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and on BBC Four television.[12] On 31 July, again at the Proms, he performed in a concert from the Royal Albert Hall celebrating the works of Stephen Sondheim, in his 80th birthday year.[13]
Terfel took on the role of Wotan for the premiere performances of Robert Lepage's new Met staging of Wagner's Der Ring 2010–12. He sang the role in all three of the four Der Ring operas that feature Wotan: Das Rheingold, Die Walküre and Siegfried.[14]
In September 2013 Terfel collaborated with Mormon Tabernacle Choir released the album Homeward Bound which reached No. 58 Official UK Charts.[citation needed]
In September 2014 Terfel reprised his role as Sweeney Todd in the Live from Lincoln Center concert production of Sweeney Todd, which was broadcast on PBS. This production also starred Emma Thompson as Mrs Lovett and Audra McDonald as the Beggar Woman/Lucy Barker.[15]
In 2016 Terfel took the title role in Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov, directed by Antonio Pappano at the Royal Opera House.
Kyuhee Park (born 1985) is a classical guitarist who was born in Incheon, South Korea. Park began her guitar studies at age three. At age nine, she won first prize in the Youth Division of the National Korean Guitar Competition, followed by a string of first prizes in national in international competitions. She enrolled in the Tokyo College of Music in 2004 and studied with Japanese classical guitarists Shin-Ichi Fukuda and Kiyoshi Shomura and later with Álvaro Pierri at the Vienna Music University. She has participated in opera tours conducted by Seiji Ozawa and in 2009 she took part in the "Guitar Fiesta" in Hakuju Hall, Tokyo. She also performed in Carnegie Hall in New York in October 2012.
Park has won an unusual number of first prizes in international competitions, to wit:
2005, Korean guitar music competition, 1st Prize
2007, Heinsberg International Guitar Competition, 1st Prize and Audience Prize
2008, Printemps de la Guitare International Competition, 1st Prize (Park is the first female to win first prize; she is the first Asian to do so in this competition's history)
Koblenz international Guitar Competition, 2nd Prize
2009, Liechtenstein Guitar Festival ligita, International ligita Guitar Competition, 1st Prize
2009, 2011 Michele Pittaluga International Classical Guitar Competition, 2nd Prize
2010, Agustin Barrios International Guitar Competition, 1st Prize
2012, Alhambra International Guitar Competition, 1st Prize and Audience Prize
2014 Jan Edmund Jurkowski Memorial Guitar Competition.
Soon after finishing music high school of Toho Gakuen in 1994, Yoshinobu Kamei entered Paul Dukas Conservatoire in Paris and then transferred to Conservatoire Nationale de Region ‘CNR’ de Aubervillier-La Courneuve and from both schools, he received grand premier.
He won Prix SPEDIDAM at the international competition at Toulon in 1997 and 1st prize at Japan woodwind competition in 2003. Also, he is awarded the 16th Idemitsu Music award and in 2005 receives the Alion Music Award. He was highly evaluated by Mr. P. Boulez and joined the world tour of Zingaro from 1999 to 2002 as a solo clarinet.
He returned to Japan in 2003 and since then he performed recitals, Solo player with Nagoya Philharmonic, Kansai Philharmonic, Tokyo Philharmonic orchestra, Saito-Kinen Orchestra, and others.
He now teaches at Tokyo Music and Arts University and Tokyo Music College and the director of Ensemble R.
Ruriko Yamamiya was born in Niigata, Japan. She won several international awards including the first unanimously to International Harp Competition Lily Laskine in Paris in 2011. Since 2007, she studied with Xavier de Maistre at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hamburg.
Eiki Sato was born in 1992, from Takamatsu city, Kagawa prefecture. At the age of 8 she started the euphonium.
After studying music at Takamatsu Daiichi High School, graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts, Department of Music Faculty, she won an acanthus music award and a voicing newcomer prize. So far, she has been studying euphonium with Yasushi Funabashi, Shuichi Murayama, Mitsuru Saito, Kaoru Uki, and T. Rudy.
