Sachiko Kato 

Sachiko Kato is a pianist born in Osaka and raised in the United States. She studied at the Juilliard School and later trained with the distinguished pianist Russell Sherman in Boston. She has performed throughout North America and Japan, including appearances at Carnegie Weill Hall and Merkin Hall, and has been featured on major classical radio stations such as WQXR and WNYC.

Her recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations received high acclaim, with U.S. media praising it as “velvety and silken in beauty” and “deeply imaginative.” In Japan, esteemed critic Shutaro Sugimoto (Nikkei Newspaper) praised it as “a vision of Bach that rises and falls, serene and unforced.”

In addition to releasing several albums, Kato continues to deepen her artistry while devoting herself to education. Her book, The Sachiko Method: How to Find the Music Within You, reflects her holistic approach to teaching. Based in New York City, she is active both as a performer and educator. For more information, please visit www.sachikokato.com.

Rika Masato

Born in Hiroshima, Japan, Rika Masato started playing the violin at the age of three, and at just ten years old, she performed Bruch Violin Concerto with the Moldova Philharmonic Orchestra in Iasi, the second largest city in Romania, which was broadcast on Romanian national radio. In 2006, at 17 years old, Rika won the 3rd prize at the International Violin Competition “Premio Paganini” and became internationally recognized. She was also the 1st prize winner of the SocietaUmanitaria of Milano International Musical Competition (2011) and the Dominique Peccatte International Competition (2016).

Living in Paris and Tokyo, she has performed as soloist and chamber musician in various countries such as France, Italy, Spain, Hungary, Japan and the United States, in venues such as Salle Gaveau, Salle Pleyel, Cite de la Musique (Paris), Theater Carlo Felice (Genoa), Colon Theater (La Coruna, Spain) and Suntory Hall (Tokyo).

Rika has played as soloist with many orchestras such as the Amadeus Chamber Orchestra, the Carlo Felice Theatre Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Armenia, the Krakow Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Polish Radio Chamber Ensemble, the Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra, the Japan Century Symphony Orchestra, the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, the Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa, the Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra, the Sapporo Symphony Orchestra, the Chubu Philharmonic Orchestra, the Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra, the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra and the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra. She has also appeared in TV and radio programs in France and Japan.

She studied at Toho Gakuen Music High School with Koichiro Harada and graduated with the highest distinction in 2007. She moved to Paris to study with Roland Daugareil (Concertmaster of the Orchestre de Paris) at the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris where she completed her Master’s degree in 2011 with the 1st prize and the prize “Françoise Doreau”. Furthermore, she received the “Performing Artist Diploma” at the same institution in 2013. Rika also studied at the Mozarteum University of Salzburg in the post-graduate program with Pierre Amoyal.

Her other teachers including Patrice Fontanarosa, Suzanne Gessner and Gyorgy Pauk.

In recent years, she has served as a jury member for classical music competitions such as the Osaka International Music Competition and is also focusing on teaching young talent.

In 2018, Rika released her debut CD “Violin Sonatas in Paris” (King Records) with works by Debussy, Ravel and Poulenc. It was chosen for the Japan Airlines international in-flight audio and audio guide for the Van Gogh exhibitions in Japan.

In 2019, she completed “Beethoven: All 10 Violin Sonatas Recital Series” with Masaru Okada and received great acclaim.

In 2022, her live recording of “Poulenc: Pray for peace” was elected to be used in the Exhibit Facility for Atomic-Bombed Remnants in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.
In the spring of the same year, she toured with the Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra for six concerts, to great acclaim.

Rika Masato performs on the 1710 Giuseppe Guarneri (filius Andreae) violin.

