Keiko Harada

Keiko Harada was born in 1968 in Japan. She studied composition, conducting, piano and chamber music at Tōhō Gakuen School of Music where she graduated in 1993 with a Master's degree in composition. Harada's works have won numerous awards including the 62nd Music Competition of Japan Awards, Akiyoshidai Prize and the 2001 Akutagawa Prize. She has received grants from major foundations in Japan, Canada, Germany and the US. Most of her works have been commissioned by leading international festivals and performers including ictus ensemble (Brussels), Nieuw Ensemble (Holland), Ensemble Modern (France), ELISION (Australia), Tokyo Philharmonic Chorus, Mayumi Miyata, Yo-Yo Ma, Stefan Hussong and others. In recent years Harada has composed collaborative works for dance, theatre and film. She established Ensemble Manufacture for contemporary music in 1989. Since 2000, she has chaired the executive committee of SOUND GEAR, a project bringing together musicians from various parts of world focusing on theatrical new music. She is currently teaching composition and theory at Toho Gakuen in Tokyo, Japan.