Latitude 45 Arts Promotion Inc. | Makoto Nakura

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Makoto Nakura
Marimba

“At times using several mallets in each hand, Nakura became a virtual wizard on the marimba as the sticks and his hands blurred during intense passages. His playing was amazing, and the music totally enjoyable.”
—Kalamazoo Gazette

Makoto Nakura is a musician whose artistry and astonishing virtuosity have been mesmerizing audiences for two decades, with his innovative programs of new music as well as traditional classical repertoire.

His most recent premieres have been a double concerto by Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez for piano and marimba, premiered with the Binghamton Philharmonic (April 2008) and a new concerto for marimba and wind band, written by Toshio Mashima and premiered at the Institute Tom Jobin, in Sao Palo, Brazil, (June 2008).

His critically acclaimed performances around the world have included venues in London, Rome, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul and Ho Chi Minh City.

In the U.S., he has performed with such orchestras as the New York Chamber Symphony, the Chicago Sinfonietta and the California Symphony. As a recital soloist, his appearances include Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall, New York’s 92nd Street Y, and Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center. He has been a guest artist with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival, Spoleto USA Festival, Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, and Jeffrey Kahane’s Green Music Festival.

Mr. Nakura has performed on numerous occasions in New York City, including appearances at the Metropolitan Opera House, the Kaye Playhouse and at City Center, where he was soloist in a new production of Marimba. With the spoken word, he commissioned and premiered Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez’s The Ocean Calls based on poems by Pablo Neruda. With story-telling image projection, he created The Story of Aoyagi, a Japanese ghost story.

In September 2007, he produced a concert called “The Encounter of Art and Music” with the Hyogo Prefectural Art Museum (Japan), performing pieces inspired by Klee, Pollock, and De Kooning with projections of their paintings and commentary by a museum curator.

A dedicated champion of contemporary music, Mr. Nakura has commissioned works by such leading young composers as Kevin Puts, Kenji Bunch, Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez, Pierre Jalbert, Michael Torke, David Schober and Jason Eckardt.

In 1994, Makoto Nakura became the first marimbist to win First Prize in the prestigious Young Concert Artists International Auditions.
His recent honors include a National Arts Festival New Artist Award from the Japanese Agency of Cultural Affairs and the BMI/Carlos Surinach Fund Marimba Commission. He was also named an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music in London.

His first CD, Ritual Protocol, was released by Kleos Classics. It was followed by Tsuneya Tanabe Works for Marimba, released by Japan’s ALM Records, and Triple Jump: Six Original Pieces for Marimba, also by Kleos. His newest CD, Bach Beat was released by Kleos in 2008. The five Bach transcriptions by Mr. Nakura himself were recorded by superior SACD and surround sound system.

Recent and forthcoming performances include the Kalamazoo Symphony, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (Jalbert concerto premiere), the Morgan Library, the Johns Hopkins Symphony, the Spencer Museum in Lawrence, KS, performances throughout Japan, and a solo recital at the Festival Internacional Chihuahua (Mexico), featuring a Sanchez-Gutierrez premiere.

April 2009

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