Ikegaku Mandolin Class

<Monday>

Professor Hisae Takema

Profile: Started playing the mandolin after entering Kobe University.
In 2004, he won first place at the 19th Japan Mandolin Solo Competition.
In the same year, she furthered her studies by taking lessons from Marga Wilden-Husgen and Caterina Lichtenberg at the Wuppertal College of Music in Cologne, Germany.
In 2005, he held his debut recital at the Aoyama Baroque Saal in Kyoto.
Since then, he has been active in a wide range of performances, including solo and ensemble concerts, and as an extra in professional orchestras around the country.
He is currently based in Tokyo and trains the next generation of performers in both Tokyo and Kobe.
In addition to teaching mandolin at Ikegaku and Iguchi Music School, he also runs mandolin classes in Nerima and Nishinomiya, Tokyo.
He has studied mandolin under Kozo Onishi, Masayuki Kawaguchi, and Takayuki Ishimura.

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Instrument: Mandolin, Mandola

<Tuesday/Friday>

Professor Chiaki Masukawa

ProfileBorn in Ota City, Gunma Prefecture. Won first place at the 18th Japan Mandolin Solo Competition in 2002. Competed in the semi-finals of the Yasuo Kuwahara Solo Competition held in Germany in 2008. Has performed extensively, including solo recitals, chamber music concerts, and as an extra in orchestras. In Japan's only mandolin magazine, "Play! Mandolin," she is in charge of the "Practical Mandolin Course," explaining various mandolin playing methods and techniques. Studied mandolin solo under Ikuko Takeuchi.

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Instrument: Mandolin, Mandola

<Wednesday>

Professor Masataka Hori

Profile : Studied mandolin, conducting and harmony under Takashi Kubota. Studied mandolin under Juan-Carlos Muñoz as a recipient of the Agency for Cultural Affairs' overseas training for up-and-coming artists in 2011. Won first place at the 10th Raffaele Carace International Mandolin Solo Competition in 2014. Has appeared as a soloist at music festivals both in Japan and abroad, including the Kobe International Music Festival 2013 and the Suntory Foundation for the Arts Summer Festival 2015.
The album "PRELUDIO" released in 2015 was highly praised by composer Shinichiro Ikebe, who said, "It is self-evident that this will create fresh ripples not only in the mandolin world, but in the music world at large." He is the director of the mandolin ensemble "EUPHORIA," where he not only conducts but also composes and arranges music. He is also working in the fusion band "Mandolicks," and as a producer, he is organizing the concert series "Il Mandolino Giapponese - Another Italian Culture," further expanding his activities. He writes a series of "Thematic Strategies" for the mandolin magazine "Play! Mandolin." He is an endorser for the string manufacturer OPTIMA.

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Instruments: Mandolin, Mandola, Mandoloncello

＜Thursday＞

Professor Tomoko Ono

ProfileGraduated from Japan Women's University. Studied mandolin under Takami Endo.
He has been an active central member of the Crystal Mandolin Ensemble (led by Tadashi Aoyama) since its inception in 1984.
He has performed with the NHK Symphony Orchestra, the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, and the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra.
He has also participated in the Japan tours of the Royal Ballet and Teatro alla Scala in Milan. He appeared in "Romeo and Juliet" performed by Kumakawa Tetsuya's K Ballet Company. He served as concertmaster for the Aoyama Central Mandolin Ensemble on the CDs "Mandolino Romantico III" and "Mandolino Romantico V". He also played second mandolin for the Aoyama Tadashi Mandolin Ensemble on "Mandolino Romantico IV", "Genshoku Romantic", "Mandolino Romantico II" to "Mandolino Romantico 18". Since 2001, he has performed in numerous concerts as a mandolinist with the Aoyama Tadashi Mandolin Ensemble.

Instrument: Mandolin, Mandola

<Saturday/Sunday>

Professor Takayuki Ishimura

Profile: He was a member of the mandolin club throughout middle school, high school and university, and was active as a conductor.
In 1984, he won first place at the 9th solo competition sponsored by the Japan Mandolin Federation, and held commemorative recitals in Fukuoka and Kyoto. In 1986, he went to Italy to study at the Cesare Pollini Conservatory in Padova, where he studied mandolin history as well as performing. In 1993, he won first place in the guitar, lute and mandolin category at the international instrumental competition sponsored by the city of Alassio. In the same year, he graduated from the conservatory at the top of his class and returned to Japan with a diploma.
In 1994, he held his debut recital in Tokyo and Osaka, and in December of the same year, he established the ESTUDIANTINA PHILODOLINO di KYOTO. He studied under Jiro Nakano, Masayuki Kawaguchi, and Ugo Orlandi.
Currently, he is engaged in a wide range of activities including performing, conducting, arranging, publishing, and research.
He is a judge at the National Guitar and Mandolin Festival and a technical advisor for the Doshisha University Mandolin Club and the Konan University Mandolin and Guitar Club.

