Winner of the International Harp Contest. Harpist Kaori has won numerous competitions, including 1st prize at the Soka International Harp Competition in Professional, Advanced, and Junior Division; and has adjudicated in all Divisions.  She was a 1st prize winner at the Indiana University Harp Ginastera Concerto Competition, and has received the Marilyn Costello Memorial Prize award at the USA International Harp Competition where she currently serves as a board member.  She is also an active member of the Social Media Committee X for the World Harp Congress and served as a board member from 2011-2022. Kaori was a Member of the Host Committee for the World Harp Congress in Vancouver, Canada in 2011. 

Kaori’s student has also won many International Music Contests. Her student was invited to the USA International Harp Competition’s prestigious “Stars of Tomorrow” to perform. Kaori has also received a Teacher’s Award at London Young Musician of the year in 2021-2022 for her extraordinary dedication and achievement in the field of teaching music. She was recognized for her outstanding music teaching, and her student’s excellent harp performance in London Young Musician 2022. 

She has given many solo recitals and concerto performances around the world. Some of her highlight performances have been the Damase Concertino and Debussy Danses with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, and the Handel Concerto with the Vancouver Metropolitan Orchestra. Kaori has also performed the Mozart Concerto with the Nippon Phil conducted by Maestro Kenichiro Kobayashi in Japan, and with Langley Orchestra in Canada. She has performed at the EXPO in Aichi, Japan where she was born and was invited to do solo recitals in Osaka, Fukui, Chiba, Tokyo, and Sapporo. She has performed at the World Harp Congress in Hong Kong, Sydney, Vancouver, Geneva and Tacoma.  Kaori has also performed at the Mariinsky Theatre, Carnegie Hall, Expo Vancouver, and at the Rio Harp Festival. Recently, she was invited as a guest performer at the Molnar’s Concert in Japan. 

Kaori graduated from Indiana University under Susann McDonald, The Juilliard School under Nancy Allen, and The Curtis Institute of Music under Marilyn Costello. She has also studied the harp in Nice, South of France under Elizabeth Fontan-Binoche and received private lessons at Indiana University from Isabelle Perrin, Jana Bouskova, Atsuko Yoshino, Naoko Yoshino and Sabastien Lipman.  In earlier years, she studied with Lynn Palmer in Seattle and at the Vancouver Academy of Music, as well as Victoria Conservatory under Taka Kling where she received many prizes, scholarships and awards from the Conservatory. She has appeared in many music festivals and television programs in Canada. Currently, she resides in Matsudo, Japan with her family and is dedicated to teaching the harp internationally, giving masterclasses and workshops around the world.