Sumie Kaneko (Koto, Shamisen)

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Japanese koto and shamisen player Vocalist

Sumie (Sumi-é) Kaneko creates music that spans a millennium. A master in the traditional repertoire of these ancient instruments, she has also pioneered their use in jazz and experimental music, through solo and group performances worldwide. She is renowned for her ability to collaborate with a diverse array of visionary international artists: Pulitzer Winner Paula Vogel, Yo-Yo Ma and The Silk Road Project, composer Evan Ziporyn, taiko artist Kenny Endo and Kaoru Watanabe, and tabla player Tanmoy Bose. In 2021, she performed shamisen solo for American Ballet Theatre’s season opening with the principal dancers, Isabella Boylston and James Whiteside.

Born in Chiba, Japan. Sumie started playing koto at age of five. Her career started in 1995 as a winner of the Takasaki International Competition in Koto performance. In 2002 after graduating from Tokyo National University of the Arts, Sumie moved to Boston and studied Jazz vocal at Berklee College of Music. She has performed at such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Blue Note NY, TED talk, Google, Getty Center, Boston Ballet, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. As an educator, she has lectured at large academic scenes: Harvard University, Columbia University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University, Wellesley College, and in 2021 May, she will give a lecture presentation at Aoyama Gakuin University as a renowned international artist.

Sumie also tours overseas as a cultural ambassador. She has been performed in over 20 countries and has been worked closely with Embassy of Japan. In South Asia, she has visited many of non-profit organizations for street children to encourage future education. In 2018, she expanded her career in Europe, and after pandemic she is scheduled to perform in Hungary, Romania, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

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Junko Ichikawa (Piano)

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Junko Ichikawa was born in Obihiro, Hokkaido.

Currently based in New York City, Junko has performed all over the world, including solo recitals at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Japanese Garden in Portland, Oregon and many other recital halls around the world. She has performed as a soloist with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra (Tokyou), as well as with the Rutgers Symphony Orchestra, the Wiener Residenz Orchester and many others.

Most recently, she has been performing special invitational solo recitals aboard CUNARD’s Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria super luxury ocean liners.

Junko is a graduate of Tokyo National University of Arts, New York University, Mannes College of Music, and has earned her DMA at Rutgers University.

For more information, visit www.junkoichikawa.com

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Naoko Nakagawa (Soprano)

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 Naoko Nakagawa (soprano), a native of Japan, was a graduate of the Tokyo University of the Arts and continued onto performing in many concerts. Ms. Nakagawa made her role debut as Masha in “A Feast in the Time of the Plague” written by César Cui at the little OPERA THEATRE of NY. She resides in New York City and has studied at the Mannes College, Westchester Summer Vocal Institute, and has also worked with Martina Arroyo Foundation and Amore Opera. She has appeared at the Fort Lee library concert twice before and was honored to perform there. Her teachers and mentors include Martina Arroyo, Jean Ronald LaFond, Steven Crawford, a conductor of Metropolitan Opera, and Joan Krueger. Besides her performance activities as a soprano singer, she’s currently concentrating to teach Eurhythmics and singing to children.  Lately, she began online streaming concerts with her husband and daughter through Youtube, and as a social contribution, the profits from the concerts were donated to Prevent Child Abuse America to help families and children who lost income due to the impact of COVID-19 and American Civil Liberties Union founded in 1920 in support of human rights activities.

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Satoshi Kanazawa (Composition)

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Satoshi Kanazawa is a New York City based composer of classical and contemporary music. Graduating from Tokyo University of the Arts, he received many awards and grants such as Shelley Pinz Professional Development Grant, NYFA Artists’ Fellowship with the additional title of Gregory Millard Fellow as well as Grand Prize in Lin Yao Ji International Competition, Yoshinao Nakada Prize in The 25th Sougakudo Japanese Art Song Competition, Grand Prize with Hirosaki City Mayor Award in Hirosaki Sakurano Sono Competition with the title of Hirosaki City Mayor Award and Hifumi Shimoyama Award, The 6th JFC Composers Award, and Japan Trombone Association Memorial Piece Award. He released his first debut CD, entitled "Flowing Blue" in 2009 to showcase his unique style of music. Besides his premieres of original works and numerous arrangement pieces in Japan, his award-winning piece called “Rhapsody for Trombone and Piano” was premiered in the U.S. by Charles Vernon of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He was also invited to hold his lecture and concert of his works hosted by Université Laval in Canada. Notably, his commissioned piece for Japanese bamboo flute and cello entitled “TSUGARU” was premiered at Carnegie Hall in 2019. His current concept of composition is “Locality in society”. His compositions are inspired by local cultures, myth or current social events and he seeks if locality is necessary in our modern world and how locality affects in our society.

https://www.satoshikanazawa.net

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