“Born in Tokyo, Japan, I was accepted to The Juilliard School Pre-College Division as an honorary scholarship student at the age of ten. I have since graduated from the Royal College of Music, with an MMus (distinction) and Artist Diploma, and regularly performs internationally as recitalist, concerto soloist and chamber musician.
I have been broadcasting on BBC Radio 3, ITV, Channel 4, Dutch, Polish, Romanian and French television and radio. I have released a solo CD, and also a DVD from Sound Techniques in conversation with BBC presenter Andrew Green.
I am a regular faculty member of Piano Week (www.pianoweek.com), and was on the jury of the Sussex International Piano Competition consecutively four times since its inauguration in 2010 (including the recent 2018 edition) alongside such distinguished pianists as Artur Pizarro (Leeds 1st prize 1990), Vanessa Latarche (RCM Head of Keyboard) and Idil Biret.
Other competitions I adjudicated include the Open Piano Competition (2012), the London Youth Piano Competition (2019), Music and Stars Awards (2020), the Artepiano E-Competition (2020), and will be on the jury of the International Competition of Music and Arts “Slavic Meetings” in 2021.
The professors who influenced me the most were, Mikako Abe (professor at the Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo), who taught me all the basics regarding technique and interpretation (the lessons went on for five hours sometimes!), Jan Marisse Huizing (former professor at the Amsterdam Conservatory), who introduced me to a myriad of historical recordings and Dominique Merlet, who made me whole as an artist.
In my teachings, I always look for the personality in the students. We work on technique and discuss interpretation to help bring this out.
My favourite artists are Dinu Lipatti, Murray Perahia, Radu Lupu, Richard Goode, and many, many others..There are so many younger pianists that I admire as well, like Seong-Jin Cho and Daniil Trifonov.
My 3 deserted-island CDs are: Raoul Koczalski’s Chopin, Dinu Lipatti’s Besancon recital and Murray Perahia’s Chopin.”