Harada, Keiko

Keiko Harada

Biography

Born: 1968

Country: Japan

Studies: Toho Gakuen School of Music, (M.M. 1993);

Teachers:

Publishers: Zen-On and Tokyo Concerts Inc., Edition Wunn

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Keiko Harada was born in 1968 in Japan. She studied composition, conducting, piano and chamber music at Toho Gakuen School of Music where she graduated in 1993 with a Master's degree in composition. Harada's works have won numerous awards including the 62nd Music Competition of Japan Awards, Akiyoshidai Prize and the 2001 Akutagawa Prize. She has received grants from major foundations in Japan, Canada, Germany and the US. Most of her works have been commissioned by leading international festivals and performers including ictus ensemble (Brussels), Nieuw Ensemble (Holland), Ensemble Modern (France), ELISION (Australia), Tokyo Philharmonic Chorus, Mayumi Miyata, Yo-Yo Ma, Stefan Hussong and others. In recent years Harada has composed collaborative works for dance, theatre and film. She established Ensemble Manufacture for contemporary music in 1989. Since 2000, she has chaired the executive committee of SOUND GEAR, a project bringing together musicians from various parts of world focusing on theatrical new music. She is currently teaching composition and theory at Toho Gakuen in Tokyo, Japan.

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Keiko Harada’s career as composer began with her improvisation on the piano as a child. Studied composition, piano, chamber music and conducting at the Toho Gakuen College of Music.Graduated in 1993 with Kenkyu-ka Katei (post graduate) in composition. She studied composition with Manabu Kawai, Akira Miyoshi and after college in several international seminar with Brian Ferneyhough, piano with Michio Mamiya and chamber music (Gyorgi Kurtag’s work) with Gyorgi Kurtag.

Harada’s works have won numerous awards in different form ; The 62nd Japan Awards(1st prize) for chamber work, Yasuda prize, E-Nakamichi Prize(’93), Yamaguchi-Prefectural Governor’s prize(’95), Akutagawa Orchestra Composition Prize (’01), Kenzo Nakajima Music Prize for solo work(’04), Otaka Prize for orchestra (’09) and others. Her international activities have been supported by grants from The Japan Foundation, The Nomura Cultural Foundation, The Japan-Canada Fund, The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Darmstadt (IMD), Royamont(France), Bartok Seminar and others. In 2002 she worked in New York City on a grant of Asian Cultural Council (ACC) .

Many of Harada’s works were commissioned by leading festivals, ensembles or seminars in many countries(Ictus, Champ d’Action, , Elision, Phorminx, Drumming, Remix, Ensemble Modern, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Yomiuri-Japan Symphony Orchestra, Izumi Symphonietta Osaka…). Especially many soloists have requested new work as Yo-yo Ma, Takashi Yamane, Carin Levine, Mike Svoboda, Stefan Hussong, Toshiya Suzuki, Kaori Nakajima, Nanae Yoshimura, Naoko Kikuchi, Etsuko Tazaki, Rumi Ogawa, Yutaka Oya, Piet Van Bockstal..). Several compositions have been selected as repertoire such as for International Jacobi Competition (’03), for International Arasate Competition(since ’09), for International Ensemble Modern Academy (since ’08).

Her portrait concerts took place in Japan (’97,’01),Belgium (2000), NHK FM Radio Broadcast(’06 &’09), Gewandhaus and Saarland Radio Broadcast(’07),International Asiago Festival (’09) and Nachtstuecke Musikfest (2010).

In recent years she has done many collaborative works with choreographers(Astad Deboo, Taipei Dance Circle and others), Theater Director(Satoshi Miyagi), Japanese traditional Flower Arts (Kouzo Okada) and Film director(Kiju Yoshida, for ‘Women in a Mirror’ , invited film of Cannes International Film Festival where Harada presented). Further artistic activities including ; Leader of Ensemble Manufacture (1989-1999), Founder of Ensemble Nomad (’97-98). In 2004-08, Worked as councilor of Tokyo Wonder Site where she developed ‘’Support Projects for Young Musicians’’, ‘’Ensemble Modern Academy(IEMA) in Tokyo’’ and many others. Currently the leader of SOUND GEAR since 1999, a project bringing together musicians from various parts of the world presenting new music as performing arts with professionals of theater as well as educational project for young composers. The latest educational project was in Stanford Univ.and California Univ,Berkeley(’09) supported by The Japan Foundation.

She is currently Associate Professor of composition department at Tokyo College of Music. In addition, she is lecturing at Toho Gakuen College of Music and The National Fine Arts University, Tokyo.

Her works has been published by Zen-On and Tokyo Concerts Inc.(Japan) in addition to Edition Wunn (Germany). Portrait CDs at FONTEC(Japan)and Cypres (Belgium)

Works for Percussion

Bone # - Multiple Percussion; Violin
Bones - Percussion Sextet
Circle of 4ths - Percussion Septet
Kokiriko Variations - Percussion Sextet
Labyrinth VI - Multiple Percussion; Clarinet
Labyrinth VI-b - Multiple Percussion; Accordion
Labyrinth IX - Multiple Percussion; Voice - Soprano; Choir small
No Title No.3 - Marimba
Phonetica - Multiple Percussion
Pulse (Harada) - Percussion Quintet
Sanba Da Ba Sanba - Percussion Quartet
Sphere - Percussion Sextet