Tears of England: Performers' Profile

Performers' Profiles

Hirohisa Tsuji Tenor

Graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts, Faculty of Music. Completed the graduate course at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. Completed the postgraduate performance training course at the Royal Academy of Music in England. Studied voice with Yumi Koyama, Ken Nakamura, Ryosuke Hatanaka, Sadako Mine, Kenneth Bowen, Yvon Minton, and Graziella Schutti, Baroque voice with Paul Eswood, and lute songs with Robert Spencer. In 1994, she made her debut at the Royal Festival Hall in London as soloist in Princess Diana's Messiah. Since then, she has performed the roles of Serse in Handel's “Serse,” the Count in Rossini's “The Barber of Seville,” and Giaconde in “The Trial Stone,” as well as soloist and recitalist in operas and oratorios. His CDs include Benjamin Britten Lieder I and II (specially selected by Record Geijutsu magazine) and Vaughan Williams Lieder (recommended by Asahi Shimbun, Mainichi Shimbun, Ongaku Gendai magazine, and specially selected by Record Geijutsu magazine). He is currently a member of the Faculty of Liberal Arts at the University of Tokyo and the University of Tokyo. Currently, he is a part-time lecturer at the University of Tokyo's College of Liberal Arts and the Tokyo University of the Arts' Department of Music.　

Official HP http://www.soundinternationaljapan.com/

Ichiro Takamoto Lute & Early Guitar

Ichiro Takamoto studied the lute at the Conservatoire de Strasbourg in France. He has performed extensively across Europe and Asia, collaborating with many renowned musicians both in Japan and internationally. In 2008, he gave a solo performance at the Louvre Museum in Paris.Takamoto has appeared on television and radio programs in both France and Japan, and has participated in a wide range of stage productions, including operas, ballets, Noh, Kabuki, Rakugo, and recitation theater. He is regularly invited to perform at music festivals and with orchestras both in Japan and abroad.

In addition to his performances, he has contributed to recordings for NHK period dramas, films, commercials, animation, jazz, and pop music—not only as a performer but also as a composer and arranger. He actively composes new works to reveal the contemporary potential of the lute.His recordings have received high acclaim, including special selection by Record Geijutsu magazine, broadcasts on French and British radio, a recommendation from the French Lute Society, and features on ANA international flights, AIR-DO in-flight music, and TOKYO-FM radio.

He currently serves as a lecturer at Osaka College of Music and is a silver prize winner of the Yomiuri Guitar Competition.

Mari Minoda  Baroque Violin

Born in Sakai City, Japan, Mari Minoda is a versatile violinist active in both historical and modern performance. In 2020, she released a critically acclaimed recording of Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin on Baroque violin.She graduated from the Toho Gakuen High School of Music and completed both her bachelor’s and postgraduate studies in string performance at the Toho Gakuen School of Music. In 2022, she earned a Master’s degree in Historical Performance from the Royal College of Music in London, where she was awarded a scholarship for outstanding achievement.

Mari has received numerous accolades, including second prize at the International Federation of Music Competition, silver prize at the Settsu Music Festival, second prize at the Osaka International Music Competition, and the Award of Excellence from Sakai City.She has performed in major music festivals around the world, such as the Handel Festival (UK), the Bolivian Early Music Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, Ozawa Seiji Music Academy, and the Saito Kinen Opera for Young People. As a soloist, chamber musician, and guest concertmaster, she has appeared with ensembles including the Japan Century Symphony Orchestra and the Chiba Chamber Orchestra.

She studied violin under Yoshiko Tanabe, Kimiko Kotani, Angela Eto, the late Toshiya Eto, Tomoya Kato, and Tomoko Kato, and pursued Baroque violin and period performance with Hidemi Suzuki, Natsumi Wakamatsu, Shunsuke Sato, and Catherine Martine. Mari is a member of Ensemble OTOBOTSU and in 2024 founded Minoda Music Creative, LLC.

​Rei Yorita Viola da gamba 

is a distinguished viola da gamba performer, graduated from Soai University’s Faculty of Music, where she studied under Masako Hirao. She furthered her studies at the Lugano Conservatorio with Vittorio Ghielmi and at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis under Paolo Pandolfo, earning her diploma. Yorita has collaborated with renowned musicians such as Jordi Savall and Antony Rooley and has participated in masterclasses with Wieland Kuijken. She was a finalist in the chamber music category of the 4th Telemann Competition in Germany, receiving the Bärenreiter Prize, and was honored with the Grand Prix from the Governor of Hyogo Prefecture. Currently, she is a member of ensembles including Principi Veneziani and Ensemble Poesia Amorosa and serves as a part-time lecturer at Soai University’s Faculty of Music.

Yuma Sogoya Voice Actor

 a native of Gunma Prefecture, spent six years with the voice actor agency Al-Share Inc. and currently works as a freelancer. He has lent his voice to a variety of foreign film dubs and video games, portraying characters such as Mack in "Sherlock Holmes and the Great Escape" and Mike in "My Pet Dinosaur." In this performance, Sogoya will embody the role of Shakespeare, guiding the audience through the narrative with his compelling narration.