The critically acclaimed pianist TAKA KIGAWA has earned outstanding international recognition as a concerto soloist, recitalist and chamber music artist, performing extensively in New York City, Boston, Cleveland, Washington, DC, Barcelona, Milan, Paris and Buenos Aires, in Ireland, as well as throughout his native Japan, including the cities of Tokyo, Kyoto, Nagano and Osaka. He has also been a featured artist on television and radio networks in the United States, Europe and Asia.

Taka Kigawa was awarded First Prize from the prestigious 1990 Japan Music Foundation Piano Competition in Tokyo and the Diploma Prize from Spain’s 1998 Concurs Internacional de Música Maria Canals Barcelona. His 2010 New York City recital was chosen by The New York Times as one of the best concerts of the year, while a subsequent 2011 recital was selected as one of the most notable concerts of the season by Musical America. His 2014 recital in Buenos Aires was named one of the best concerts of the year by Argentina’s leading newspaper, La Nación.

Possessing an extremely large and varied repertoire, ranging from the Baroque to the avant-garde, Taka Kigawa has collaborated closely with Pierre Boulez, Myung-Whun Chung and Jonathan Nott. He premiered the last solo piano work of jazz legend Yusef Lateef in New York City in 2013.

Taka Kigawa grew up in Nagano, Japan, where he began piano studies at the age of three, and won his first competition at the age of seven. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Shinsyu University and his Master of Arts degree from Tokyo Gakugei (Liberal Arts) University, graduating with honors in Piano Performance. During both his undergraduate and graduate years, Mr. Kigawa also studied composition and conducting, receiving high honors in both disciplines. He furthered his studies in the United States at The Juilliard School in New York City, where he was awarded a Master of Music degree.

Taka Kigawa is a Steinway Artist and resides in New York City.

Iktus Percussion official site | Chris Graham on Ensemble Moto Perpetuo website

Chris Graham is an international new music musician living and working in New York City. Chris has consistently worked and performed with notable groups such as Newband, Talea Ensemble, Ear to Mind, Talujon Percussion, Mantra Percussion, and is a founding member and director of Iktus Percussion. He has performed at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Issue Project Room, Merkin Hall, The Knitting Factory, Le Poisson Rouge, Roulette, and the National Sawdust, and has toured extensively across the U.S. performing for various festivals, colleges, and universities.

Chris has commissioned and/or premiered works by established composers such as Charles Wuorinen, Martin Bresnick, Michael Gordon, Philippe Manoury, Franco Donatoni, Philippe Hurel, Mauricio Kagel, Ron Ford, Michel Vander Aa, Hugo Morales, Gerard Grisey, Harry Partch, John Luther Adams, Lisa R. Coons, Daniel Wohl, Jenny Olivia Johnson, Angelica Negron, Sebastian Armoza, Mathew Welch, Philip Schuessler, Levy Lorenzo, Matt Hough, Joe DiPonio, Brian Jacobs, Aaron Siegel, Ted Herne, Tristan Perich, Inhyun Kim, Jen Wang, Joseph Waters, Stephan Weisman, and Billy Martin (of Medeski, Martin, and Wood), among others.

In addition to his preforming credits, Chris organizes and curates concerts in NYC, working closely with young up-and-coming new music ensembles. He has co-organized several performances for Issue Project Room’s “Gaudeamus Muzieweek New York” and “Darmstadt Series”, receiving critical acclaim in 2010 from TimeOut New York as one of the top ten concerts of the year performing Karlheinz Stockhausen’s epic works, Mikrophonie and Kontakte.

As an artist-in-residence he has taught at Suny Purchase and Cuny Brooklyn College, working with both student percussion ensembles and student composers. He is the director of the Stony Brook pre-college percussion ensemble and is on faculty at Suffolk Community College. He received a Bachelors of Music and Performers Certificate from SUNY Purchase College, Masters of Music from Stony Brook University, where he is currently a candidate in the Doctoral of the Musical Arts program. Previous teachers include Raymond DesRoches, Dominic Donato, Tom Kolor, Joseph Pereira, and Eduardo Leandro.