Her award includes 2014 Korea · Jeju International Brass Instrument Competition Euphonium Division 2nd place, 2015 Nippon Kan Percussion Competition Euphonium Division No. 1 and Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award, Tokyo Governor's Award, Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra Special Award, 2016 US · Started second place in ITEC competition. She won a lot of domestic and foreign competition and got many prizes. In 2018 she won the Euphonium division of the Rieka International Competition in Finland. Since the establishment of the 1998 competition, she have achieved the first accomplishment as a Japanese and women throughout all sectors, and attracting attention from abroad as an up-and-coming euphonium player. In 2017, she received the Kagawa Prefecture Culture and Arts Festival Award and has appeared on TV, radio, magazines, newspapers, etc. media.
She has worked as soloist at Tokyo Phil, Tokyo City Phil, Seto Phil, Tokyo Nationaloid Wind Orchestra etc. On December 2018 she will release a debut album "Beans" (Octavia Record). Currently she enrolled in the specialized soloist course of the Berlin School of Arts in Switzerland and is studying hard and a Panda Wind Orchestra Euphonium player.
Mihoko Fujimura Mezzo Soprano
Mihoko Fujimura made her debut at the Bayreuth Festival in 2002 as Fricka in Der Ring des Nibelungen, returning for 9 years as Waltraute, Erda, Brangäne (Tristan und Isolde) and Kundry (Parsifal).
Other engagements include performances with the opera houses of Staatsoper Wien, Royal Opera House Covent Garden London, Teatro alla Scala Milano, Staatsoper München, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Théâtre du Châtelet Paris, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Große Festspielhaus Salzburg, Semperoper Dresden, Teatro Carlo Felice Genoa, Teatro Colón Buenos Aires, Teatro Real Madrid and Hamburgische Staatsoper. Her operatic repertoire includes Kundry, Brangäne, Venus, Fricka, Erda, Carmen, Melisánde, Amneris, Eboli, Fenena, Azucena, Idamante, Octavian and Klytaemnestra.
She has performed in concert with the Wiener Philharmoniker, Royal Concertgebouworkest Amsterdam, Berliner Philharmoniker, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia Rome, Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala, Münchner Philharmoniker, London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestre de Paris, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, Suisse Romande Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra Washington, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Lucerne Festival Orchestra, Bamberger Symphoniker and Mahler Chamber Orchestra.
Concert repertoire includes Verdi Requiem, Mahler Das Lied von der Erde, Rückert-Lieder, des Knaben Wunderhorn, Kindertotenlieder, Wagner Wesendonck-Lieder and Schönberg Gurre-Lieder.
She appears regularly with conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Christian Thielemann, Zubin Mehta, Christoph Eschenbach, Bernard Haitink, Mariss Jansons, Colin Davis, Kurt Masur, Riccard Chailly, Michael Gielen, Andris Nelsons, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Kent Nagano, Fabio Luisi, Daniele Gatti, Simon Rattle, Charles Dutoit, Semyon Bychkov, Myung-whun Chung, Franz Welser-Möst, Donald Runnicles, Jesus Lopez Cobos, Daniel Harding and Adam Fischer.
She has recorded Brangäne with Antonio Pappano for EMI Classics, Gurre-Lieder with the BRSO and Mariss Jansons, Mahler Symphony No. 3 with the Bamberger Symphoniker and Jonathan Nott, and Beethoven Symphony No. 9 with Christian Thielemann and the Wiener Philharmoniker. For Fontec she has released six solo recital discs with pianist Wolfram Rieger, conductor Christoph Ulrich Meier, singing works by Wagner, Mahler, Schubert, Strauss, Brahms and Schumann.
In 2014 she was awarded the Purple Ribbon Medal of Honour by the Japanese Government for her contribution to academic and artistic developments, improvements and accomplishments.
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky is a Russian-born composer, pianist, and conductor. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the 20th century.
