SATSUKI ODAMURA PROFILE

satsuk odamuraSatsuki Odamura is a master of the Koto and Shamisen. She has pioneered awareness of these ancient Japanese instruments through her performances in Australia, and through teaching her students around the country. She is the Director of the Koto Music Institute of Australia.Satsuki began learning the Koto when she was ten. She joined the Sawai Koto School of Music in Tokyo when she was 18 and underwent the discipline of being a live-in student with her teachers Tadao and Kazue Sawai who are both towering figures in the history of Koto music. Her experience with Tadao and Kazue Sawai has deeply influenced her philosophy of music and her approach to performing and collaborating with other artists from a wide range of musical genres, including jazz, Western classical, Western modern and Aboriginal music. She believes that artists with no previous knowledge of the koto are able to create exciting new directions and dimensions for the instrument. Satsuki has inspired a number of Australian composers to write for her instrument, including Ross Edwards (Koto Dreaming), Peter Sculthorpe (Little Requiem) and many others.

Satsuki OdamuraSatsuki’s collaborations and works include performances with Australian, European and Asian artists worldwide. She is a member of
– GEST8 with Sandy Evans and Tony Gorman
– Way out West with Peter Knight
– Elision contemporary music ensemble
– Shashaten with Butoh Dancer Yumi Umiumare
– Waratah withTony Lewis & Sandy Evans
– PRRIM with Tunji Beier & Adrian Sherriff

Satsuki has performed with
Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Adelaide Chamber Orchestra, Hunter Orchestra, The Australian Chamber Orchestra, Synergy Percussion, Riley Lee (shakuhachi), Jim Denley, TAIKOZ, Linsey Pollak, Erik Griswold, Ian Cleworth, Aiko Goto, Mayu Kanamori, Matthew Doyle and Song Company.

Festival performances include:
Melbourne International Arts Festival, Adelaide Festival, Sydney Festival, Perth International Arts Festival, Brisbane Festival, Bellingen Global Carnival, Womad, Berlin Festival, Hong Kong International Arts Festival, Bang on a Can Festival in New York, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Expo 2005 Aichi, Japan, Four Winds Festival, Wangaratta Jazz Festival.