Akiko
Tominaga

Born in Japan and raised in the United States, pianist Akiko Tominaga has been hailed by critics and audiences across North America, Europe, and Japan. ‘An amazing assurance and strength...and most of all,  the maturity and the imagination of a true interpreter.’ (Gingras, La Presse) ‘Her sound is captivating, delicate, crystalline; her phrasing elegant and intelligent. Above all, one appreciates the humility and sobriety of her artistry...’ (Gauthier, Ottawa Citizen).  

Ms. Tominaga began her studies at the age of 4 and made her solo debut in 1992, playing Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. Her solo and chamber performances have been broadcasted on  C.B.C. and Radio-Canada. She has performed with the Bridgeport Symphony, Reading Symphony, Inter-school Orchestra of New York, as well as Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. Her solo recital entitled “Postcards from Afar” received much acclaim in Ottawa in the Master Piano Recital Series in 2015.  

An avid chamber musician, she has collaborated with notable musicians as Diana Cohen, Franklin Cohen,  Anne-Julie Caron, Elbjorg Hemsing, Michael Foyle, Amanda Forsyth, Teng Li, Roberto Diaz, Benjamin  Butterfield, Tyler Duncan, and Norman Fischer. She is a founding member of the piano trio Trio Lajoie  (violinist Ariane Lajoie, cellist Julie Hereish) based in Montreal. In October 2014, the trio gave numerous concerts throughout the Maritime provinces with the Debut Atlantic. Their debut CD has been nominated for the Prix Opus Award in 2014. In Calgary, she has appeared in numerous concerts with the  Instrumental Society of Calgary and the Faculty and Friends series at the Eckhardt Gramatté hall. She has also collaborated on projects with the Land’s End Ensemble.  

Ms. Tominaga holds a Bachelor of Music Degree from the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music, where she studied with Eleanor Sokoloff, an Artist Diploma from the Royal Conservatory of Music studying with John Perry, and a Doctorate of Music from the Université de Montréal under the guidance of Marc Durand. She has been invited to give masterclasses, lectures, and adjudicate festivals in Alberta and B.C. and was on the faculty of the University of Lethbridge. She currently teaches at the Mount Royal Conservatory in Calgary, where she is a faculty member of the Academy for the Gifted Youth Program.