Aiko Kamishikiryo Violin 

Graduated from the Music High School attached to the Faculty of Music of Tokyo University of the Arts, and graduated top in her class from the Faculty of Music of the same university. She received her M.M. from the same university. Graduated top in her class from the Maastricht Conservatory in the Netherlands. She has won many prizes at domestic and international competitions, including the Osaka International Music Competition, the Munetsugu Angel Violin Competition, the Barletta International Music Competition, and the Léopoldo Bellan International Music Competition. She has also received the Aoyama Music Foundation Newcomer's Award and the Haydn Prize at the Risonale Music Festival. She has performed with orchestras such as the Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa, The Geidai Philharmonia

Orchestra Tokyo, and Japan Century Symphony Orchesera, and was a 2012 Nomura Foundation Scholarship recipient. She has studied with Tomoko Honda, Yoko Tabuchi, Takaya Urakawa, Kumi Sugiyama, Natsumi　Tamai, Boris Belkin, and Gerard Poullet. She was a registered artist of Kyoto Concert Hall during the period of 2019-2021. She is a member of DUO・GRANDE, Pathos Quartet, and Melia Quartet.

Official HP  www.kamishikiryoaiko.com

Official YouTube Channel

Ayako Goto graduated from the Music High School attached to the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, and studied at the Cologne University of Music and the Detmold University of Music.
She studied violin with Aiko Suzuki, Chikashi Tanaka, and Werner Neuhaus; viola with Junji Suganuma, Matthias Buchholz, and Diemut Poppen; chamber music with Harold Schoeneweck, Antony Spyri, and the Alban Berg Quartet.
He studied chamber music at the Conservatorio de Madrid with a scholarship from the Fundación Albeniz in Spain.
Scholarship from Villa Musica Rheinland Pfalz, Irene Steels-Wilsing Stiftung, and Werner Richard -Dr. Carl Dörken Stiftung.

After being a contract member of the Cologne Gürzenig Orchestra, he was a contract member of the Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra.

Until 2012 he performed as a member of the Schumann Quartet with Eric Schumann and others.
In 2011, he won the scholarship prize of the Jeunesse Musical School at the Paolo Borciani Competition.
She won the second prize at the Osaka International Chamber Music Competition and the first prize at the International Schubert and Contemporary Music Competition in 2012. He will tour Japan.
The Cologne National Radio (WDR) has recorded and broadcast her performances several times.

In April 2013, he released his debut album “Schumann Quartet Beethoven/Bartok/Brahms” (Ars, Germany). 2014 he returned to Japan to perform in Japan and abroad. He has also performed as a guest principal with the Kyoto Symphony Orchestra, Osaka Symphony Orchestra, and Kansai Philharmonic Orchestra. After serving as a lecturer at Kyoto City University of Arts, he taught at Horikawa Music High School, where he continues to teach younger students. Associate Artist for Research Project, Japan Chamber Music Foundation

Hibiki Sato Cello

Sato began studying the cello at the age of 11. After graduating from Kyoto Municipal Music High School (now Kyoto Municipal Horikawa Music High School), he went on to Kyoto City University of Arts, where he graduated at the top of his class. Upon graduation, he received the Music Department Prize and the Kyoto Music Society Prize. He has studied under Kazutaka Ameda and Noboru Uemura. He was a member of Philharmonic Chamber Ensemble until 2018 and performed Tchaikovsky's "Variations on a Rococo Theme" as a cellist member in a regular concert. In 2019, he went to Paris to extend his studies for 6 months. In 2020, he collaborated with a Noh actor Kotaro Kawamura on a non-traditional original dance "Beyond the Time of Eternity”. The performance was selected as a "Kyoto City Challenge Support Grant" project for the Corona Disaster. It was broadcasted on TV programs such as “Kyoto Chi-shin/Knowing New” by Mainichi Broadcasting System and “Kyoto Special~New Kyoto ideas from adversity” by NHK, which all attained high evaluation. He played at a recital in Kyoto In 2021 and appeared on NHK-FM's "Recital Passio” in May 2022. 

Currently based in the Kansai region, he is active as a soloist and chamber musician, as well as a guest principal of an orchestra.

He is a representative of the Kyoto Chamber Ensemble and a member of the Quartet Miotsukushi. He teaches at Kyoto Horikawa Music High School as part-time instructor.