𝔹𝕚𝕠𝕘𝕣𝕒𝕡𝕙𝕪

Sayako SHINONAGA 

－Pianist 

Winner of the Grand Prix at the 39th PTNA Piano Competition (Special Grade), also receiving the MEXT Minister's Award, Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra Award, and The Yomiuri Shimbun Award, she quickly gained wide recognition both in Japan and abroad.

Born in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, she began studying the piano at the age of three.

She graduated from the Piano Performance Course at Tokyo College of Music, where she studied as a Special Scholarship Student, and completed her Master's degree at the same institution. During her graduate studies, she served as a Teaching Assistant, providing instruction to numerous students. She later continued her studies in Europe and completed the Postgraduate Program at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna.

Her awards include First Prize at the 37th Iizuka Newcomer Music Competition, receiving all additional prizes including the MEXT Minister's Award and Asahi Shimbun Award, the Grand Prix at the Kanazawa Fresh Concert Audition, First Prize at the Imola International Piano Audition in Japan (University & General Division), the Ishikawa Music Academy (IMA) Music Award, and selection as an outstanding performer at the 19th Hokuriku New Artist Gateway Concert.

Internationally, she has received numerous prizes, including Third Prize at the Orbetello International Piano Competition (Italy), Second Prize at the Delia Steinberg International Piano Competition (Spain), and Second Prize and a Special Award at the Hauts-de-France International Piano Competition "Les Étoiles du Piano" (France).

She has performed as a soloist with orchestras such as the Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa, Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Orchestre de Picardie, under the baton of distinguished conductors including Taijiro Iimori, Michiyoshi Inoue, Kazumasa Watanabe, and Arie van Beek. Her concert activities extend throughout Japan and internationally, including appearances in Germany, France, Poland, Austria, Italy, and Spain.

Her principal teachers include Chieko Maeda, Tomoko Izumiya, Ryuta Ono, Chikako Shimizume, Aya Tsurumi, Tamiko Tachi, Rie Ishii, Hirotaka Suzuki, Mizuho Nakata, Hikohiro Sato, Kazuko Sumi, and Anna Malikova. She has also participated in masterclasses with leading musicians such as Pietro De Maria Palazzetti, C. M. Kang, Pascal Rogé, Anne Queffélec, Bruno Rigutto, Jean-Claude Pennetier, Kevin Kenner, Michel Dalberto, Eliso Virsaladze, Alexander Kobrin, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Angela Hewitt, and Ewa Pobłocka, among others.

In addition to her active career as a soloist and chamber musician, she is frequently involved in media projects. She has served as piano supervisor, dubbing performer, and performance coach for NHK drama "Vietnam no Hibiki" and TBS drama "Jigoku no Hate Made Tsurete Iku".

She is a full member of the Piano Teachers' Association of Japan (PTNA) and has been serving as a Part-time Lecturer in Piano at the Faculty of Music, Tokyo University of the Arts since April 2024.