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Tokyo-born Mika Sawai has pursued two careers as a Marimba player and Composer.

From 2011 to 2013, she ​received a Musicians' Company Lambert Award (as a Scholarship) from the Worshipful Company of the Musicians (UK).

In 2013, she was selected from over 250 applicants to compose a commissioned work 《Variety Walking》 inspired by a UK artist Julian Opie’s artwork at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital as a competition winner (Rhapsody Composing Project, London UK)   In 2014, she was chosen as a successful applicant to hold a concert in May supported by Yamaha Music Foundation. Mika also won the Grand Prix of ASIA AWARDS Music Category for Young Creators in TOKYO DESIGN WEEK 2014 (Tokyo, Japan)

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Her starting point was to freely play the piano under her mother and to compose, when she was 3 years old.

Mika studied Marimba, Composition and Music Theory at Toho Gakuen School of Music, Tokyo and Royal College of Music, London. 

She completed the postgraduate research course of Creativity of Music and Sound at Tokyo University of the Arts in 2015.

In 2016, she works at the Public Collaboration Centre/The COI site in Tokyo University of the Arts as a Project Researcher since 2016.

 

There is no boundaries between music and other arts! She has been intersted in creating installarion art using sound and composing for visual arts, such as photos, glass works.

 

 

 

News

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A recent work as a composer, the document of a Japanese traditional wood carving technique 「Miyabori」 

has been opend to the public on two in-flight entertainment:​ Lufthansa  and  American Airlines.

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Some articles of previous involved works in the UK:

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http://www.chelwest.nhs.uk/about-us/news/news-archive/2014/interactive-arts-and-music-audio-tour-to-improve-hospital-patients2019-treatment-and-rehabilitation

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http://www.imagineear.com/case-studies/rhapsody-art-trail/

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http://www.classicfm.com/composers/whitacre/news/hospital-patients-helped-new-classical-music/

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Awards

 

<2014>

Being chosen as a successful applicant to hold a concert in May supported by Yamaha Music Foundation Japan

 

Won the Grand Prix of ASIA AWARDS Music Category for young creators in TOKYO DESIGN WEEK 2014

 

<2013>

Won the Rhapsody Composing Project  (London, UK)

Being selected from over 250 applicants to compose a commissioned work 《Variety Walking》inspired by a UK artist Julian Opie's artwork at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital as a competition winner

 

<2011-2013>

Received a Musicians' Company Lambert Award (as a Scholarship) from the Worshipful Company of the Musicians

 

 

 

Exhibitions

 

 

<2015>

TOKYO DESIGN WEEK in Milano Salone (Milan, Italy)

 

fathom (hiroko fujino + Mika Sawai) 's first exhibition 「Preconscious Session [0:00am←→5:00am]」 (Tokyo, Japan)

 

 

<2014>

Group exhibition「sound art:」 at Tokyo University of the Arts (Tokyo, Japan)

 

Special exhibition 「Geidai Arts in Marunouchi」 in Marunouchi Building (Tokyo, Japan)

 

TOKYO DESIGN WEEK 2014 (Tokyo, Japan)

「ASIA AWARDS」 Music Category  for young creators