Stravinsky's compositional career was notable for its stylistic diversity. He first achieved international fame with three ballets commissioned by the impresario Serge Diaghilev and first performed in Paris by Diaghilev's Ballets Russes: The Firebird (1910), Petrushka (1911), and The Rite of Spring (1913). The last of these transformed the way in which subsequent composers thought about rhythmic structure and was largely responsible for Stravinsky's enduring reputation as a musical revolutionary who pushed the boundaries of musical design. His "Russian phase" which continued with works such as Renard, the Soldier's Tale and Les Noces, was followed in the 1920s by a period in which he turned to neoclassical music. The works from this period tended to make use of traditional musical forms (concerto grosso, fugue and symphony), drawing on earlier styles, especially from the 18th century. In the 1950s, Stravinsky adopted serial procedures. His compositions of this period shared traits with examples of his earlier output: rhythmic energy, the construction of extended melodic ideas out of a few two- or three-note cells and clarity of form, and of instrumentation.
Takaya Sano is a pianist born in Tokyo in 1980. He is a dynamic and delicate arist, a pianist full of "colorfulness" and "lyricism" that weaves from natural imagination. After graduating from Tokyo Metropolitan Arts High School and Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, he completed the master's course at the graduate school.
After the Buddhist religion in 2005, he graduated from the Scholastic and Cantorum high school in Paris for the best. Afterwards, for the first time as a Japanese male, he was admitted to the Graduate School of Paris from the "Third Graduate School" (Doctoral Course) and completed in 2008. Beginning with second prize in Japan Music Competition (2003), he got a number of prizes at international piano competitions around the world since he was in college. Jose · Loca International 2nd place (Spain · 08 years). Ron-Thibault international fifth place and audience award, special prize (French · 2009). Won the Chopin International Diploma (Poland · Decade) etc.
He has performed with the French National Orchestra, Paris National Orchestra Orchestra, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra etc. He holds recitals in domestic as well as France and Europe, and has earned favorable reviews. He returned to Japan in the winter of 2010. Currently he is also working part-time lecturers at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, National Institute of Music, Tokyo Metropolitan Art High School. He received the 2004 Ome City Arts and Culture Encouragement Award.
Ueno Seiya (Ueno Seiya, August 16, 1989 -) is a Japanese flute player. Born in Tokyo in 1989, Seiya Ueno had started playing the flute at the age of 9 and begins his professional studies in flute at the age of 12. After graduating from Tokyo Metropolitan High School of Music and Fine Arts in 2008, Seiya was accepted to enter the Tokyo National University of Music and Fine Arts. In 2009, Seiya went to France and enters the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris.
He has studied with Yuko Yamada, Megumi Horie, Sabine Seyfert, Kazuo Tachikawa, Chang-Kook Kim, Philippe Bernold, Vincent Lucas and Sophie Cherrier.
Mr. Ueno has won numerous prizes including the first prize at the 59th Student Music Competition of Japan, first prize at the 5th Japan Wind and Percussion Competition, first prize at the 5th Osaka International Music Competition, the second prize at the 79th Music Competition of Japan, and the first prize in the 8th Jean-Pierre Rampal Competition. He has received special awards from the Matsukata Hall Music Award and the Suginami Prefecture of Tokyo for Cultural Achievements.
Winning the Grand-Prix of the Jean-Pierre Rampal International Competition in Paris, Mr. Ueno performed the Reinecke Concerto with Orchestre National d’Ile de France. He has also appeard as soloist with Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic Octet, and New Japan Philharmonic.
Beginning in 2004, Mr. Ueno has performed in recitals annually in Tokyo and Osaka. He has performed all over the world such as the Beethovenfest Bonn in Germany, Estivals de Musiques de Coeur de Medoc and Festival Boucard in France, recital in Seoul Korea, and Les nouveaux talents japonais de la musique held by the Maison de la culture japonais in Paris.
Seiya Ueno is currently in Munich, and continues to perform in France, Japan, and many other countries in Europe and Asia.
