December 1, 2003

Riverside, CA – Everyone is invited to attend the La Sierra University faculty recital by Jason Uyeyama, La Sierra University Assistant Professor of Music, and guest pianist Katsura Tanikawa on Saturday December 6, 7:30 pm, in Hole Memorial Auditorium on the La Sierra University (4500 Riverwalk Parkway, Riverside, CA) campus.

Tanikawa began her piano studies at the age of four in Japan. Since moving to the United States in 1986, she has been the recipient of more than 20 first prizes in national and international competitions. Her numerous honors include: first prize in the Chaminade Club of Yonkers Music Award in New York, winner of Friday Woodmere Music Competition in New York, first prize-winner of the Sound Symphony Orchestra Competition, recipient of the Enrico Fermi Arts Award and first-place winner of the 17th Annual Concerto Competition in NY, first-place winner of International Young Artists Piano Competition in Washington D.C, winner of MTNA Baldwin Keyboard Competition, prize winner of Kingsville International Young Performers Competition in Texas, and first prize winner of American Music Scholarship Association Competition in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Tanikawa has been featured as soloist with the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra in Moscow, Russia, the Philharmonic Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, the Sound Symphony Orchestra, and the Yonkers Philharmonic Orchestra in New York and New Millennium Festival Orchestra in Spain. She has given numerous recitals including performances at John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington. D.C., Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Merkin Concert Hall in New York, the Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Caramoor Performer Showcase Series in New York, the Chinese Consulate in Washington D.C., Centro Cultura Antiguo Instituto in Gijon, Spain, and Tokyo Bunka Kaikan and Asahi Hall in Tokyo, Japan.

Tanikawa is also an avid chamber musician, and her collaborations with other musicians have taken her to numerous cities in the US and in many countries in Europe. She has also twice collaborated in a chamber music performance with violinist Itzhak Perlman for the Perlman Summer Music benefit concert.

Tanikawa completed her B.M at The Juilliard School in New York City under the instruction of Yoheved Kaplinsky. She continues to pursue her academic interests at Columbia University in New York. Her previous teachers include Miyoko Lotto, Eteri Andjaparidge, and Emilio Del Rosario.

Uyeyama has performed extensively in the United States, in addition to tours of Italy, England, China, and Japan. Since his solo debut with the Sacramento Youth Symphony at age 14, he has been a guest soloist with the Sacramento Symphony, Camellia Symphony, the New England Symphonic Ensemble, the Brooklyn Heights Orchestra, and the Brooklyn Conservatory Orchestra. In 2001, Uyeyama made his recital and television debut in Japan and performed in thirty cities across the United States with the Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra, where he served as a principal. Uyeyama received his Bachelor of Music degree from Brooklyn College as a scholarship student of Itzhak Perlman. He completed his Master's degree at The Juilliard School in New York, where he studied under Masao Kawasaki.

Uyeyama is currently the Director of String Studies at La Sierra University and member of the Taylor String Quartet. During the 2003-04 season he will give recitals in Japan, Canada, and the United States, and will join the Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra for performances in New York and Boston. He will also appear in recital at the Crocker Art Museum and as a guest artist on the Chamber Music Alive! concert series in northern California. In May, Uyeyama will return as a guest soloist with the Premier Orchestra of the Sacramento Youth Symphony in celebration of Maestro Michael Neumann's 25th year as Music Director. An active chamber musician, he has studied with members of the Guarneri, Juilliard, and Takacs string quartets, and with pianist Robert McDonald. Other activities have included the Aspen Music Festival, Taos School of Music, and the Tanglewood Music Festival, where he served as concertmaster.