Mayumi Miyata

Mayumi Miyata is distinguished by being the first artist to bring the SHO, the traditional Oriental instrument to worldwide recognition. Through her performances at the invitation of international festivals around the world, her artistry has helped expand awareness of the SHO both in Japan and elsewhere.

Having graduated from Kunitachi College of Music in piano, Ms. Miyata studied 'Gagaku', (Ancient Japanese Court Music) and from 1979 performed in the Gagaku ensemble at the National Theatre of Japan. Since 1993 she has been active as a soloist and can be credited with making the SHO widely recognized not only as a traditional instrument but one which has a valid place in contemporary music.

While the shō is traditionally associated with Gagaku, Ms. Miyata is highly acclaimed for her performances of contemporary compositions by many of the world's leading composers. She has worked particularly closely with John Cage, having performed the world premier of all of Cage's Two3 for SHO and Conch in Italy in 1992.

Other composers with whom Ms Miyata is associated are Toru Takemitsu, (Ceremonial - An Autumn Ode, with the Saito Kinen Orchestra under the baton of Seiji Ozawa) and Toshio Hosokawa, whose Utsurohi Nagi she performed with the WDR Symphony Orchestra in Cologne. In 1997 Ms. Miyata performed in the world premiere of Helmut Lachenmann's Das Mädhen mit den Schwefelhälzern (The Little Match Girl) with the Hamburg Opera and in 2000 the Japanese premiere and 2001 the Stuttgart Opera production of the same work, conducted by Lothar Zagrosek. She has also premiered works by Paul Méfano, Klaus Huber, Pierre-Yves Artaud, Zsigmond Szathmáry, Toshi Ichiyanagi, Maki Ishii, and Joji Yuasa.