Masafumi Hori started playing the violin at the age of five. After graduating from Kyoto Municipal Horikawa Senior High School of Music, he moved to southern Germany to study at the University of Music Freiburg. During this time he toured across Europe as a soloist of ‘Ensemble Heidelberg’.
In 1973, he played Wieniawski’s Violin Concerto No.1 with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra. The following year, he was named First Concertmaster of ‘Staatsorchester Darmstadt’. While performing throughout Europe with different orchestras, Hori expanded his activities as a soloist and chamber musician.
His performance of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo in 1979 brought him into the public spotlight. The same year, Hori became the orchestra’s concertmaster and has been leading it for the past 35 years. In 2015, he was also named Honorary Concertmaster. Hori is also active as a soloist, gives recitals, and performs chamber music. For his dedication to the NHK Symphony Orchestra he received the Arima Prize.
In addition to his performing career, he serves as a juror for numerous international competitions such as Geneva International Music Competition, International Violin Competition Leopold Mozart, and International Louis Spohr Competition for Young Violinists. He is a Professor at the Toho Gakuen College of Music and at the Tokyo University of the Arts.
Eijiro Kai graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts and obtained a Master's degree at the same university. He studied in New York and Bologna. He received the 2002 Goto Memorial Culture Prize Opera Newcomer Award. He won first prize in the 8th International Competition of Zandnai in the Italian Competition, the 10th Tito Ski International Competition.
From September 2003, after making his debut at the Vienna State Opera, he played for 10 years in the same theater as an exclusive soloist singer As soon as his debut, he appeared in "Simon Boccanegra" starring Thomas Hampson, acting as a substitute for a sudden sick singer, with the role of Paolo. At the same time, he played with Prasido Domingo and Leo Nucci. In 2012, he co-starred with editor Gullberova, his singing and acting are highly praised.
He is associate professor at Tokyo University of the Arts, visiting professor at Suteku University and Senzoku Gakuen College of Music and a member of the Japanese Voice Academy.
The Japanese mezzo-soprano Mika Kaneko studied at Tokyo Colledge of Music, Mozarteum Salzburg and Opera Institute, where she awarded the second prize. After her winning of several singing competitions, she made her operatic debut as Grimgerde (Die Walküre) under the baton of Taijiro Iimori at Tokyo Nikikai Opera Theatre in 2008. Since then she has appeared on the stage of the subscription concert of New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra Der Rosenkavalier (conducted by Christian Arming), Nikikai New Wave Opera Theatre Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria as Penelope.
In 2010 she sang the highly acclaimed role of Emilia (Otello) under the lead of Roberto Rizzi Brignoli at Tokyo Nikikai Opera Theatre, Baba (The Medium) and Miss Todd (The Old Maid and the Thief) at Yokosuka Arts Theatre.
In recent years she has focused on the works of Wagner: Grimgerde (Die Walküre) at New National Theatre Tokyo, Frosshilde (Das Rheingold and Götterdämmerung), Schwertleite (Die Walküre), Erste Norn (Götterdämmerung) at Tokyo Opera Nomori. Kaneko has repeatedly shown her worth at New National Theatre Tokyo, where was guest with a number of operas including Das Rheingold, Die Walküre and Carmen. In the 2017/18 season, she sang third lady (Die Zauberflöte) and third wood sprite (Rusalka) at Nissay Theatre. Since then she has been guest with a number of companies including New National Theatre Tokyo, Tokyo Opera Nomori, Nissay Theatre.
Furthermore, Kaneko is also much in demand in many concerts for example Beehtoven’s ninth symphony, Verdi’s Requiem, Mozart’s Requiem, and Messiah by Händel and closely working with many stellar conductors including Seiji Ozawa, Marek Janowski, Pascal Verrot. In addition, she has collaborated with Singverein der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde Wien.
In next season she make her role debut as Brangäne (Tristan und Isolde) and Erda (Siegfried). She is a member of the Nikikai.
