I’m a Japanese composer based in Helsinki, Finland. In December 2024, I completed my Master’s degree in composition at the Sibelius Academy. My time in Helsinki has deepened my engagement with contemporary music and motivated me to explore new sound worlds.
My first musical experience was the piano when I was four. My older sister started attending a music school before me, and I was jealous watching her perform in the recital. I asked my mother to join her next lesson. When I visited her class for the first time, I asked, “Where is the audience?” I thought that music must always be expressed in front of an audience. That question, which shows my early interest in listeners, remains central to my approach to composition today.
As a composer, I always consider the relationship between the music and its audience. Composition is my most vital tool for communicating. Music is not only for entertainment or relaxation. It can also surprise, even shock, and invite the audience to focus on microscopic sound textures. Contemporary music, my main field, allows me to use such experimental forms of communication and open new possibilities for listening.
My greatest interest in composition is delicate sound color and the exploration of new instrumental techniques. I focus on highlighting subtle sounds that are usually ignored, and I aim to uncover overlooked forms of communication. This approach also opens up new possibilities for blending instruments through the discovery of tonal similarities. In my recent works written in 2024-2025, I have extended these ideas by incorporating performers’ physical expressions and exploring diverse vocal styles.
These explorations are reflected in several of my recent chamber works. The guitar duo piece Blue Toe for Two Guitarists and a Prepared Guitar amplifies the bodily movements of the performers, as two guitarists perform a single prepared guitar while sitting side by side. In Baren for Violin and Accordion, inspired by the Japanese printing tool used in traditional woodblock painting, I created a “rubbing” soundscape using pitch-less materials from both instruments.
My first opera, Piggy Sparkle, was a collaborative project between the Helsinki Theatre Academy and Sibelius Academy. In this piece, I experimented with new singing gestures, incorporating not only classical but also folk-based styles. Recently, I’ve become increasingly interested in subtle vocal gestures such as whispering and breath. I believe these experiments will lead to a broader rethinking of voice in contemporary opera and offer audiences a new listening experience.
Photo: Haiyun Yu