The Fifth International Stretto Piano Festival is excited to welcome its first Tokyo-based performance event featuring these fine artists!
PROGRAM
Frederic Chopin: Barcarolle F# Major Op.60
Ayako Yamazaki, piano
Dan Ikuma & Hakushu Kitamura: Six Songs for Children
Miki Katsumasa, soprano & Haruka Uehara, piano
Additional programming TBA
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
This concert presents a combination of Western and Japanese music, played on a Hailun H-1P 6.0-inch octave keyboard. Six Songs for Children(1945) was composed by Dan Ikuma, with lyrics by Hakushu Kitamura.
These pieces are categorized as Japanese classical music.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Ayako Yamazaki has performed in various solo concerts and is also active as a
vocal and instrumental ensemble pianist. In 2019, she started an online piano class. She has taught over 450
students from Japan and around the world. She received the PTNA Teaching Award five years in a row. She
graduated from the Kunitachi College of Music, Department of Instrumental Music as a Piano Major. She completed her Master's program at Seitoku University Graduate School of Music and Culture.
Haruka Uehara is an amateur pianist who has been playing the piano since she was five years old. She has competed in national competitions. She also manages a studio equipped with a stretto piano, and is involved in planning and running piano concerts and regional competitions. She is a member of the Japan Music Association. Ms. Uehara reached out to the Stretto Piano Festival with the wish to present this Tokyo-based event.
Miki Katsumasa, soprano, devoted herself to choral singing from an early age, honing her ability to read music and express herself. An active performer, she has appeared in numerous citizen opera productions. She played Hansel in "Hansel and Gretel," and has appeared in numerous productions including "Cinderella," "The Magic
Flute," "The Red Devil," and "Gianni Schicchi.” A graduate of Kunitachi College of Music, she majored in Childhood Education. She is involved in sacred music concerts, live performances, and music for videos. She is a member of the Tokyo City Opera Association.