Ohno Kazushi (Ogon Kazushi, March 4, 1960) is a conductor in Japan. He was born in Tokyo. After entering Kanagawa Prefecture Shonan High School, he entered Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. He studied piano by Ando Hisayoshi, conducted with Masako Endo.
During the university studies, at the age of 20, an audition for recruitment of a dedicated conductor was held at the project of the TV program "Orchestra came" (TBS), and he was selected as an exclusive conductor along with Diric Inoue and Kim Hyun-Ji, the first professional Orchestra, the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra. After graduating from university, he went to Europe when he was 25 years old, and since September 1986 he studied under Savalissh, Patterne at the Bavarian State Opera.
In 1987 he won the Arturo Toscanini International Conductor Competition. In 1988, Matachici took office as a permanent conductor of the prestigious Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra in the capital of Croatia who also served as a chef, soon after serving as a music director, he took office until 1996.
In 1996 - 2002 he served as General Director of Music at the Karlsruhe-Baden State Opera, and from 2002 to 2008 he served as music director at the Royal Belgian Opera (Monet Theater). From 2008, at the French National Lyon Opera where the music director was vacant, he began his career as the chief conductor.
On September 29, 2007, he debuted Verdi's "Aida" at the Metropolitan Opera. In 2012, he took office as Principal Guest Conductor of Italy, Parma, Arturo Toscanini Philharmonic Orchestra.
In Japan, he was appointed conductor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra led by Hiroshi Wakasugi, served as a permanent conductor of the Tokyo Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra from 1992 to 2001, and in 1995, "Opera Concier Tante Series Hindemit Opera trilogy "received the Agency for Cultural Affairs Art Festival award, currently obtaining the title of the Conductor of Conservatory. From April 2015 he is a music director of the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, and from September the same year he has served as music director of the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra.
Daisuke Suzuki is known for his rich tone, musical sensitivity and strong feeling for tonal color, supported a masterful technique. The lyricism of his legato has been said to ‘charm the audience without fail'.
Born in 1970, Daisuke Suzuki began guitar lessons at the age of eight with Kazuaki Ichimura. Later, he continued his studies under Shinichi Fukuda and Masahiro Ojiri, whilst pursuing composition with Tetsuo Kawakami and Yoshifumi Nakajima.
Since 1993, beginning with his victory at the Citta de Alessandrea, Concorso Internazionale de Chitarra Classica with Omággio a Andrés Segovia in Italy, Mr. Suzuki's international activities have earned him great recognition both in Japan and abroad. In 1994, his talents were acknowledged by the Japan's Cultural Affairs Agency, when he won their scholarship to study for one year at Salzburg's Mozarteum. It was there that he expanded his knowledge of the Renaissance and Baroque repertoire under the tutelage of Elliot Fisk and Joaquin Clerch. Before returning to Japan, he gave recitals around Europe, including Austria, Italy and the Czech Republic to high acclaim.
Mr. Suzuki is considered the foremost interpreter of the music of Toru Takemitsu, to whom he was very close. He is frequently asked to perform Takemitsu's music throughout the world: notably at the Takemitsu memorial concerts held at the Saito Kinen Festival Matsumoto and in 2005 at the Théatre du Châtélet, Paris, where he performed in ‘My Way of Life,' a staged realization of several of Takemitsu's works. In 2006, he was invited to Copenhagen Jazz Festival as the guitarist for Kasper Tranberg Takemitsu Project. In 2008, he performed for “A Tribute to Toru Takemitsu” with Kazumi Watanabe, coba, and Tomohiro Yahiro, as the part of Japan Festival held in Kennedy Center (Washington), and in 2010 with the same members at Carnegie Hall and Orange County Performing Arts Center (California) which highly acclaimed.
