Young Concert Artists winner performs at WMU
Nov. 11, 2003
KALAMAZOO--Japanese marimbist Naoko Takada, First Prize winner in the 2002 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, will perform in the Dalton Center Recital Hall at Western Michigan University beginning at 8:15 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 18.
Takada will perform works by Bach, Debussy, and a Japanese Folk Song Suite by Inamore. Her performance is presented by WMU's Donald P. Bullock Music Performance Institute in collaboration with the Plaza Arts Circle. Tickets are $10 general admission, $5 for students and senior citizens and are available through the Miller Auditorium Ticket Office 269 387-2300 or toll free 800 228-9858.
Naoko Takada
This season, the Young Concert Artists Series presents Naoko Takada's New York debut at the 92nd Street Y, as well as debuts in Washington, D.C., at the Kennedy Center and in Boston.
Takada was born in Tokyo and began to study the marimba at age 8. She first appeared as soloist with orchestra at the age 11. In Japan, she studied with Akiko Suzuki and Keiko Abe and attended Waseda University in Tokyo, majoring in psychology.
She decided to focus more extensively on the marimba studies and entered California State University at Northridge, where she won the school's Concerto Competition and was on the National Dean's list. She returns to Northridge this year as a guest lecturer. After receiving her Bachelor of Music degree, she earned a Master of Music degree from Ithaca College, and also studied at the Boston Conservatory.
Media contact: Kevin West, 269 387-4678, kevin.west@wmich.edu