Announcement of the 28th (2020) Watanabe Akio Music Foundation Music Award and Special Award Winners
Announcement of the winners of the 28rd (2020) Akio Watanabe Music Foundation Music Award and Special Award
◆Music Award: Nodoka Okisawa (Conductor)
◆Special Award: Yasuhisa Toyoda (acoustic designer)
◆Music Award: Nodoka Okisawa (Conductor)
"Biography"
Born in Aomori Prefecture. Graduated with honors from the Department of Conducting, Faculty of Music, Tokyo University of the Arts, and completed the Master's program at the same university's graduate school. Completed the Master's program in Conducting at Hanns Eisler University of Music Berlin.
He won first place at the 56th Besançon International Conducting Competition, as well as the Audience Award and Orchestra Award. He also won first place and the Saito Hideo Award at the 18th Tokyo International Music Competition (Conducting).
Former conducting researcher at Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa.
He studied conducting under Ken Takaseki, Tadaaki Otaka, Christian Ewald, and others, and has also received guidance from Tatsuya Shimono, Michiyoshi Inoue, Paavo Järvi, Kurt Masur, and Riccardo Muti.
He has conducted many orchestras both in Japan and abroad, including the Berlin Konzerthausorchester and the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra.
Since August 2020, he has served as assistant to Kirill Petrenko at the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.
Reasons for award
After honing her skills, including serving as a conducting researcher for the Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa from 2011 to 2012, Nodoka Okisawa attracted attention in 2018 when she became the first woman to win First Prize, a Special Prize, and the Saito Hideo Prize at the 18th Tokyo International Music Competition (Conducting). Her performance of Mendelssohn's Overture "Calm Sea, Happy Voyage" in the finals was an exceptional performance that received overwhelming praise from all judges. She subsequently won First Prize, the Audience Prize, and the Orchestra Prize at the Besançon International Conducting Competition, a feat unparalleled since Seiji Ozawa, drawing intense attention. She continues to train in Germany, and from September 2020, she will serve as assistant to Kirill Petrenko, Principal Conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic.
Without overstretching his horizons, Mr. Okisawa has steadily built up his training in both symphonic and theatrical music, starting from Europe, and has achieved remarkable results in each of his few performances in Japan. As a talented musician who will likely expand his horizons and achieve success not only in Japan but around the world, he is worthy of receiving the Watanabe Akio Music Foundation Music Award, and we look forward to his continued success.
◆Special Award: Yasuhisa Toyoda (acoustic designer)
"Biography"
Born in Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture in 1952. Joined Nagata Acoustics in 1977. Currently heads the Los Angeles and Paris offices. Has been involved in over 80 concert hall and multipurpose hall projects.
Notable examples include Suntory Hall (1986), Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles (2003), and Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg (2017), all of which have received significant international attention.
In August 2004, he was awarded honorary doctorates from Art Center College of Design (California) and Bard College (New York).
In May 2012, he received the Acoustical Engineers and Artists Society of Japan Award.
Reasons for award
Yasuhisa Toyoda is one of the world's leading acoustical designers and arguably the most internationally active figure in the music industry today. Currently based in the United States and Paris, he has designed numerous renowned concert halls, including Suntory Hall (opened in 1986), Muza Kawasaki Symphony Hall (2004), and Sapporo Concert Hall Kitara (1997). His designs have been recognized by musicians from around the world, contributing to the improvement of Japan's music environment. He has since gone on to design numerous other renowned concert halls around the world, including the Walt Disney Concert Hall (2003, Los Angeles) and the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg (2017).
Mr. Toyoda has deepened worldwide awareness that the acoustics of a hall are also an "instrument," and Tadaaki Otaka has said, "We musicians are truly blessed to be able to perform in halls designed by Mr. Toyoda." His achievements in continuing to "contribute to music" together with other musicians make him a truly worthy recipient of the Watanabe Akio Music Foundation Special Award.
List of Watanabe Akeo Music Fund Awardees
1st (1993) Music Award: Kazushi Ono Special Award: Sennosuke Enmei
2nd (1994) Music Award: Junichi Hirokami Special Award: Chiaki Murakawa
3rd (1995) Music Award: No recipients Special Award: Takashi Ogawa, Seizo Suzuki, Jun Tanaka
4th (1996) Music Award: Ken Takaseki Special Award: No recipient
5th (1997) Music Award: No winner Special Award: Keizo Saji
6th (1998) Music Award: Kim Hong-jae Special Award: Ishimaru Hiroshi
7th (1999) Music Award: Ryusuke Numajiri Special Award: Chiyoshige Matsubara
8th (2000) Music Award: Naoto Otomo Special Award: Minoru Nagaoka, Toshiya Eto
9th (2001) Music Award: No recipients Special Award: No recipients
10th (2002) Music Award: Tatsuya Shimono, Yukio Fujioka Special Award: Shoji Uehara
11th (2003) Music Award: Yutaka Sado Special Award: Masaharu Watanabe, Naozumi Yamamoto
12th (2004) Music Award: Tetsuro Saka Special Award: Akira Miyoshi
13th (2005) Music Award: Norichika Iimori Special Award: Tsuzo Kusakari
14th (2006) Music Award: No winners Special Award: Shigeto Kanayama, Hiroshi Okawauchi
15th (2007) Music Award: Toshiyuki Ueoka Special Award: Shoji Onodera, Japan Philharmonic Kyushu Performance Liaison Committee (Group)
16th (2008) Music Award: No winner Special Award: Hiroyuki Iwaki
17th (2009) Music Award: No winners Special Award: Jean Fournet, Affinis Cultural Foundation
18th (2010) Music Award: No winners Special Award: Hiroshi Wakasugi, Museum of Modern Japanese Music
19th (2011) Music Award: No recipients Special Award: Seiji Ozawa Special Support: Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra
20th (2012) Music Award: Kazuki Yamada Special Award: Yasuo Nakafuji
21st (2013) Music Award: No winner Special Award: Nagata Ho
22nd (2014) Music Award: No winner Special Award: Kodama Koji
23rd (2015) Music Award: Kentaro Kawase Special Award: Hubert Soudant, Kazuyoshi Akiyama
24th (2016) Music Award: No recipients Special Award: Alexander Lazarev, Shinichiro Ikebe, Michiyoshi Inoue
25th (2017) Music Award: No winners Special Award: Yuzo Toyama, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi
26th (2018) Music Award: No recipients Special Award: Eliahu Inbal
27th (2019) Music Award: No winners Special Award: Honna Tetsuji, Yamada Masayuki
28th (2020) Music Award: Nodoka Okisawa Special Award: Yasuhisa Toyoda
