Our 2021 Henry Schwab Violin & Viola Competition is pleased to announce our visiting piano accompanist for our final performances,
MITSUKO MORIKAWA
Pianist Mitsuko Morikawa has been an active soloist, coach, collaborative pianist and chamber musician in United States as well as in Asia. She has collaborated with highly acclaimed musicians from a wide variety of genres spanning instrumental music, opera, musical theater and choral ensembles. Some of the artists that Ms. Morikawa has performed with include Julia Migenes, Rodney Gilfry, Kristinn Sigmundsson, TimothyMussard, Michel Debost, James Walker, Denis Bouriakov, Leone Buyse, Carol Wincenc, Jean
Ferrandis, Marianne Gedigian, Martin Chalifour, Roberto Cani, David Rejano Cantero, Megumi Kanda, Randy Hawes, and Timothy Higgins. Ms. Morikawa has also recorded music for the New World Records label and has been featured on radio programs such as KUSC, WCLV, Cleveland and NHK-FM, Japan.
Apart from her accomplishments as a performer, Ms. Morikawa has also distinguished herself as a unique and highly regarded coach/accompanist. She has served on the faculties at Occidental College, Santa Monica College, the Meadowmount School of Music, Idyllwild Arts Academy Summer Program, National Flute Association Annual Convention, National Cello Institute, Beyond the Masterclass with Jim Walker at Colburn School, Oberlin College Conservatory, the Oberlin Flute Institute, Baldwin Wallace College Conservatory and the ENCORE School of Strings. She is currently working at the California State University Los Angeles, Colburn School, UCLA and Los Angeles Children’s Chorus.
Ms. Morikawa’s degrees consist of a B.M. in piano performance from the Toho School of Music, Japan, an M.M. in piano performance from the Manhattan School of Music, a Professional Studies Certificate in piano performance from The Cleveland Institute of Music and a D.M.A. in Keyboard Collaborative Arts at the University of Southern California. Some of Ms. Morikawa’s teachers include Alan Smith, Norman Krieger, Sergei Babayan, Cheng-Zong Yin, Paul Schenly, Sara Davis Buechner and Hisako Ueno.