5th Takamatsu International Piano Competition

1991 - born in Osaka
Graduated The Music High School attached to The Faculty of Music, Tokyo University of the Arts
Graduated Tokyo University of the Arts Composing Division with Honors
2015 - Graduated Tokyo University of the Arts Masters for Composing Division 

His works are widely played by Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France, London Sinfonietta, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, New Japan Philharmonic, Izumi Sinfonietta Osaka, Geidai Philharmonia, Panda Wind Orchestra, Ensemble Multilatérale, Art respirant, LAPS Ensemble, Ensemble Muromachi, Momenta Quartet.
Studying composition with Teruyuki Noda, Akio Yasuraoka, Ichiro Nodaira piano with Masako Nakai.

He gains Hasegawa Award（2012）, Acanthus Music Award（2013）The 25th Akutagawa Composition Award（2015）.
​Ensemble FOVE founder.

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, Ryosaku Kubota, Azusa Tachita, 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 prizes at numerous competitions, including the highest prize at the J.S.Bach International Competition, the Queen Elisabeth International Competition, and the Sibelius International Competition. She has also received The New Artist Prize from Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs Performing Arts Festival, the Kyoto Prefecture Culture Prize, Encouragement Award, the Shiga Prefecture Culture Encouragement 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 highly regarded as a chamber musician.

She serves as a concertmaster of Kioi Sinfonietta Tokyo as well as a member of the Tokyo Kreis Ensemble and a solo violinist of the Ensemble of Tokyo. She also coordinates the Biwako Music Harvest, a chamber music academy for children.
Currently, she is a professor of Tokyo University of the Arts.

Having won the 2nd prize and the Iwatani (audience) prize at the 80th Music Competition of Japan, Yuna Shinohara has played with various orchestras including the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, New Japan Philharmonic, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Sapporo Symphony Orchestra, Gunma Symphony Orchestra, Osaka Symphony Orchestra, Kansai Philharmonic Orchestra, Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra, Central Aichi Symphony Orchestra, and Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa. She has also performed with Marta Argerich, Dang Thai Son, Krzysztof Jablonski, Jerusalem Quartet, Paul Meyer, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, Kazuhide Isomura, Shuku Iwasaki, Susumu Aoyagi, and Kazune Shimizu.

After graduating top of the class from Toho Gakuen Music High School, Yuna completed a soloist diploma course at Toho Gakuen Music College as a scholarship student. She also received a diploma from the International Menuhin Music Academy (IMMA, Switzerland) and graduated from the master's course at Toho Gakuen Graduate School of Music. Studying under Kinya Yamashita, Akiko Tatsumi, Maxim Vengerov, and Fuminori Shinozaki, she is a scholarship student of the Yamaha Music Foundation, the Meiji Yasuda Cultural Foundation, and the Rohm Music Foundation.

Studying chamber music under Kazuoki Fujii, Tsugio Tokunaga, and Kazuhide Isomura, Yuna is actively engaging in chamber music. As the first violinist for Quartet Amabile, she won first prize in the 2019 New York Young Concert Artists International Audition. In 2016, the quartet won third prize and the special prize for the best interpretation of the competition piece in the string quartet division of the 65th ARD International Music Competition Munich.

Yuna played the violin for the main character of an animated TV series “Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso” aired on Fuji TV and is also a CHANEL Pygmalion Days artist. She released a CD "Estreno" from EPIC SONY and gave her debut recital at Toppan Hall. Her violin is a G.F.Pressenda (1832) ex Carl Flesch on loan by NPO Yellow Angel (Munetsugu Collection).

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 from the 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 as two 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 her performance at the final stage of the 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, served 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.The viola "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’s Agency for Cultural Affairs. Subsequently, he continued his studies in Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Vienna. He studied under Toshio Kuronuma, Gabor Rejto, and Andre Navarra.
Since his 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 has been active in the ensemble field as a member of the Ensemble of Tokyo, Kioi Hall Chamber Orchestra Tokyo, the AOI Residence Quartet, and the Okayama String Quartet. Beginning with the 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 to perform widely both 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 in the cello category of the 50th Japan Music Competition in 1981, the Kyoto Music prize in 1990, the Osaka Prefecture Culture Festival Prize in 1992, the Kyoto prefecture Cultural Contribution Award in 2004, and Kyoto City Cultural Merit Award in 2017.
He is currently a professor of Faculty of Music, Tokyo University of the Arts.　

Yoko Hasegawa is one of Japan’s leading cellists, combining richly colored timbres with outstanding musicianship.
Yoko Hasegawa studied under Yoritoyo Inoue at Toho Gakuen College of Music’s “Music School for Children.” She made her recital debut in 1987, and her concerto debut in 1988 with the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Ken-ichiro Kobayashi. After attending Toho Gakuen College of Music, she entered the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland, where she studied under Prof. Arto Noras. She graduated summa cum laude from the academy in 1992.
Hasegawa has performed frequently with major orchestras from Japan and other countries, including the NHK Symphony and the Prague Symphony. She also performs accompanied and unaccompanied solo recitals throughout Japan. As a chamber musician, she has appeared in numerous concerts in trio and other formats. Hasegawa has earned popularity with a wide range of fans through her various concert projects
Yoko Hasegawa marks her 35th anniversary of her debut in 2022. Her concert performing the complete cello sonatas of Beethoven received a thunderous ovation from the packed audience. The commemoration CD “Beethoven: Complete Cello Sonatas” (Japan Acoustic Records) was selected as CD of the month by the magazine “Record Geijutsu”.
Yoko Hasegawa is the recipient of numerous awards including the Arion Prize Judges’ Encouragement Award, Muramatsu Prize, Kirishima International Music Festival Award, Rostropovich International Cello Competition Special Prize, Mobile Music Award Encouragement Prize, Shin-Nittetsu (New Japan Steel) Fresh Artist Award, and Hideo Saito Memorial Music Fund Award. She is an associate professor at Toho Gakuen College of Music.
Official website: http://yoko-hasegawa.com/