“Phenominal talent!”
James Judd
“She's achieved something extraordinary: she plays the piano like a string player"
Bachtrack
Born in Kyoto to a musical family, Yoko started very early her piano lessons, showing at a very tender age her innate talent and musicianship. At age 14 she was already a prize-winner and would receive the Second Prize in the prestigious Kyoto Piano Competition. After graduating from Kyoto Music High School, she was prompted to move to London to continue her development at Trinity College of Music under the Russian Master Nina Sereda, and later two Postgraduate Diplomas awarded with distinction with the guidance of the internationally acclaimed soloist Martino Tirimo.
Yoko has appeared as a soloist with the world most renowned conductors such as James Judd and Barry Wordsworth. Yoko has performed all around Japan and Europe, with particular predilection to Germany, Portugal, London, Italy, Croatia and Slovenia, both as soloist and in chamber music recitals. She has appeared in such prestigious venues as Kyoto Concert Hall(Japan), St. Martin-in-the-Fields, St. James Piccadilly, Wigmore Hall, Kings Place, Adrian Boult Hall and Regent Hall. In master classes Yoko has worked with Stephen Kovacevich, Dietrich Banhoeffer, Neal Larrabee, Elisabeth Dvorak-Weissmar, Bernard Greenhouse, Daniel Hoxter, William Aide, Norma Fischer and Dmitri Alexeev, among others.
She is the recipient of the First Prize of the John Longmire Beethoven Competition, Second Prize of the Beethoven Piano Society of Europe Intercollegiate Piano Competition 2005, being also the winner of the Elizabeth Schumann Lieder competition 2006, the Leonard Smith & Felicity Young Duo Competition 2007 with cellist Stjepan Hauser. Most recently she won the 2008 Alfred Kitchin Piano Competition. Currently, Yoko is the Leverhulme Scholar at Trinity College of Music, and also recipient of the TCM Founders’ Prize for musical accomplishments.
www.yokomisumi.com
