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