All Saints Anglican Cathedral Concert

  TULSA, OK - 12/01/2016 (PRESS RELEASE JET)

Naoko Matsui began her first violin lessons at the age of four years old and gave her first solo concert at the same year. She was a soloist for the first time with orchestra at eleven years old in the Double Concerto by J.S. Bach. Naoko was one of the last pupils of Tosiya Eto (Ex.-President Toho Gakuen School of Music [University]) and his spouse Angela Eto (Ex.-Guest Professor) Angela Eto until continuing her studies and concert career in Europe (mainly in Belgium). During those studies she gave the world premiere performance of “Mudai (Without Title)” for violin solo by Gou Hashimoto during Italo-Japanese International Contemporary Music Seminar by Italian composer Giacomo Manzoni.

From 2002, she pursued her studies and concert career in Belgium. She collaborated with the late Belgian composers Henri Pousseur, Hao-Fu Zhang and Jean-Marie Simonis during the Belgian Contemporary Music Seminar “Chambre d’Écho” at Royal Music Conservatory of Brussels in the French Section and Chapel of Boendael (Brussels). She graduated from “Institut Supérieur de Musique et de Pédagogie” of Namur/Namen (IMEP, Belgium) with a Master’s degree of Arts at Primus in the Violin Class of the late Prince Alexandre Leterme alias Igor Petrovitch TkatchoukDelacollette of Belgium with “grand distinction” for the final result and twice of “the greatest distinction” for the violin as principal instrument in 2007.

Shortly afterward she appeared as concert soloist for the first Concerto by Niccolò Paganini with “Orchestre Symphonique de Namur (OSN, Belgium)” conducted by Michel Déom on the OSN Gala Concert 2007 at IMEP Church-Concert Hall of Namur/Namen on 24 November 2007, Christmas Concert at “La Plante” Church of Namur/Namen on 23 December 2007, Saint-Christophe Church of Hannut on 19 April 2008, Saint-Martin Church of Leuze on 25 April 2008, and especially Collégiale Notre-Dame of Huy/Hoei on 01 June 2008, for Their Majesties the 6th King Albert Second of Belgium, 6th Queen Paola of Belgium, the then 5th Queen Fabiola of Belgium, the spouse of the late 5th King Baudouin of Belgium, the then Prince and present 7th King Philippe of Belgium, the then princess and present 7th Queen Mathilde of Belgium, Princess Astrid of Belgium, Prince Lorenz of Belgium, Prince Laurent of Belgium, Princess Claire of Belgium, Princess Elisabeth of Belgium, Prince Gabriel of Belgium, Prince Amedeo of Belgium, Princess Maria Laura of Belgium, Prince Joachim of Belgium, Princess Luisa Maria of Belgium, Princess Laetitia Maria of Belgium, Princess Louise of Belgium, Prince Alexander Leterme alias Igor Petrovitch Tkatchouk of Belgium, the then Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme, the President of Flemish Regional Government Kris Peeters, and the then Mayor of Hoei/Huy Anne-Marie Rizin.

During her subsequent concert career mainly in Belgium and Italy, she also earned o the Soloist Diploma after the performance of Violin Concerto by Richard Strauss (2010) and the Concert Artist Diploma (Diplôme de Concertiste; 2009) at “Institut de Musique Eugène Ysaÿe (Music Institute; IMEY)” with each result unanimo-maximum. She successfully completed the Postgraduate Music Program in Violin at the “Erasmus Hogeschool of Brussels” of EU at the Koninklijk Musiek Conservatorium van Brussel (Flemish Royal Music Conservatory of Brussels, 2011, Belgium). On 12 April 2013 she made her debut in Slovenia as part of Svirél Upol International Music Festival's solo concert, performing the "Giga" (Gigue) from Partita No.2 by Johann Sebastian Bach at Saint-Maria Church of Stanjel Slovenia for His Majesty the 6th King Albert Second of Belgium.

Naoko began living in Germany in 2012, earning the German National Artistic Qualification in Violin issued by the Johannes Brahms National Music Conservatory in Hamburg in May 2014, and immediately afterwards enrolled in the “Concert Exams” Program for developing a Soloist career in Germany. Also in Germany debuted as soloist in the "Winter Concerto" from “The Four Seasons” by Antonio Vivaldi and the “Adagio” from the Double Concerto for Violin, Piano and Orchestra by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy with pianist soloist Matthias Nilsson and the Orchestra for Abschlusskonzert Festival Cortinas 2013 conducted by Pedro Cortinas on 16 October 2013 at the Chappel of Gastle-Guesthouse Tannenhöhe of Villingen. There she also performed the "Summer Concerto" from “The Four Seasons” by Antonio Vivaldi on 29 August 2014 with the Orchestra for Abschlusskonzert Festival Cortinas 2014 conducted by Pedro Cortinas.

In July 2014. debuted as a violin soloist in Austria in the Concerto No.3 “Strassbourg” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with Savaria Symphoniker at Festsaal of Casino Baden on 26 July 2014, as part of the Wiener Musikseminar 2014; she also participated in the International Masterclass for Conductors as Soloist with the Orchestra of Martin Sieghart in University for Music and Performing Art Vienna (Universität für Musik und darstellende Künst Wien [MDW]).

On 28 December 2014 she made her debut as a soloist in Italy with Orchestra “Orfeo Stillo” conducted by Fernando Romano in Chaconne by Tomaso Antonio Vitali, Cantabile by Niccolò Paganini (Violin and Orchestra Version by Giuseppe Arnaboldi), the Double Concerto by Johann Sebastian Bach with Giuseppe Arnaboldi, and the Romance in F by Ludwig van Beethoven at Immaculate Church of Crotone, after winning the XVI Vincenzo Scaramuzza International Competition 2013.

Among her other International Music Competition awards are the 1st Prize at XIX International Music Competition "Premio Vittoria Caffa Righetti" at San-Francesco Church of Cortemilia on 12 November 2011 (Italy), two Golden Medals at VIII and VII Luigi Denza International Young Musician Competition at Reggia di Quisisana Palace of Castellammare di Stabia (2013, 2012, Italy), 1st Prize at XV Euterpe International Music Competition (2013), two Honor Prize at T.I.M. (2012 Paris France, 2008 Namur Belgium) and the Golden Prize Award from Porto San Giorgio City "In the occasion of XXI Andrea Postacchini International Violin Competition (2014 Fermo Italy)".

In 2015, Naoko twice performed the violin solo part of "Suite in Old Style (Suite im Alten Stil)" by Alfred Schnittke with the Johannes Brahms National Music Conservatorium Orchestra, for concerts at their Concert Hall in Hamburg on 27 February 2015 and the Redeemer Church (Erlöserkirche) of Hamburg on 28 February 2015.

Matsui's program will be an unaccompanied violin recital consisting of the following:

Johann Sebastian Bach : Partita No. 2, BWV1004 

Eugène Ysaÿe : Sonata No. 3 in d  à George Enescu 

Eugène Ysaÿe : Sonata No. 4 in E   à Fritz Kreisler  

Niccolò Paganini : Caprice No. 13, No. 20 , No. 24