Cynthia Arden Smith Sanders Distinguished Artist Series: Tomoki Sakata, Van Cliburn Finalist Piano Recital
Cynthia Arden Smith Sanders Distinguished Artist Series: Tomoki Sakata, Van Cliburn Finalist Piano Recital
October 5, 2016 – (DENISON, TX) Grayson College will host world-class pianist Tomoki Sakata, finalist at the 2013 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, on Oct. 10 at 7:30 p.m. in the Cruce Stark Auditorium as part of the Cynthia Arden Smith Sanders Distinguished Artist Series
“The Cliburn Competition is widely-recognized as one of the world's highest-visibility classical-music contests and supports the careers of young pianists to share the transformative powers of music with a wide global audience,” said Dr. David Tercero, Program Director for the Grayson College Music Department. “This is a can't miss concert for music lovers and piano students alike!”
Also a prizewinner at various competitions throughout Asia and Europe, Sakata has appeared in concert in Osaka, Tokyo, and Yokohama as well as in Geneva, Lugano, Paris, Prague, Utrecht, and Moscow for the twelfth International Festival “Musical Kremlin” at the invitation of Nikolai Petrov. He has performed as soloist with the Fort Worth Symphony, Youngstown, Hamamatsu Symphony, Lublin Philharmonic, and Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestras, working with such conductors as Leonard Slatkin, Randall Craig Fleisher, and Hikotaro Yazaki.
Octavia Records released Mr. Sakata’s debut disc in spring 2015, featuring works by Liszt, Scriabin, Debussy, Chopin, and Rachmaninov. A sci-fi and anime fan, he has also recorded the soundtrack for the popular Japanese manga series “Your Life in April.”
Born in Nagoya, Mr. Sakata began piano lessons at the age of 5 and began improvising and composing at age 6. He currently splits his time between Japan, Italy, and Germany, studying with Hideto Nishikawa at the Tokyo University of Fine Arts and Music since 2012; William Grant Naboré at the International Piano Academy Lake Como since 2011; and Arie Vardi in Hannover since 2014.
Tickets are $15 for community members and $5 for faculty. Admission for students is free with ID.
For more information, contact Amy Evans at evansa@grayson.edu or 903-863-8628.