Seiya Ueno & Kana Okada
Biography Seiya Ueno & Kana Okada
Seiya Ueno
Grand-Prix winner of the 2008 Jean-Pierre Rampal International Competition.
Flutist of the new generation with true talent and virtuosity.
Born in Tokyo in 1989, Seiya Ueno had started playing the flute at the age of 9, and begins his professional studies in flute at the age of 12. After graduating Tokyo Metropolitan High School of Music and Fine Arts in 2008, Seiya was accepted to enter the Tokyo National University of Music and Fine Arts. In 2009, Seiya went to France and enters the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris.
He has studied with Yuko Yamada, Megumi Horie, Sabine Seyfert, Kazuo Tachikawa, Chang-Kook Kim, Philippe Bernold, Vincent Lucas and Sophie Cherrier.
Mr. Ueno has won numerous prizes including the first prize at the 59th Student Music Competition of Japan, first prize at the 5th Japan Wind and Percussion Competition, first prize at the 5th Osaka International Music Competition, the second prize at the 79th Music Competition of Japan, and the first prize in the 8th Jean-Pierre Rampal Competition. He has received special awards from the Matsukata Hall Music Award and the Suginami Prefecture of Tokyo for Cultural Achievements.
Winning the Grand-Prix of the Jean-Pierre Rampal International Competition in Paris, Mr. Ueno performed the Reinecke Concerto with Orchestre National d’Ile de France. He has also appeared as soloist with Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic Octet, and New Japan Philharmonic.
Beginning in 2004, Mr. Ueno has performed in recitals annually in Tokyo and Osaka. He has performed all over the world such as the Beethovenfest Bonn in Germany, Estivals de Musiques de Coeur de Medoc and Festival Boucard in France, recital in Seoul Korea, and Les nouveaux talents japonais de la musique held by the Maison de la culture japonais in Paris.
Seiya Ueno is currently in Munich, and continues to perform in France, Japan, and many other countries in Europe and Asia.
Kana Okada
Born in 1991 in Hakodate (Japan), Kana OKADA began studying the piano at the age of 3.
Arrived in France at 15 years old, she entered the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris with unanimous approval, where she studied with Frank BRALEY, Haruko UEDA, Georges PLUDERMACHER, Claire DESERT, Itamar GOLAN and François-Frédéric GUY. She obtained her Diplôme de Formation Supérieure de Piano with the greatest honors in June 2010, a degree in chamber music in 2011 and in June 2013, she obtained her Master's Degree.
Kana Okada gave her first recital at the age of 9. When she was 13, she gave recitals performing the integral of Chopin's Etudes.
She was invited by numerous festivals and organizers such as the Polish Government (Krakow/Poland), Gold Country Piano Institute (Californie/USA), Festival Chopin (Parc Bagatelle/France), Jeunes Talents (Paris/France) and Kawai Concerts Series (Tokyo/Japan), Japanese Embassy in France (Paris), Festival Piano en Saintonge (France), Festival International de Piano de Quaregnon (Belgique) and the Folle Journée in Japan.
She appears regularly in Japan, France, Poland, Spain and Portugal.
Her concerts were broadcasted several times on Japanese TV and Radio.
Prizewinner of many competitions (by chronological order): 3rd Prize and Interpretation Prize for Bach at the International Competition "Czerny Stefanska"(Japan), 2nd Prize at the International Piano Competition for young pianists (Antonin/Poland), in 2008 she obtained the 1st Prize at the Lagny International Piano Competition (France), 3rd Prize at the Epinal International Piano Competition (France).
In February 2013, she obtained the 1st Prize (Piano Campus d'Or), Prize of the website jejouedupiano.com as well as the Prize of the Orchestra at the Piano Campus International Competition (France).
Then, in november 2013, elle also clinched the 1st Prize at the 8th Poulenc International Piano Competition.
In May 2013, she was semi-finalist at the International Competition "Reine-Elisabeth-de-Belgique".
She is also fond of chamber music, and was finalist at the Zinetti Competition in Italy.
She has a scholarship from the Cultural Affairs Agency of the Japanese Government and Rohm Music Foundation.
She also worked with Halina CZERNY-STEFANSKA, Elzbieta STEFANSKA, Stefan WOJTAS, Ikudo ENDO, Katsumi UEDA, and Kevin KENNER.
Her next recitals will occur in Paris such as at the Salle Pleyel and at the Invalides, in Greece, Marocco, Germany, Japan.
