Keiko HARADA

Born in Tokyo in 1968, Keiko HARADA studied composition, piano, chamber music and conducting with Manabu KAWAI, Akira MIYOSHI, Michio MAMIYA, and Yoriaki MATSUDAIRA at the Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo, where she completed the Masters course in 1992.

Her awards include first prize in the 62nd Music Competition of Japan Awards, the Yasuda prize, the E. Nakamichi prize for studying abroad, second prize in the 5th Akiyoshidai International Music Festival and Seminar (1993), and the Yamaguchi Prefectional Governor prize (1995). She has been attending the Internationale Sommerferienkurs in Darmstadt since 1988 and the Akiyoshidai international seminar since 1991 as a scholarship recipient, and her pieces have been performed there.

Her recent compositions include commissioned works for Young Nordic Festival (Sweden 1994), Arsenale Musica (Italy 1995), Musuana 95 Japan Today (Denmark 1995), Hokutopia International Music Festival, Asian Today (Japan 1995), Frissen Componarva (Hungary 1995 and 1996), Ensemble Akiyoshidai (1996), ICTUS Ensemble, PLATEAU (Belgium 1996 and 1997), and ELISION Ensemble (Australia 1998), and these have been widely performed in Europe as well as Japan.

She has been the director, pianist and conductor of Ensemble MANUFACTURE for contemporary music in Tokyo, which has been active since 1989. Ensemble MANUFACTURE invites participation by young composers and their works, as well as collaborations with other ensembles both in Japan and overseas.

She is currently a lecturer at Toho Hakuen School of Music, where she teaches solfege and composition individually.

1998