Misato Yokoyama (横山美里), Piano

Biography

Born in Obihiro, Japan, Misato began playing the piano at the age of four. She studied with Emiko Tadenuma and Kenji Watanabe at the Tokyo University of Fine Arts and Music.

In 1991 she won first prize at the National Young Pianists Competition in Tokyo and was awarded a full scolarship to the Royal Academy of Music in London, where she studied under Christopher Elton and Maria Curcio. She graduated with a Dip.RAM, the highest distinction for performance and received an award for best postgraduate pianist of the year.

In 1995 she placed first in the International Piano Competition of Isernia, Italy. Her debut CD, featuring works by Brahms and Schumann, was released in 1997 and was acclaimed in major musical magazines in Japan. It was given HMV Japan's "Young Artist of the Year" award in 1998.

In 1999 Misato gave a debut concert with the Japan Philarmonic Orchestra. She was invited to play at the "Music in the Mountains" classical music festival in Colorado, USA in 2000 and recorded her second CD in 2001.