Mr. Suzuki has released numerous recordings, including his debut album “RITO” (1996) and Complete Collection of Guitar Works by Toru Takemitsu (1997) which was acclaimed by Takemitsu who praised his playing, saying, “one rarely has the opportunity to hear a performance like his.” Other CDs include “Homage to Catalonia” which was awarded the ‘Art Work Prize of the Agency for Cultural Affairs’ in 2005, “Love and Soul of Toru Takemitsu (Film Music)” marking the 10th anniversary of Toru Takemitsu’s death (2006), After the first release of “The Cinema Paradise” which is covered album of film music for solo guitar, it has been released three more CDs of the same series by 2011.
Suzuki won the Idemitsu Award in 2000 and the Arts Encouragement Prize from Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs in 2006. Internationally, he captured third prize in the 1992 Maria Canals de Barcelona International Competition for Musical Performance - Guitar Division.
Akie Amou´s marvelous lyrical coluratura soprano voice brought her popular acclaim both in her home country of Japan and abroad.
Graduating from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music Opera Institute, she completed her studies at the Nikikai Opera Studio program and received training from Toshiko Toda and Francis Simar. In 1993, after earning the Japanese Government Oversea Study Program for Artists sponsored by the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, she studied at the University of Stuttgart. Her studies abroad continued in Berlin for two more years, upon winning the 1995 Gotoh Memorial Foundation´s Cultural Award,given to the most exciting opera debutantes. While there, she was honored with the highest award at the 3rd Queen Sonja International Music Competition, for which she gained public attention and has since made Stuttgart, Germany her musical base. She is also the winner of the 1999 Arion Prize and 2003 Nippon Steel Music Award´s Promising New Artist Prize.
Amou has appeared in opera houses and music festivals of various parts of Europe, such as Grand Théâtre de Genève, Semperoper Dresden, Komische Oper Berlin.
She gives high priority to young instruction as a key role member of the Suntory Hall opera academy.
He is from Osaka Prefecture. Completed the Tokyo College of Music and Graduate School of Internal Medicine. Until now, He switched to viola at the age of 17 to violin, Yoko Otsuki, Yoshio Okuma, Atsuko Tenma, and studied under Mr. Yoshiaki Nakatsuka. Also, studying chamber music with Kiyoshi Okayama, Kazuki Sawa, Masaharu Kanda, Shozo Tsubota, Kenji Watanabe, and viola and piano duets with Mr. Katsuya Matsubara. October 1, 2000 N entrance joining. He has also been active as a member of the "Apeld String Quartet" formed in 2006 and the indoor orchestra "ARCUS (Arx)".
Born in Tokyo, Japan. Kaeko Mukoyama studied violoncello under Keiko Matsunami, Yasushi Horie, Reine Flachot and Hakuro Mori. She won First Prize in the 54th Music Competition of Japan in 1985. After graduating from Tokyo University of the Arts, Mukoyama studied under David Geringas at the Lubeck National Music University in 1990 and won First Prize in the 10th Gaspar Cassado International Cello Competition in Florence in the same year. In 1988 she received the Jury Encouragement Prize at the 3rd Arion Award. Mukoyama won the 2nd Idemitsu Award in 1992.
Mukoyama's activities that have drawn attention include the "Kaeko Mukoyama and the Cello World" series at Casals Hall, a series of recitals at Tokyo Opera City, participations in various music festivals, acting as planner of JT Art Hall Chamber Music Series, producing the Cello Collection project at Hakuju Hall, and performances as a member of the Halley String Quartet.
She has been performing with world's top artists such as János Starker, David Gilevich Geringas, Isaac Stern, Ivry Gitlis, and Martha Argerich and orchestras such as the NHK Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, New Japan Philharmonic, Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra, Mito Chamber Orchestra, etc.
Also Mukoyama has been engaged in a myriad of activities including recitals, chamber music concerts, and in 1998 she hosted one of the most popular radio shows for NHK-FM. Mukoyama appeared many times on NHK-FM programs, acting as MC for a special program or performing live upon request of listeners. Recently her performances at concerts have been televised as well. From 2013 to 2017, she served as the principal cellist for the NHK Symphony Orchestra.
