haruka nakamura PIANO ENSEMBLE

JAPAN

It all began with haruka nakamura’s first full-length piano-based album “twilight” in 2010 where members of the ensemble were first introduced – ARAKI Shin (saxophone, flute), Akira Uchida (saxophone), Rie Nemoto (violin) and isao saito (drums).

It was the dramatic success of ‘twilight’ and an extensive album tour that marked the early beginnings of the potent quintet christened ‘haruka nakamura PIANO ENSEMBLE’, who would subsequently establish a solid repertoire and develop a distinctive musical language of their own – one that combined classical rigor with contemporary improvisation both formal and free.

With haruka nakamura leading on piano, the quintet produces glowing sonorities and emotional resonances that are rich in detail and austerely beautiful. The link to chamber music from hymns and spirituals is further magnified in the music with the addition of all-female choir CANTUS and 14-year old prodigy vocalist Urara.

With the release of ‘Ongaku No Aru Fuukei’, the quintet embarked on their release tour which spanned from 2015 to 2017, over a total of 21 shows throughout Japan, Taiwan and Singapore, including prestigious venues Memorial Cathedral for World Peace in Hiroshima, Hyogo Art Performing Centre in Kobe and Meguro Persimmon Hall in Tokyo and others.

In 2017, their album ‘Hikari’ was launched with a concert held at St Mary’s Cathedral in Tokyo to their largest audience of 1000 to date. ‘Hikari’ concludes the trilogy of landmark albums ‘Ongaku No Aru Fuukei’ and ‘CURTAIN CALL’, and is the final recording to feature the current PIANO ENSEMBLE lineup.