Ayako Okunuki

Ayako Okunuki

After graduating from the Toho Gakuen School of Music with a Bachelor in Music Performance, she traveled to Ireland to learn traditional music there. She has performed and collaborated with both domestic and international musicians, including Ireland's national treasures The Chieftains, as well as performed in venues such as the Irish Embassy in Japan and the Japanese Prime Minister's Official Residence. She is a member of the Irish traditional music band Lady Chieftains, which is officially recognised by The Chieftains, and also a member of the three-person band, KOUCYA. In 2019, she participated as a guest member in the specially formed Yuki Kojima Band, which won the Celtic Music Contest at the Festival de Ortigueira 2019 in Spain. She has also participated in several recordings of soundtracks for Japanese TV commercials, dramas, animations and film scores. She has performed live at concerts and festivals of various genres in Japan and overseas, playing solo to orchestra for classical music. To develop her career in Celtic music, she gained new fiddle styles from Prince Edward and Cape Breton Island in Canada, as well as the Franco-Quebecois style, which involves foot percussion played simultaneously while fiddle playing, which makes her appear as a "dancing-fiddler".