Profile

Tatsuya Yabe (violin)

With his refined, beautiful tone and profound musicality, he is one of Japan's most active leaders in the music world. After graduating from the Toho Gakuen School of Music Diploma Course, he was appointed solo concertmaster of the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra in 1990 at the young age of 22, a position he continues to hold to this day. In 1997, he received a great response for his performance of the theme song for NHK's "Agri." Active in chamber music and as a soloist, he has performed with renowned conductors such as Takashi Asahina, Seiji Ozawa, Hiroshi Wakasugi, Fournet, DePriest, Inbal, Bertini, and A. Gilbert. In the April 2009 issue of Ongaku no Tomo, he was ranked number one in the readers' choice of "My Favorite Concertmaster of a Japanese Orchestra," and in the February 2016 issue of Bungeishunju, he was named one of "125 Talented People Who Will Revitalize Japan." He received the 5th Idemitsu Music Award in 1994, the Muramatsu Award in 1996, and the 1st Hotel Okura Music Award in 1996. His CDs have been released by Sony Classical, Octavia Records, and King Records. He is the concertmaster of the Triton Hareta Umi Orchestra and the representative member of the Mishima Seseragi Music Festival ensemble, which is held every year.

Emi Sawahata (soprano)

She graduated from Kunitachi College of Music. After completing graduate school at the same university and the Agency for Cultural Affairs' Opera Training Institute, she moved to Italy. She won first place at the Japan Music Competition. Since her debut as Susanna in Nikikai's "The Marriage of Figaro," she has performed as Violetta in "La Traviata," Haruno in "TAKERU" (the New National Theatre opening performance), Pamina in "The Magic Flute," Zdenka in "Arabella," and Tsu in "Yuzuru," demonstrating her outstanding technique, expressiveness, and dazzling stage presence as one of Japan's leading sopranos. In recent years, she has showcased her elegant singing in Nikikai's "The Marriage of Figaro" and "Mimi" in "La Bohème," as well as her mature singing in "Woman's Love and Life." She also demonstrates her outstanding talent in concert performances, performing with renowned conductors both in Japan and abroad, including E. Inbal and G. Albrecht, and with major orchestras such as the NHK Symphony Orchestra. She has released the CD "Songs of Japan." She is a recipient of the 21st Giraud Opera Prize. She is a professor at Kunitachi College of Music and a member of Nikikai.

Masanori Yabe (cello)

He began playing the cello at the age of eight and studied under Hakuro Mori. He won second place and the E. Nakamichi Award in the cello division of the 86th Japan Music Competition, and first place and the Japan Broadcasting Corporation Award in the high school division of the 69th All-Japan Student Music Competition. He has performed at the Miyazaki International Music Festival, Suntory Hall ARK Classics, and Riccardo Muti's Italian Opera Academy in Tokyo, among other venues. He completed the soloist diploma course at the Toho Gakuen School of Music. He will be a participating artist in CHANEL Pygmalion Days in 2023. He will be a cellist with the NHK Symphony Orchestra from January 2025.

Kanon Matsuda (piano)

He began studying in Moscow at the age of six. He attended the prestigious Gnessin Secondary School, one of Russia's most prestigious schools, and was selected as a Scriabin Scholar by the Scriabin Memorial Museum in 2011, becoming the first foreign student to receive the award and graduating at the top of his class. He entered the Moscow Conservatory as the first Japanese student to receive a special scholarship from the Russian government, graduating at the top of his class in June 2019. He completed his graduate studies at the Moscow Conservatory in 2021. He has performed with orchestras such as the Russian National Orchestra, the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, the Prague Symphony Orchestra, the NHK Symphony Orchestra, and the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Mikhail Pletnev, Valery Gergiev, Andrea Battistoni, Pietari Inkinen, Kazuyoshi Akiyama, Michiyoshi Inoue, Masahiko Enkoji, Tadaaki Otaka, Kenichiro Kobayashi, Ken Takaseki, and Norichika Iimori. In December 2020, he performed Akira Ifukube's Ritmica Ostinata with the NHK Symphony Orchestra conducted by Michiyoshi Inoue, and in November 2021, he performed Shchedrin's Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Japan Century Symphony Orchestra conducted by Norichika Iimori at the NHK Music Festival. Both performances were broadcast nationwide and received high praise. Recently, he has expanded his activities to include chamber music. He has released two albums with Deutsche Grammophon. In 2018, he received the Kagawa 21st Century Grand Prize.

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