Misuzu Tanaka, Concert Pianist.
As an avid performer of the music of J. S. Bach and Leoš Janáček and described as a pianist" who dispatched everything with both dizzying speed and sensitivity", Misuzu Tanaka has established herself as as a soloist and chamber musician. She has performed concerts in Villa Bertramka in Prague, Mest’anská Beseda Velký Sal in Pilsen, Czech Republic as well as in Gdansk, Poland. In addition, she has performed at various venues throughout the U.S. such as Alice Tully Hall, as well as performing for Ambassador of the Slovak Republic, Ronald Weiser.
As a chamber musician, Misuzu Tanaka performed extensively with the Garth Newel Piano Quartet at the Garth Newel Music Center where she was resident pianist and Co-Artistic Director. During her time there, she collaborated with prominent artists including James Dunham (Cleveland Quartet), Robert Merfeld, Richard Faria, Kelly Hall-Tompkins, and members of the National Symphony Orchestra. An advocate of modern music, she has also collaborated with prominent composers such as Paul Moravec (Pulitzer Prize Winning Composer) and Alberto E. Colla. During this time she was also involved in being a mentor and coach to pianists from Governor’s schools in Virginia and college-level chamber music groups through the student fellowship program.
Ms. Tanaka has attended summer music festivals in the United States and Czech Republic such as Bowdoin International Music Festival, Prague International Piano Masterclasses, International Music Academy in Pilsen. In Pilsen, she studied with famed Czech pianist Ivan Moravec.
Misuzu Tanaka studied at the Juilliard School in New York under the tutelage of Martin Canin. During those years she also studied chamber music with Jacob Lateiner, Seymour Lipkin, Robert Mann, and Andre Emelianoff. Her Masters in Music degree and Doctor of Musical Arts degree were obtained at the University of Michigan with a full scholarship where she studied piano with Logan Skelton.
Among Ms. Tanaka's awards are first prize in the Poland Music Festival Competition, second prize at the Joan and Daniel Rutenberg Chamber Music Competiiton, and honorable mention at the International Janáček Competition. She has also been a finalist in the Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Competition and semi-finalist in the J.S. Bach International Competition in Leipzig, Germany as well as the Hilton Head International Piano Competition, and was also nominated in January 2010 as a Presser Music Award candidate.
