PROGRAM

Ainola Lyrical Ballads  1.Romance 2.Arabesque 6.Pastoral / Takashi Yoshimatsu

Tri-Tribute 2.Fratribute/ Elliott Carter

Petites esquisses d'oiseaux 2. Le merle-noir / Olivier Messiaen   

BIO

Shion Takei has been playing the piano for 16 years ever since she started her piano studies at the age of 3 under the guidance of her mother.  She currently studies with Professor Kenta Suzuki and has previously studied with Yukiko Naito-Fendrich. She has earned several distinctions, including the American College of Musicians Guild’s High School Diploma and the Five-Year National Roll Award (2025) and the Grand Prize in the High School Division of the Nagano Piano Competition (2023).

Shion was selected for the Early Talent Program at Tokyo University of the Arts. She also received scholarship to attend the Kusatsu Music Festival, where she completed a masterclass with Professor Anthony Spiri.  At age 17, she was awarded a scholarship from the Ministry of Education of Japan and has visited public music schools in Germany and participated in Professor Benjamin Moser’s class at the Uttwil Masterclass in Switzerland.  In 2025, Shion was accepted to play for renowned pianist, Ikuyo Nakamichi, which allowed her to perform in her masterclass and concert in 2026. She is currently studying music education.

As a pianist who had faced challenges by having smaller hands,  Shion is deeply grateful for the opportunity to play narrow keyed instruments, as she feels comfortable with them.