Her highly acclaimed recordings on five CD albums including Bach "Suites for Violoncello Solo BWV1007 - 1012" have been released by SONY Music Japan International. Her recordings have been used for theme music for NHK special programs and dramas, and TV commercials. Also, the CDs of Shin-ichiro Ikebe's cello concerto and Akira Miyoshi's cello concerto are available from CAMERATA-Tokyo. Her chamber music recordings have been released by Nippon Columbia and Nippon Acoustic Records. In May 2013, a live recording of the concert planned by her "Miracle Cello Ensemble - Juuni Nin No Cellist -" was released from EXTON.
Currently Mukoyama serves as an adjunct professor at Tokyo University of the Arts, and as an assistant professor at Kyoto City University of Arts from FY 2018. She is a white hope for further success as a representative virtuoso cellist of Japan.
Sasaki Ryo is a violinist from Saitama prefecture. He started playing the violin at the age of 8 and graduated from Tokyo National University of the Arts and Juilliard School of Music. In 1991, he won No.1 at Japan Contemporary Music Association Chamber Music Competition.
He has appeared in Aspen music festival, Marlboro music festival. Apart from being a soloist, he is also an orchestra player in various parts of the country all over the country. On May 1st, 2004, he joined in Nio Symphony and became the principal player since January 2008.
There is no schedule or ticket right now.
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Tokyo University of the Arts (東京藝術大学 , Tōkyō Geijutsu Daigaku) or Geidai (芸大 ) is an art school in Japan. Located in Ueno Park, it also has facilities in Toride, Ibaraki, Yokohama, Kanagawa, and Kitasenju, Adachi, Tokyo. The university owns two halls of residence: one (for both Japanese and international students) in Adachi, Tokyo, and the other (for mainly international students) in Matsudo, Chiba.
The university was formed in 1949 by the merger of the Tokyo Fine Arts School (東京美術学校 , Tōkyō Bijutsu Gakkō) and the Tokyo Music School (東京音楽学校 , Tōkyō Ongaku Gakkō) , both founded in 1887. Originally male-only, the schools began to admit women in 1946. The graduate school opened in 1963, and began offering doctoral degrees in 1977. After the National University Corporations were formed on April 1, 2004, the school became known as the Kokuritsu Daigaku Hōjin Tōkyō Geijutsu Daigaku ((国立大学法人東京藝術大学 ) . On April 1, 2008, the university changed its English name from "Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music" to "Tokyo University of the Arts."
The school has had student exchanges with a number of other art and music institutions such as the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (USA), the Royal Academy of Music (UK), the University of Sydney and Queensland College of Art, Griffith University (Australia), the Korea National University of Arts, and the China Central Academy of Fine Arts.
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Megumi Ito", "Ueno Seiya", "Brin Tafel", "Yayoi Toda", "Ryo Mikami", "Ryotaro Ito", "Kyuhee Park", "Akiko Ikeda", "Kazushi Ohno", "Masaru Okada", "Kota Nagahara", "Michie Koyama", "Hiroyuki Kato", "Fujiki Daichi", "Riccardo Muti", "Chika Edanami", "Michiaki Ueno", "Tomonori Miura", "Kyoko Takezawa", "Tetsuya Bessho", "Takuya Okamoto", "Shoumura Shinzo", "Mihoko Fujimura", "Ruriko Yamamiya", "Machiko Shimada", "Yoshiko Kawamoto", "Shinichiro Nakano", "Yasushi Toyoshima", "Shigeki Miyamatsu", "Ryo Sasaki (Viola)", "Tomoko Kato (violin)", "Shin-ichiro Tokunaga", "Takeshi Hidaka (horn)", "Tsujimoto Rei (cello)", "Mie Kobayashi (violin)", "Masafumi Hori(violist)", "Hans Jörk-Chelenberger", "Yasuhiro Suzuki (Viola)", "Yoshida Shu (contrabass)", "Ryutaro Maki (Contrabass)", "Mika Kaneko (mezzo soprano)", "Takeshima Satoshi (percussion)", "Daisuke Suzuki (classical guitarist)", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.
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