Yoko Nakatani, Massachusetts Commissioned Composer for 2023

MMTA is proud to announce the selection of Yoko Nakatani for the 2023 Massachusetts Composer of the year.  Yoko has composed many pieces for the piano employing extended techniques and will be working on a new piece for piano which will premiere at the Quad State Convention in Vermont in the Fall.

Yoko Nakatani received a B.A. from the Osaka College of Music in Japan, M.M. from the University of Oregon, and Ph.D. from Brandeis University in Music Composition and Theory. She is the recipient of the Ira Gershwin Prize in Music Composition in 2005 at Brandeis University. Ms. Nakatani gave a recital in Japan in 2010 as well as in Belgium in 2011, all based on her original compositions. Her first CD, "Résonance Poétique" is based on the recording from the recital in Japan. She was commissioned by the Lowell Chamber Orchestra as well as Mu Phi Epsilon Boston Alumni Chapter in 2020, and again commissioned by the Lowell Chamber Orchestra for their recording project in 2021. The CD, "Miniature Symphonies" by LCO was released in summer 2022. Ms. Nakatani is the founder of the music non-profit organization, Vivace, Inc.

Yoko Nakatani, Massachusetts Commissioned Composer for 2023

Dorothy Travis, Commissioned Composer Chair, composercomp@mmta.net