A Gift of Music | Joie de Vivre

As the year draws to a close, A Gift of Music: Joie de Vivre invites audiences to pause, reflect on the many challenges and milestones of the past months, and offer gratitude through music.

From the diverse backgrounds of soprano Ayaka Tsuchida, concert pianist Yuki Mihara, and Singaporean repetiteur Sim Yi Kai comes a rich and evocative musical journey spanning over 350 years of history from the elegance of the Baroque to the lyricism of the Romantic era and beyond.

To understand the language of these composers and poets is to find comfort and meaning in our modern world. Each song becomes a lens through which we rediscover the shared emotions that connect us across time and culture.

Artists’ biographies:

Ayaka Tsuchida graduated from Kunitachi College of Music and furthered her studies in Italy at the Conservatorio di Novara, Conservatorio di Piacenza (Master’s), and Conservatorio di Milano (Doctorate).
She has won 1st Prize at the Civita Castellana International Competition and has starred in numerous operas, earning high praise. As a member of the Piacenza Opera, she is actively involved in concerts, operas, and ceremonies.
Currently based in Milan and Singapore, she performs internationally.

Yuki Mihara is a Japanese pianist born in Osaka. She graduated top of her class from Senzokugakuen College of Music in Japan, then continued her studies in Italy, graduating from Conservatorio Guido Cantelli in Novara with highest honors and a special award. She has won prizes at several international competitions, including first prize at the 2019 Città di Villafranca and awards at the Oleggio and Città di Cantù competitions. Based in Tokyo and Europe, she is active as a soloist and chamber musician. 

Singaporean pianist Yi Kai was unanimously awarded the Second Prize in the Open Category at the 2006 International IBLA Piano Competition.

Graduate fellowships paved the way to a Masters Degree in Music at the University of California, Santa Barbara. After a nationwide audition at the Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Centre, Yi Kai was invited as an artist for the Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar in New York. As an opera répétiteur, he took on the triple role of assistant conductor, vocal coach and continuo harpsichordist in the entire production of Rossini's The Barber of Seville in California. He has collaborated with SSO musicians Jacek Mirucki and Hidehiro Fujita in a joint chamber concert for the Japan Tsunami disaster.