4th Takamatsu International Piano Competition

Born in Chiba in 1982, Noriko Koide obtained her master’s degree in composition from Tokyo College of Music (2008). She subsequently studied at Conservatorium van Amsterdam and Koninklijk Conservatorium Den Haag with grants from the Rohm Music Foundation, Koninklijk Conservatorium Den Haag and the Overseas Study Program for Artists of Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs.  She went on to study Gamelan performance and theory at the InstitutSeni Indonesia Surakarta with grants from the Darmasiswa Indonesian Scholarship Program and the Nomura Foundation. She has studied under Shinichiro Ikebe, SunaoIsaji, Masao Endo, Shin Satoh, Yutaka Fujiwara, Akira Fukuda, Toshio Hosokawa, WimHenderickx, Martijn Padding, and Yannis Kyriakides.
She has won the Akutagawa Award for Music Composition, placed second in the 76th Music Competition of Japan, and also received the 18th Idemitsu Music Award and the Arion Prize.  She is currently a member of the avant-garde pop duo KishibojinFumin Girls, and of Sukebeningen, a multi-dimensional art group project that explores Japanese eroticism.

Born in Kyoto, Natsumi Tamai won the first prize in the violin category at the Prague Spring International Music Competition while she was still a student at the Toho Gakuen School of Music. She studied under Yuji Togi, Hideki Oguni, Ryodaku Kubota, Adusa Tatsuta, and Takayoshi Wanami.
After graduating, she studied under Herman Krebbers at Conservatorium van Amsterdam and Ana Chumachenco at Hochschule für Musik und Theater München.  During this time, she won many awards, including first prize at the Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition and the Jean Sibelius International Violin Competition, as well asthe second prize and the special prize (no 1st prize awarded) at the International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition. She has also received The New Artist Prize from Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs Performing Arts Festival, the Kyoto Prefecture Culture Prize, the Shiga Prefecture Culture Prize, and many more.
Tamai has performed with many Japanese and overseas orchestras such as the Russia National Orchestra, the Belgium Radio Philharmonic Orchestra,the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, the NHK Symphony Orchestra, the Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Kyoto Symphony Orchestra. She has also held many recitals in Japan and Europe and is a highly regarded chamber music violinist.  She serves as concertmaster of Kioi Sinfonietta Tokyo, belongs to the Tokyo Kreis Ensemble, is a solo violinist of the Ensemble of Tokyo, and coordinates the Biwako Music Harvest, a chamber music academy for children. Currently, she is an associate professor of Tokyo University of the Arts.

Tamaki Kawakubo wasthe winner of the 2002 Tchaikovsky Competition (second prize with no first prize) and of the Grand Prize inthe 2001 Pablo Sarasate.
Kawakubo grew up in the United States. As an adult, she played with major orchestras in North America, gaining abundant performance experience.  In 1997, she came to Japan as a soloist for the Asia Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Myung-Whun Chung. Since then, she has visited Japan regularly toperform with leadingorchestras. She was also invited to perform as a soloist of the Dresdner Philharmonie conducted by Sanderling and is highly regarded forher sophisticated technique and deep musicality which respectsthe quality of the piece. Recently, she has displayed her talent as a producer by producing concerts in Washington and on Awaji Island, Japan.  Her latest CD is Encore! (Avex classics). Her instrument is leased from the S&R Foundation.  She currently lives in Munich.
Tamaki Kawakubo Official Website: http://www.tamakikawakubo.com/