Instruments: Mandolin, Mandola, Mandoloncello, Moderno Lute

<Sunday>

Professor Ayako Kojima

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Instrument: Mandolin, Mandola

<Irregular>

Professor Takaaki Shibata

Profile : Studied at the Mandolin Department of the Instrumental Music Education Course at the Kassel Conservatory in Germany. Won numerous awards at mandolin solo competitions in Japan and Germany. In 1997, accompanied the Ensemble Filmica, led by the late Yasuo Kuwahara, on their European tour, performing in Germany and Spain.
Since returning to Japan in 2006, he has held recitals every year in various parts of Japan, and has released the CDs "Utsukushiki Bara wo Shirumono", "Chronicle - 300 Years of Mandolin Music", "Winter Elegy - Contemporary Japanese Works for Mandolin and String Trio" in Japan, and "Sky Blue Flower" in Germany. His repertoire is wide, and in the field of contemporary music, he is active as a member of the Rosetta Contemporary Ensemble, and has premiered many new works.
As a soloist and speaker, he has been invited to participate in international symposiums at the International Music Festivals in Germany, Spain, and Kobe. He is active in both performance and research, and has been serializing articles on the history and playing techniques of the mandolin for the mandolin specialty magazine "Play! Mandolin" since its launch in 2008.
In the field of mandolin orchestras, he presides over the Mandolin Orchestra Guild, and is a guest concertmaster for the Filarmonica Mandolini Alba Sapporo, as well as technical advisor for the Uji Mandolin Ensemble Flora and the Kyoto University Mandolin Orchestra, and the first mandolin instructor for the Japan Super Youth Mandolin Orchestra. He is a part-time instructor in the Guitar and Mandolin Department at Osaka College of Music. He is a judge for the Japan Mandolin Solo Competition and the Hiroshima Prefectural Competition of the National High School Guitar and Mandolin Music Competition. He studied under Masaki Kinoshita, G. Weyhoven, and S. Treckel.

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Instruments: Mandolin, Mandola, Mandoloncello

<Irregular>

Professor Tonoko Sako

ProfileBorn in Hiroshima.
In 2003, she enrolled as a member of the first class of students majoring in mandolin at Elisabeth University of Music. In 2009, she completed her graduate studies at the same university and moved to Germany. She was selected as a recipient of the Nakamura Music Scholarship in 2011. In 2013, she completed the master's program in mandolin solo at the Hochschule fur Musik und Tanz Koln, standort Wuppertal.
He has won many awards at concerts and competitions. In 2009, he released a mandolin duet CD "Tabidachi no Uta" with his teacher, Mr. Kawaguchi. In 2012, he held a solo concert of original mandolin works. In November 2014, he held a literary-themed recital on his return to Japan, featuring original mandolin works including Japan premieres (classical guitarist Hisamitsu Uegakiuchi). In 2016, he performed a concert titled "Shin Kyochi" (New Soundscape) with world-renowned guitarist Norio Sato, exploring new possibilities for the mandolin. In 2018, he will perform the mandolin solo "Kyoukai" (Soundscape), which will include the commissioned premiere work "Sign of the Times" (Shintaro Imai) and the mandolin premiere of "Piano Phase for two pianos" (Steve Reich).
He has performed in many countries around the world, including Japan, Germany, France, and South Korea, and is an active participant in ensembles such as Ensemble Nomad and the contemporary music ensemble Rosetta, where he is involved in premieres and revivals of contemporary music.
He writes articles introducing new songs from around the world for Japan's only mandolin magazine, "Play! Mandolin," and is particularly dedicated to introducing new songs in Japan, including at concerts.
He also teaches the next generation of musicians, participating in numerous workshops for children as an instructor, and serving as a mandolin instructor at the Hilden Municipal Music School. In April 2013, he became a part-time instructor in the mandolin department at the Elisabeth University of Music.
He has studied under Masakiyo Matsushige, Yoshihiro Arai, Masayuki Kawaguchi, Professor Caterina Lichtenberg, Annika Hinsche, Jeannette Mozos del Campo, and Silke Lisko.

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Instrument: Mandolin, Mandola

<Irregular>

Professor Kazushige Uchiyama

Profile Born in Kitakyushu in 1979. With the motto "Give back what you have learned," he has made playing and teaching his music his two main pillars. Graduated from Tokyo College of Music. He has studied at the Contemporary Music Festival (Tongyeong, Korea), Orchestra Academy (Incheon, Korea and Tokyo), Baroque Seminar (Kitakyushu), etc. In recent years, he has expanded his activities from Tokyo to the Kansai and Tohoku regions, including a Kyoto-Osaka solo tour (three performances), performing at the FRUE festival as a member of Ichibere Orchestra Familia de Japan, and holding a "Kazu to Mari" Ginza recital. He also contributes "Sometimes about the bass" to the mandolin magazine "Kanderu! Mandolin." He is an associate member of CTQ, Kairos, EUODIA Orchestra, and Mandolin Ensemble EUPHORIA, a lecturer at the Japan Super Youth Mandolin Orchestra, and the owner of the double bass school "Kouwa." He studied under Yoshiura Katsuyoshi and Yoshida Hide.

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Instrument: Double bass