Kanako Shimasaki
About
A native of Springfield, OH, Kanako has performed as a solo and chamber musician in venues including Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York City, The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., Mozarteum in Salzburg, Menicon Annex and Museum of Kyoto in Japan, and was a winner of the Yamaha Young Performing Artists Competition.
Kanako is a member of THREE, a cross-genre trio with Luke Gillespie, Professor of Piano/Jazz at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and her sister, Mariko Shimasaki. They have given performances in Japan and the United States, appearing at the Millennium Stage in D.C., John Legend Theater in Ohio, Menicon Annex Prism Stage in Nagoya, and Shoko-ji Temple in Ishikawa. In 2017, THREE collaborated with kimono designer Fumiko Tanaka at the Kyoto City International Foundation Concert Hall and performed music inspired by her kimonos on display.
Kanako is founding Co-Artistic Director of the Immaculata Chamber Music Series in Mt. Adams, Cincinnati with whom she regularly performs. As a full scholarship recipient, she received her Bachelor and Masters degrees from the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music (CCM.) Her primary teachers include Kurt Sassmannshaus, Won-Bin Yim and Jina Lee Aleman.
In addition to maintaining a private studio, Kanako has also been on faculty at the Univ of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music Prep Department and the Starling String Project.