Mayumi Miyata

Mayumi Miyata

Mayumi Miyata was one of the first to introduce the sho-, the traditional Oriental instrument, worldwide. Having been invited by major international festivals around the globe, her artistry has helped expand the recognition of sho- both in Japan and overseas.

After graduating from Kunitachi College of Music, she studied Gagaku (Japanese ancient court music) and began appearing in the National Theatre of Japan in 1979. Ms. Miyata has performed in sho- recitals since 1983, continuously winning high praise. Successful recitals include the Brooklyn Museum (New York), Paris, Amsterdam, Scala Piccolo Teatro, Milan, Vienna Konzerthaus, and has also taken part in various festivals at the invitations of Donaueschinger Musiktage, Wien Modern, Festival d’automne de Paris, Darmstadt International Summer Course, Festival Extasis (Geneva), Musica Viva (Munich), Pacific Music Festival (Sapporo), and Akiyoshidai International Contemporary Music Seminar & Festival.

Ms. Miyata has premiered works by Cage, Takemitsu, Méfano, Huber, Artaud, Szathmáry, lchiyanagi, Ishii, Yuasa and Hosokawa. In 1992, she performed the world premier of all of John Cage’s works for sho- and percussion in Perugia, Italy. In the same year, she performed Takemitsu’s Ceremonial-An Autumn Ode with the Saito Kinen Orchestra under Seiji Ozawa and in 1996, Utsurohi Nagi by Hosokawa with the WDR Symphony Orchestra (Cologne). She performed in the tremendously successful new opera production by Helmut Lachenmann at the Hamburg Opera (1997).

In 1998, Ms. Miyata’s calendar was highlighted by her performance of the Japanese National Anthem during the Opening Ceremony of the 1998 Nagano Olympic Winter Games. She appeared as a soloist during the NHK Symphony’s European tour conducted by Charles Dutoit, and with the Czech Philharmonic’s Japan tour conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy (2001/2). Ms. Miyata will record all of John Cage’s music for the sho- for Mode Records.