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The Japanese lyric coloratura soprano, Miku Yasukawa [Japanese: 安川みく], had studied at Kunitachi College of Music and Tokyo University of the Arts Graduate School (Master of Music degree: Class of 2018), before she went on to receive an Artist Diploma with distinction at Guildhall School of Music and Drama in the UK (Class of 2023). In 2023 she was a finalist for the prestigious Gold Medal of Guildhall and performed at the Barbican Centre. Her studies are generously supported by the Yonden Cultural Foundation and the Sidney Perry Foundation. She was selected for the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs Program of Overseas Study for Upcoming Artists for the year 2022.
Based in the UK and Japan since 2019, Miku Yasukawa has performed with conductors including Jonathan Nott, Richard Farnes, Masaaki Suzuki, Sachio Fujioka and Norichika Iimori. She has appeared with many orchestras, including the Japanese orchestras Bach Collegium Japan, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Kansai Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa and Pacific Philharmonia Tokyo, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) in the UK, and Orchestre Pasdeloup in France.
In addition to appearing in numerous concerts of religious and orchestral music, Miku Yasukawa made her opera debut in 2022 as Norina in Don Pasquale with Hurn Court Opera in Christchurch and Salisbury (southern England). For these performances she received critical acclaim, including the top rating of five stars from Opera Now Magazine in 2022. Other recent highlights include performing Ravel’s Shéhérazade and L.v. Beethoven's Symphony no.9 under the baton of Jonathan Nott with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Johannes Brahms' German Requiem with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (UK), and with Bach Collegium Japan under Masaaki Suzuki. The latter has been recorded and will be released on CD under the BIS Records label.
In April 2024 Miku Yasukawa appeared as the Celestial Voice in Berlioz' La Damnation de Faust, in her first performance with City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra conducted by Kazuki Yamada, and made a striking impression with her crystalline voice. The concert was broadcast on BBC Radio3 and received five stars from The Telegraph. In May 2024, she appeared in Schubert's Mass in A flat major D.678 with Bach Collegium Japan and Zemlinsky's Lyrische Symphonie with Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa (Japan) under Masaaki Suzuki. In November 2024, she performed in Gabriel Fauré's Requiem with Orchestre des Concerts Pasdeloup (France) under the baton of Sachio Fujioka. She will soon be performing Matthäus-Passion BWV 244 with Bach Collegium Japan under Masaaki Suzuki in 2025, with Nederlandse Bachvereniging under Masaaki Suzuki in 2026. She currently lives in London, England. |
