JAPON

SATSUMA-BIWA

JUNKO UEDA

Born in Tokyo, Japan, Junko Ueda studied satsuma-biwa with the famous Kinshi Tsuruta and Buddhist shômyô-chanting with Kôshin Ebihara. She also studied piano and composition (under Jôji Yuasa) at the Tokyo College of Music. In the beginning of the 80s, she worked as a pianist with numerous theatre productions of the Tokyo based theatre group Brecht Kollectiv. Between 1986 and 1988, she performed satsuma-biwa and kugo (the ancient Japanese harp) in new music concerts series at the National Theatre Tokyo.
Since 1988, Ueda has been living in Europe. She is presenting her biwa/voice solo concerts and shômyô (Japanese Buddhist chanting) vocal workshop in numerous countries in the world and at music festivals. Her traditional biwa CD ‘Heike Monogatari’, (AIMP/VDE Geneva, 1991) recorded at the mountain monastery of Hiei-zan, Japan, has been awarded by the Grand Prix du Disque, Académie Charles Cros, Paris.
Contributing for new compositions, Junko Ueda specializes in playing the compositions by Japanese composer Tôru Takemitsu. She also has been working with composers like Jean-Claude Eloy, Qu Xiaosong, Keiko Harada and performing with cellist Yo-Yo Ma, the Dutch Nieuw Ensemble, participating various music festivals e.g. Festival d’Automne Paris, Warsaw Autumn, Musica Strasbourg. Since 1988, she has a duo program with Dutch flutist-composer Wil Offermans. This duo has recorded the CDs ‘How to Survive in Paradise’ (VDE, Lausanne) and ‘Dejima Suite’ (E-records, Amsterdam) and has been touring extensively around the world, participating at music festivals, e.g. Festival d’été de Québec, Musique Action Nancy, Musica Contemporanea Bogota, New Music Festival Middelburg. As a project producer, Ueda cooperates organizing several intercultural projects, e.g. 12xHolland.

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