Miho Wada 12.30 pm

“Amazing talent… Miho plays the flute like a goddess”

Acclaimed by Nigel Kennedy in 2003

Miho Wada was born in Tokyo and grew up by the beach in Kyushu Island, Japan. Her family immigrated to Christchurch, New Zealand in 1996 and she developed much of her musical ideas there. After completing her Bachelor of Music from the University of Canterbury, she moved to London to study Postgraduate Diploma in performance flute with Lynda Coffin at the Trinity College of Music.

Since moving to London she has worked with a number of orchestras in UK and Europe including Haydn Chamber Orchestra under Sir Colin Davis and the National Orchestra of Malta. Miho has also performed jazz trio with Nigel Kennedy in London and given a trio performance with Paul Edmund-Davies and Roger Vignoles in Nagaoka, Japan. She has given recitals in UK, Japan, Italy, France, Malta, Switzerland and New Zealand.

Also on the bill is Irina Lyakhovskaya

Irina Lyakhovskaya was born St. Petersburg, Russia. She graduated from the St. Petersburg Conservatoire in 1999 where she studied with Alexander Sandler and gave numerous public performances; both solo and with orchestra. In 2000, Irina was invited to continue her studies in England as a postgraduate student at Trinity College of Music, London with John Bingham.

In June 2003 Irina won 1st Prize in the TCM Association’s Soloist Competition with her interpretation of the Schumann Piano Concerto. She has given many performances in England, including a solo recital at St. Martin in the Fields, Rachmaninov’s 2nd Piano Concerto in St. John’s Smith Square and Brahms’ 1st Piano Concerto at the Blackheath Halls (both with conductor Peter Stark).

She has toured extensively; performing in Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Portugal, France, Italy and Greece working internationally as a soloist and a chamber musician.

Irina is also an official accompanist for the Trinity College of Music, London.

Miho and Irina have been performing together since 2002 while they were studying at the Trinity College of Music, London.

Saturday 29th sees the arrival of…

Johannes Batesaki – 12.15 pm

A Berlin/London based acoustic duo – guitar, vocals (hannes)
Clarinet, flute, baritone sax (tamar)

After experimenting with a range of musical styles which included two and a half years the vocalist for Lyrics’n Func – a funk jazz band from Mainz – Hannes decided to make use of the many songs he wrote over the years and perform them as a solo artist.

In October 2005 – Tamar had just returned to london after spending a few months in Kolkata where she was involved in a jazz project with Taal Tantra (Tanmoy Bose) – Stadtpark was born after Tamar joined Hannes for a gig at the Acoustic Lounge in Clapham, London.

Together they combine the fruits of a classically trained background and the vast experiences in different popular music styles to create an alternative blend of acoustic folk, pop and jazz.

Kumi – 1pm

KUMI is singer, songwriter daughter of a Japanese father and Italian mother was born in Tokyo and raised up in South America, Japan and various European countries. Each time she was movin to a new country she couldn’t understand a single word of the spoken language for months. She was living in a dimension where the words and the world around her were just sounds&visual expressions for 8 to 10 months. She would then learn how to speak like any other kid in that country and thats why she is fluent in Spanish, Japanese French Italian and English but wherever she went music was her language, her home. Since an early age she starts playing the piano,then through the years masters drums and singing.

In 1997 KUMI starts her own band in Milan and calls it Sungift with Lo’ on bass, Giammo on guitar and Sergio on drums then Luke on 2nd guitar joins the band and she developes her live career as a singer, fronting the band and performes live in over 350 concerts during four years step by step from little clubs to opening acts such as:

In 1998 KUMI starts to compose and write her own songs. In 2000 she is invited by KITARO to record at his studio “Mochi House” in Colorado with Gary Barlough.
JUL.2001 she receives with her band the “Jury special Price” at “Voices of Freedom – A song for Amnesty”, recording 2 songs on a CD for Amnesty International.

NOV. 2001 receives the Price as “Best female singer” at “Meeting of Independent Recording Companies” in Faenza.

JUL.2002 she performs at Life Gate Radio Launch Event Concert Idroscalo Milan.

She has since intensified writing her own songs and developed several songs on commission for commercial use for television.
Continuing her experiences has lead her to an interest in other countries and in 2003 she started collaborating with artists in the USA and UK to widen and stimulate her passion for music.