John Kamitsuka

Biography

Mr. Kamitsuka performs regularly throughout the United States, South America, Europe and Japan. He has played at prominent New York City venues such as Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, the 92nd Street Y and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. He has appeared at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in South Carolina; Queen Elizabeth Hall, St. John's Smith Square and St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London; the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival in Germany; Cercle de l'Union Interaliée and Chateau de l'Hermitage in France; Teatro Ghione, the American Academy in Rome, Università Cattolica, Collegio Borromeo and Sala del Conservatorio Santa Cecilia in Italy.

Mr. Kamitsuka made his debut in China with solo and concerto appearances in Beijing and Tianjin in the fall of 2003. His annual tours in Japan have included recitals at Yamaha Hall in Tokyo, Piloti Hall in Osaka and the Cultural Hall in Kobe. Mr. Kamitsuka's United States Government Cultural Ambassadorship Tour of Brazil took him to seven cities and Television Cultura in Brazil produced a special program featuring his Sao Paulo, Teatro Municipal recital which continues to be broadcast repeatedly. His recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations is included in Anna Harwell Celenza's book about the Variations which Charlesbridge Publishing House released in February 2005. Mr. Kamitsuka is also invited regularly to do residencies which include master classes and concerts at numerous colleges and universities and is a Visiting Artist at the American Academy in Rome for the academic year 2012-13.

Orchestral solo appearances of Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms concertos include performances with the New York Chamber Orchestra, the Bard Music Festival Ensemble, the Sao Paulo Symphony, Ensemble Musique Hamamatsu, and the China Philharmonic.

John Kamitsuka began formal piano studies at the age of five and by twelve had performed in solo recitals and as a soloist with symphony orchestras. He continued his studies with teachers at the Toho School of Music in Tokyo and returned to the United States to accept a scholarship to Indiana University where he studied with Abbey Simon and Julius Herford. He later pursued doctoral studies at the State University of New York at Stony Brook with Gilbert Kalish and Richard Goode, and studies privately with Sophia Rosoff in New York.