Biography
The New York Times hailed violinist Ayano Ninomiya’s 2004 New York debut recital in Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall as “deeply communicative and engrossing.” The second-prize winner of the 2003 Walter W. Naumburg International Violin Competition and a winner of Astral Artists’ 2003 National Auditions, Astral has presented Ms. Ninomiya on a “Rising Stars” concert at Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. Under Astral’s auspices, she also led The Haddonfield Symphony Chamber Orchestra in Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons and gave her Philadelphia recital and concerto debuts. Astral also recently presented her in a performance of piano trios, with Astral graduate cellist Clancy Newman and renowned pianist Claude Frank, and presents her in the 2008-2009 season in a program of violin masterworks and in recital in New York’s Merkin Concert Hall. Ms. Ninomiya is the recent winner of an S&R Washington Award as well as the Lili Boulanger Memorial Award. She was also a prizewinner in the Tibor Varga International Violin Competition, and, as the recipient of a 2005 Beebe Fellowship, she spent the 2005-2006 academic year in Budapest researching the Bartók Archives and studying at the Franz Liszt Academy. Her recording of The Book of Moonlight, the complete works for violin by Larry Bell, was cited as one of the “Top 10 Classical Recordings of 2003” by Philadelphia’s City Paper.
Since her debut with the Boston Pops under Keith Lockhart, on its opening night in 1999, Ms. Ninomiya has appeared across the U.S. as soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. She has been featured as soloist with the Boston, Zurich, Harrisburg, and Southwest Florida symphonies, among others. As a JAL “Classic Special New Artist,” she has been presented in recital throughout Japan, including a debut recital in Tokyo’s Suntory Hall. She also gave debut recitals on the Ravinia Festival’s “Rising Stars” series, BankBoston’s “Emerging Artist” series, Chicago’s Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series, and at Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
Current season highlights include a recording of two works by Paul Moravec for the Bridgehampton Festival, as well as East and West Coast tours with the Formosa String Quartet, performances with mridangam player Rohan Krishnamurthy, concerts in Singapore with the Momenta String Quartet, and performances with the Ensemble for the Romantic Century. Ms. Ninomiya was also invited to return to the Open Chamber Music at the Prussia Cove festival in Cornwall, England, to perform with America’s Dream Chamber Artists, and she returns to both the Lenape and Caramoor festivals. She also presents several lecture-solo performances, through the Elderhostel program. In recent seasons Ms. Ninomiya has given solo performances with the Tatabanya (Budapest) Orchestra, and at the Ravinia Festival, Washington Conservatory, and on the Sanibel BigArts Series. She also recently performed with the Daedalus String Quartet on Alaska’s “Jazz and Classics” series.
An avid chamber musician, Ms. Ninomiya joined “Musicians from Marlboro” for its 2005 tour of France and its 2004 U.S. tour. She has performed at the Ravinia, Santa Fe Chamber, Marlboro, Caramoor, Bridgehampton, Charlottesville, Lenape, Moab, Olympic, and Bargemusic festivals. A founding member of both the Amaryllis and Momenta string quartets, she is also an active member of the conductorless string ensemble, ECCO.
Ms. Ninomiya received a Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School, where she studied with Robert Mann. She also graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College with joint degrees in Music and French. Her teachers and coaches include Miriam Fried, Michele Auclair, Hyo Kang, Robert Levin, Eszter Perenyi, and Andras Keller. Born in Takamatsu, Japan, she moved the U.S. when she was one year old and began violin studies at the age of seven. The following year she entered the New England Conservatory of Music Preparatory School and made her professional debut with the North Shore (MA) Symphony.
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SEPTEMBER 2008 (Please destroy any previously dated material.)