Embassy of Japan in Myanmar

The Concert of Piano & Flute

by the Japan Foundation & the Embassy of Japan

August 1 & 2, 2009

PROFILE OF THE MUSICIANS

Mr. Hiroshi Matsushima began playing the flute in 1988 and attained a B. A. degree from MusashinoMusicAcademy in Tokyo in 1995. He joined the Asian Youth Orchestra (AYO) in 1994, playing in concerts tours through Asia and the USA until 1995. He also studied in Munich at the Richard-Stauss-Concervatory and played with the Hof and the Munich Symphony Orchestras, while attending the Masterclass with Jean-Pierre Rampal in 1997. In 1998, he attended the Mozarteum College of Music in Salzburg, Austria as a guest student. He attained Master degree in Music (M.M) in 2002, by studying Flute and Chamber Music in Germany.Mr. Matsushima, who won 2nd Prize at a local flute competition also performed as a Piccoloist at the Philharmonia of the Nations in 1999, and was a Semi-finalist at the 2nd International Flute Competition “Leonardo De Lorenzo” in Vaggiano, Italy.

In 2002, Mr. Matsushima joined the College of Music, MahidolUniversity in Bangkok, Thailand as a fulltime faculty.He performed a Solo Recital in Bangkok in 2003 and became Artist/Faculty of Flute at SAYOWE in 2003. In 2005, Mr. Matsushima became the Principal Flute Player with the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra.In addition to performance and teaching, he has also been acting as an adjudicator for Asian Symphonic Band Competition (ASBC) and Thailand Youth Music Competition.He also writes articles on flute playing in Music Journal Magazine.

Mrs. Yoshimi Matsushima has been on the piano faculty of Mahidol University College of Music in Thailand and is a piano accompanist of the Kita - Kyushu City Kokura Junior Chorus in Japan. She began her piano lessons at the age of five at YamahaMusicSchool and took advanced piano instructions with Takako and Shoko Hiraiwa.She then attended MusashinoMusicAcademy in Tokyo where she studied with ProfessorYoshimiMatoba and Nobuyoshi Hirato,and graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance. Her further studies include Masterclass with Alexander Bakhchiev at International Summer School Tokyo (Piano Duo), and with Brazilian Pianist Andre Boainain at the Hochschule fuer Musik in Karlsruhe, Germany.Yoshimi has been working with singers as well as wind and string players for many years and maintains a repertoire that encompasses a variety of musical genres including classical, musicals and popular music.

She has been frequently on demand as an accompanist for master classes held by visiting international artists such as Violinist Midori Goto in 2004, Hornist Patrick Hughes in 2006 and Saxophonist Vince Gnojek in 2008.

She is also interested in Piano Duo and has been giving concerts regularly, and was invited to perform at the Palace of Schönbrunn in Vienna on the occasion of the Austrian millenary festival. As a soloist, she performed with Kyushu Symphony Orchestra and National Chamber Orchestra Kraków of Poland