MIKIO TSUJI
Artist Profile
MIKIO TSUJI[Tsuji Mikio's Career]
Tsuji Mikio's activities are diverse, centering on composition and playing the 11-string guitar.
In 1983, he encountered an 11-string guitar with the tuning of a Renaissance lute, and began his career as Japan's first 11-string guitar player.
In 1988, he was invited to the Classical Guitar Festival commemorating the Seoul Olympics,
where he premiered the world's first original piece for 11-string guitar, "Suite: Spring's Journey."
In 1991, he received international acclaim for a recital of his own compositions at Carnegie Hall in New York, and expanded his activities to the United States and Europe. He is highly regarded as a composer-guitarist. The New York Times praised his work as "new music."
In 1994, in an effort to end the Narita struggle, he held "The Melody of the 11-String Guitar Played by Tsuji Mikio" outdoors on the south side of the runway at Narita Airport, with the cooperation of Shibayama-cho residents opposed to the airport construction and airport personnel.
Composed and premiered the requiem "Toki wa Kaze no Youni" (Time is Like the Wind), with lyrics by Kushida Magoichi.
1995: Performed a dedication performance at Ise Grand Shrine. Since then, he has held concerts at the Ise Shuyodan Dojo for 28 consecutive years. With the belief that "music from heart to heart, soul to soul", he has continued to deliver music to every corner of the country.
1996: Ten years after the Chernobyl nuclear accident, he performed a memorial concert tour in Eastern and Northern Europe. He appeared in special programs on Moscow Broadcasting and the National Broadcasting of the Republic of Belarus. He was also invited to give lectures and concerts at music universities in various countries.
2007: Wrote the lyrics, composed the music, and produced new Kagura pieces for Kumano Hongu Taisha Shrine (choreography: Shimizu Kiyoshi), which have been dedicated every year at the annual festival since 2008 ("Kumano" and "Prayer"). Highly acclaimed worldwide, he performed them in a recital at Suntory Hall. The work will be performed at the 20th anniversary ceremony of the sister city partnership between the Kumano Kodo and the Camino de Santiago de Compostela Pilgrimage Route. (2018)
Inspired by the Great East Japan Earthquake, he composed "Tenchi Tensei".
In 2015, he composed music for the reading of Nagasaki no Kane, a long poem based on the original work by Nagai Takashi. It was performed as a peace concert at the Nagasaki Peace Hall and other locations nationwide.
In 2017, he released an album of all J.S. BACH songs.
In 2021, he performed "Tenchi Tensei" at seven locations nationwide, including the Endo Goki Museum of Art in Kyoto.
In 2022, he was in charge of the music for Kiyoshi Shimizu's "Maboroshi no Cho" at the Ginza Kanze Noh Theater.
In 2024, he will hold a memorial concert at the Sakima Art Museum on June 23, "Okinawa Memorial Day". As a "vow," he announced Remembrance 6.23 Okinawa (reciting the Heart Sutra with Takahashi Takushi) and The Little Prince.
Tsuji Mikio's CDs "Wind Sign" and "Moonlight Forest" were released by Misawa Homes General Research Institute (Misawa Classics). He then moved to Forty-One Records, and has released nine albums to date.
He has composed and performed for commercials for JA Bank, NTT Docomo Tokai, and "From the Window of the World," among others.
A special feature on Tsuji Mikio on NHK Radio's "Ongaku Yume Club" was broadcast simultaneously around the world on Radio Japan.
MIKIOTSUJIGuitarist
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