Past
CURRICULUM VITAE
Sumie (Sumi-é) Kaneko is a master in the Japanese traditional repertoire of these ancient string instruments Koto and Shamisen. She has also pioneered their use in jazz and experimental music, through solo and group performances worldwide. She is renowned for her ability to collaborate with a diverse array of visionary international artists. Ms. Kaneko's other major titles includes:
The cultural representative. Works closely with Embassy of Japan and United Nations to contribute cultural exchanges.
The Shihan, the certified master of Yamada School of Koto music.
PERFORMANCE ENGAGEMENTS
2021 NBC's TODAY with Hoda and Jenna
2021 American Ballet Theatre at The Joyce Theater
2020 Miller Symphony Hall Allentown, PA
2019 Harvard Club, NYC
2018 Pit Inn, Tokyo
2017 Birdland Jazz Club, NYC
2016 Hollywood Bowl's Summer Sounds, LA
2015 Blue Note, NYC
2014 Getty Center, LA
2013 Carnegie Hall, NYC
2013 Lincoln Center Out of Door, NYC
2013 Asia Society Houston, TX
PERFORMANCE WORKS
* Ensemble Project: Sumie Kaneko Group , 2012 – Present
Annual Japan tour
Europe tour in Germany, France, Switzerland
Blue Note New York
Washington DC Jazz Festival
Regatta Bar Boston
* Solo Project: Ochi-Kochi , 2016 – Present
Tenri Cultural Institute in NYC and Paris, France
Japan Society Austin, TX
Flushing Library, NY
Greenwich Library, CT
Harrison Museum, NY
Fort Lee Library, NJ
* Collaboration Project, 2012 – Present
Kenny Endo
Kaoru Watanabe
On Ensemble
Taiko Project
Isaku Kageyama
Ralph Samuelson
James Schlefer
Kiyohiko Semba
Monday Michiru
Lew Tabakin
Takuya Taniguchi
Clarence Penn
Nik Bartsch
Gamelan Galak TIka
Misa Kuranaga
Isabella Boylston
James Whiteside
CURATORIAL PROJECTS
2012-Present Tenri Cultural Institute NY: Kyo-Shin-Ann Arts Chamber Music Series
2021 The Joyce Theater: NEO with American Ballet Theater Principals
2019 Google: Live Under the Dome music series
2017-2018 Columbia University: Wagakki Renaissance
2014-2018 Rubin Museum: Spiral Music Series
2017 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: Interactive concert series A Summer Soiée
2017 Museum of Fine Arts Boston: Immersive musical and artistic experience series Art In Tune
2012-2017 Cathedral of St. John the Divine: Voices From Japan: Despair and Hope from Disaster
2015 Museum of Fine Arts Boston: Sound Bites Performance Series
2014 TEDx Talks: TEDxBeaconStreet (MA)
2013 Lincoln Center Out of Doors with Kaoru Watanabe Taiko Center
2013 FDA New York: Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Festival
DIPLOMATIC ENGAGEMENTS WITH EMBASSY OF JAPAN
* Asia , 2012 – Present
Bangladesh
Pakistan
India
Sri Lanka
* Central & South America, , 2011 – Present
Jamaica
Brazil
Nicaragua
Guatemala
Bolivia
Peru
* Europe , 2018 – Present
Austria
Kosovo
Slovenia
Croatia
Hungary
Romania
Bosnia and Herzegovina
ACADEMIC ENGAGEMENT
* Concerts, 2012 – 2021
Harvard University, MA
Columbia University, NY
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA
Wellesley College, MA
Tufts University, MA
Princeton University, NJ
Vassar College, NY
Dickinson College, PA
Stony Brook University, NY
Muhlenberg College, PA
Oberlin University, OH
* Lectures, 2012 – 2021
Berklee College of Music, MA
Princeton University, NJ
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA
Wellesley College, MA
Museum of Fine Arts Boston, MA
Stony Brook University, NY
Aoyama Gakuin University, Tokyo
PUBLICATIONS
* Audio Albums
2012 J-Trad and More
2014 Dead of the Night
* Other Audio Works
2021 Jerome Leroy's Shifting Perspectives
2020 Adam Rudolph's Focus And Field
2020 Elena Moon Park's Unhurried Journey
2019 TAEKO's Contemplation
2017 Ho Etsu Taiko + On Ensemble's ROTATION
2015 Kaoru Watanabe's Neo
* Video Works
2021 Dai Fujikura's Neo, American Ballet Theater, NYC
2021 The Taikoverse, Taiko Community Alliance, LA
2021 Lépjen be a koto viágába!, Japan Foundation, Budapest
2021 Haiku Contest, Kaji Aso Studio, Boston MA
2020 Obon Classics, Japan Foundation, NY
2012 eBooks on the Arts from ARTBOOK | DIGITAL, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston MA
THEATER WORKS
* as Adviser / Composer / Musician
Pulitzer Winner Paula Vogel's The Long Christmas Ride Home (Premiered in Providece RI 2003, repeated in New Haven 2004, CT and Washington D.C.2006)
2015 W. B. Yeats by Crossing Jamaica Avenue: Woman In Yeats (NYC)
2020 Fong Nickson's Bashira (NYC)
* as Musician
2014 ENSO (NYC)
2014 Nisei (NYC)
2015/2019 Joen: Of Burning Desire (NYC)
2015 Yuri Kageyama's NEWS FROM FUKUSHIMA
2015 Carlo Collodi's Pinocchio by Steven Bogart (Boston, MA)
EDUCATION
* 2002 – 2005
Berklee College of Music, Boston, MA DIP
Jazz Vocal Performance
* 1996 – 2000
Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, Tokyo, Japan B.M.
Koto and Shamisen in Japanese Traditional Music
* 1993 – 1995
Kashiwa Chuo High school , Chiba, Japan
PROFESSIONAL TRAINING
* Lisa Thorson Jazz Vocal Studio, Boston, MA, 2002 – 2006
* Norino Iguchi Koto and Shamisen Studio, Tokyo, Japan, 1995 – 2002
* Shin Miyashita Koto Academy, Tokyo, Japan, 1982 – 1995
AWARDS
2021 City Artist Corps Grant, NYC
2021 New Music Solidarity Grant, NYC
1998 Joei Award, Tokyo
1996 Acanthus Award, Tokyo
1995 1st Prize at Takasaki International Competition, Gunma