Takashi Koto（小藤隆志）

Biography

Takashi Koto 小藤隆志, composition: received his Ph.D. in Music from Harvard University, his M.M. from the New England Conservatory, and his B.M. from Kunitachi College of Music in Tokyo. In 1983 he won the Irino Prize for his “Like Flickering Light” for violin and piano. He was an editor for the musical journal “Ongaku Geijutsu” in Japan and has written extensively on musical matters and translated articles and books into Japanese. His new book, “Traditional Japanese Music at a Glance”, written for global readers in English, was published in Tokyo in 2016. His translation of full texts into Japanese includes “Sonic Design” by Robert Cogan and Pozzi Escot, “Molto Agitato: The Mayhem behind the Music at the Metropolitan Opera” by Johanna Fiedler, “The Stravinsky: Chronicle of a Friendship” by Robert Craft, “Evenings with Horowitz: A Personal Portrait” by David Dubal, and “The memory of All That: The Life of George Gershwin” by Joan Peyser. He has composed many chamber and orchestral works, including his three koto (zither) concertos and a double concerto for shakuhachi (bamboo flute) and koto premiered in Massachusetts. In 2015, his anthem “Hokkaido Pioneers” written to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the sister-state relationship between Massachusetts and Hokkaido, Japan, and a new piece for brass band and chorus based on the anthem were premiered during the ceremony. His new orchestral work “Stormy and Calm Seas” was premiered by the Cape Ann Symphony Orchestra in 2016.