Kaoru Ono started violin at the age of five and switched to viola at the age of 15. She graduated from the graduate school of Tokyo University of the Arts after obtaining a diploma fromthe Music High School attached to the Faculty of Music and completing the university’s undergraduate program.  She performed frequently while at university, including a performance of Fernando David's viola concerto with the Geidai Philharmonia at the university’s morning concert. She won two special awards at the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition (England) and first prize as well astwo special prizes in the chamber music category of the Tokyo International Music Competition. In 2004 and 2010, she won the Jury's Special Award for herperformance at the final stage ofthe Music Competition of Japan. She is active as a soloist and as a chamber musician in Japan and overseas.  Held in high regard as a musician, she has performed countless times with distinguished artists.  She has been a key member of the Ensemble of Tokyo for 30 years since its foundation.  In 2008, she formed the Alpha String Quartet, which performed all the string quartet pieces by Beethoven.  In 2014, she formed Quartet Platinum. She also teaches at Tokyo University of the Arts, the Tokyo College of Music, and the Senzoku Gauken College of Music and is a visiting professor at the Osaka University of Arts Graduate School.

Kenta Matsumi studied at Toho Gakuen School of Music and graduated at the top of his class from the postgraduate program of the Royal Academy of Music, University of London.　He won first prize in the strings category at the 9th Tunbridge Wells International Young Concert Artists Competition in 1994.　He also won second place and the special award at the 5th Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition (UK).　Currently based in Japan, he actively performs in Europe and participates in various music festivals in Japan.　He frequently appears on NHK-BS TV in such programs as Classic Club and Piano Pia.　Matsumi has released four solo CDs, all of which received favorable reviews. 　In 2001, he was awarded the title of Honorary Associate of the Royal Academy of Music, University of London and in 2006, serve on the jury of the 9th Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition in 2006.　Currently, he teaches at Showa University of Music and Tokyo Gakugei University.　Theviola "F. Goffriller" owned by the Showa University of Music is on loan to him.

Fumiaki Kono graduated from Kyoto City University of Arts. In 1982, he studied in Los Angeles under the Overseas Trainee Artist Fellowship of Japan’sAgency for Cultural Affairs. Subsequently, he continued his studiesin Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Vienna. He studied under Toshio Kuronuma, Gabor Rejto, and Andre Navarra.
Sincehis return in 1984, he has performed both as a soloist and with orchestras in various venues and premiered Joonas Kokkonen's cello concerto and Luciano Berio's Sequenza XIV in Japan.
He is currently active in the ensemble field as a member of the Ensemble of Tokyo, Kioi Sinfonietta Tokyo, the AOI Residence Quartet, and the Okayama String Quartet. Beginning withthe Bach/Mozart Festival in New York in 1989, he has performed extensively overseas, including in the U.S.A., Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Austria, and South Korea, and continues toperform widelyboth in Japan and abroad.
Between 1993 and 2003, he participated in music festivals and seminars in various places, including serving as music director of the Yufuin Music Festival.
Awards include among others first prize inthe cello category of the 50th Japan Music Competition in 1981, the Kyoto Music prize in 1990, the Osaka Prefecture Culture Festival Prize in 1992, and the Kyoto prefecture Cultural Contribution Award in 2004.
He is currently a professor of Tokyo University of the Arts.

One of the best cellists in Japan, Yoko Hasegawa has been performing actively in the front lines for 25 years since her debut.
In 1987, she held her debut recital under the Fresh Artist Series sponsored by the OngakuNoTomoSha. In 1988, she performed her first concerto at the New Year's Concert with the Japan Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra conducted by Kenichiro Kobayashi. Subsequently, she attended the Sibelius Academy in Finland and returned to Japan in 1992 upon graduating summa cum laude. She has been involved in various activities, including playing with major orchestras in Japan and abroad, holding recitals in all parts of Japan and performing in conjunction with recitation.  In 2016, she held concerts throughout Japan in which she performed all the cello suites composed by J.S. Bach.
She has released more than 20 CDs from Victor Entertainment, each of which has received positive reviews.
Hasegawa is the recipient of many music awards, such as the Kirishima International Music Festival Award, the special prize of the Rostropovich Cello Competition, the Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Promising New Artist Award, and the Hideo Saito Memorial Fund Award. She also teaches young people and is currently an associate professor of the Toho Gakuen School of Music.
Website:http://yoko-hasegawa.com/