Mami Ichikawa
Violinist Mami Ichikawa has won the special presentation award from Artist International Audition in New York in 2002, which gave her an opportunity to give her New York debut recital at Merkin Concert Hall in 2003.
She received her Bachelor of Music degree from New England Conservatory in Boston and Master of Music degree from Mannes College of Music in New York where she was a scholarship student.
While living in New York, she has performed as a member of New England Symphonic Ensemble and Philadelphia Virtuosi. Her venues include Carnegie Hall in New York and Suntory Hall in Tokyo. At the same time, Ms. Ichikawa has been an active violin teacher and she is a certified instructor of Suzuki Association of America.
Currently she works as a violinist and a violin teacher in Tokyo area. She is the founder of Forest Music, and is founding member of a Latin jazz unit “Latin Classica a la Mode”.
Shin Arikita
Is the co-founder of Forest Music. He graduated of Berklee College of Music and published the Japanese edition of “the Brazilian Guitar Book” by Nelson Faria.
He had lived in Tennessee during his childhood and has been performing various types of music. i.e. Church Music, Pops, Jazz, Afro-cuban and Brazilian Music.
Aeka Watanabe
Is a graduate of Toho-Gakuen College School of Music in Japan and of Trossingen National Music College in Germany. She received her Master’s degree from San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She studied under Hakuro Mori, Bonnie Hampton, Sadao Harada, Tadao Iwamoto.
Currently she appears on chamber music, orchestras, and also focuses on teaching with her motto “Share pleasure of playing music”. She is the principal cellist of social orchestra “Orchestrada”.
Nobuko Nishino
Nobuko Nishino (soprano) completed her BM in vocal performance at Toho Gakuen School of Music and her MM at Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, Chicago. She gave solo recitals in 1999 and 2001 in Chicago and was the member of Grant Park Music Festival chorus from 2001 and 2002, and Saint James Cathedral choir from 2000 and 2002. Opera credits include Die Zauber Floete (Pamina), Mikado (the school girl), and Help! The Grobolinks! (The math teacher). She recently participates in the publication works of the opera by American composer, Gian Carlo Menotti into Japanese.
Akiko Kojika
A native of Tokyo Japan, Akiko Kojika is passionate about teaching piano to all levels of students. She holds a bachelor in piano performance BM, Psychology BS from the University of Central Arkansas, and an MM in Piano Performance from the Indiana University. In 2001 she won Honorable Mention in the University of Central Arkansas Piano Competition and in 2004 won the competition. Akiko loves teaching students from 4-5 year old beginners to advanced levels to adult students. Above all she loves to share her passion for music and the piano with her students, respects and communicates well to all small students, and trying to instill this same love and dedication to all those who study with her.
Saeko Tominaga
Cellist Saeko Tominaga has won the New York Debut award from Artist International Audition in New York, which gave her an opportunity to give her New York debut recital at Merkin Concert Hall in 2003. She was also selected as a performer for “Alumni Winner Series” and gave a recital at Carnegie Weil Recital Hall.
She received her Bachelor of Music degree from Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo, as a top graduate cello majoring student. She continued her study at Illinois State University and the Juilliard School where she received Advanced Certificate. While studying at the Juilliard School, she appeared at Focus Music Festival as a principal cellist of the Julliard Orchestra frequently.
Her recital venues include Weil Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall in New York and Casals Hall in Tokyo.
Currently she is freelancing as a both orchestral player and soloist in Tokyo area. She is a member of “Nihonbashi Quartet”.
Ayumi Hirata
Ayumi Hirata has won numerous international piano competition prizes, including 1st prize at the Yamaha Piano Festival, the Beten Piano Competition in Japan, 4th prize in the Rizzardo Bino International Competition, and 1st prize at the Concorso Internazionale Città di Villafranca in Italy. She has also performed as a soloist with the Poland Krakow Chamber Music Orchestra.
Ayumi studied at the Toho Conservatory in Tokyo earning her Bachelor’s degree and continued her studies at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow finishing with the highest honors and receiving her Master’s degree.
Her concert venues include prestigious locations such as the Music Culture Center in Moscow, the Rubinstein Museum, and the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, as well as many prominent halls in Japan, including Salamanca Hall and Minatomirai Hall in Yokohama.
During the pandemic, she was invited to perform in a series of festivals hosted by Gifu Prefecture, where her solo recital was broadcast nationally on television.
Yukiko Sasakura-Camus
Yukiko Sasakura graduated from the Toho Gakuen School of Music and continued her studies at the Berlin University of the Arts in Germany, where she earned the German State Soloist Certificate. She has performed extensively in Germany and internationally, giving solo and duo recitals, chamber music concerts, and collaborating with orchestras in Japan, Germany, Italy, and the UK. Alongside her performance career, she has focused on training young musicians.
In 1998, she moved to France to expand her musical activities, studying piano and modern & contemporary music interpretation. She taught at various music schools in the Ile-de-France region and performed in solo and chamber music concerts in Paris, the suburbs, and Brittany. Additionally, she has served as a jury member for numerous piano competitions.
Every summer, she gives an annual concert in Versailles, France. Since 2023, she has been based in Tokyo and offers lessons in both French and German.