MEET OUR MUSIC TEACHERS
NICE TO MEET YOU!
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Tomoko Shimizu
Lead Piano Teacher/Advanced MUSICOCOTTE Teacher Tomoko Shimizu, a pianist and piano teacher from Japan, values pedagogy and tailors programs to motivate students by understanding their individuality. She offers human-centered, creative, and positive musical experiences that stem from her expertise in piano performance and music therapy collaboration. She started learning the piano at the age of five and solfège at six. She then went to Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo, Japan, to focus on piano performance. It was during this time that she became interested in music therapy, inspired by her late mother who loved music. Choosing to pursue this field, she studied Music Therapy at Kurashiki Sakuyo University in Okayama. To enhance her knowledge, she took part in a Neurologic Music Therapy Clinical Workshop at Colorado State University, emphasizing evidence-based scientific research. After graduating, she became a full-time certified music therapist at a nursing home in Japan, specializing in memory care for elderly residents to enhance their quality of life. In 2009, she enrolled in Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA, to further her passion for music therapy in the United States. During her time there, she was honored with The MIE International Exchange Award from Japan. Following a six-month clinical internship at a nursing home in Connecticut, she earned her B.M. in Music Therapy. In 2014, she relocated to New York, where she discovered music lessons integrated with music therapy to benefit children of all abilities. Music therapy, being an evidence-based therapeutic and educational intervention, involves extensive work with individuals of various backgrounds to help them achieve personal goals. Transitioning smoothly, she began teaching piano, drawing from her expertise in music therapy and piano performance to nurture students' passion and skills. She conducted early childhood music group classes at preschools in Brooklyn and taught piano at different music schools, including her private studio, where she quickly gained a busy schedule. |
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Yusuke Yamanouchi
Guitar & Ukulele Teacher Yusuke Yamanouchi is a Guitarist/Composer/Arranger born in Tokyo, Japan. His music education started since when he was five years old, taking private piano lessons. At the age of twenty, Yusuke Yamanouchi attended an art school based in his hometown, Tokyo. It was here that he found Bill Evans and Jim Hall’s album “undercurrent” which inspired him to learn jazz music. He then entered Iida jazz school in Tokyo to study jazz music formally. At Iida, he took many private guitar lessons and ensemble lessons from prestigious jazz musicians such as Toshiki Nunokawa, Koichi Yabori and Shyunji Takenaka. At the same time, he actively began playing live concerts in Tokyo, where he performed at famous jazz clubs, restaurants and concert halls with his group and various other renowned bands. After his successful career as a jazz guitarist based in Tokyo, Japan, he moved to Boston, Massachusetts in 2009 to study Jazz Composition/Performance, to deepen his expertise, and to flourish his career as a musician at Berklee College of Music, for which he was awarded the Berklee World Tour Award throughout his school years. He has learned jazz guitar from the most famous, legendary and inspiring Jazz musicians in the world including of Brett Willmott, David Gilmore, Tim Miller, Tomo Fujita and Bruce Saunders, and jazz composition and arranging from pioneers in jazz such as Dave Johnson, Bob Pilkington and Jackson Schultz. He also actively participated in many concerts, benefit performances, and live music recordings. Moving to the U.S. has played a major role in shaping who he is today musically as well as personally. In 2013, he graduated from Berklee College of Music, then he relocated to New York the most competitive city for jazz artists, where his career has flourished. He has actively started performing with many prominent musicians and groups at many well-known jazz venues in New York and New England area. |
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Lynlia Tso
Piano & Flute Teacher Lynlia Tso is an arts administrator, piano teacher, actor, and recording studio assistant based in New York City. She is currently Assistant Director of the nonprofit concert series, Piano on Park. Whether it is shooting a film, teaching piano technique, or live streaming a concert, she is always doing something in the arts field. Interested in its psychological and neurological impact, Lynlia envisions spreading the joy of the arts on mental well being and relationship to human life. To this end she dedicates herself to being a strong advocate for artists and art organizations. In May of 2023, Lynlia graduated with a Master of Arts in Performing Arts Administration at New York University. She previously received a Bachelor of Arts in Music and Chinese Language & Literature at CUNY Hunter College under the Macaulay Honors Program. In 2019, Lynlia completed her capstone year in Taiwan under the American Council’s Language Flagship Program, where she studied Mandarin extensively and worked as an intern at the Taiwan Philharmonic. Most recently, Lynlia competed as a top 10 finalist of the Miss Chinese Pageant. Lynlia is currently pursuing a second graduate degree in Music Therapy. |
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Arina Fujiwara
Piano Teacher Born in Saitama, Japan, Arina Fujiwara is a composer and pianist. She began her piano studies at age 3. She has won many prizes at several competitions including 3rd Prize at Japan-Beethoven Concours, 2nd Prize at The European International Piano Concours, Won at Chopin International Music Competition in Asia, Won JPTA Piano Audition and Unsigned Only Music Competition as semi finalist. She studied classical music at Toho Gakuen College in Tokyo, Japan and then is interested in jazz music. She earned a Bachelor of music degree from Berklee College of Music in Boston. Also, she holds a Master of Music degree from Manhattan School of Music. She studied with Elio Vilafranca and Joel Ross. She has performed some venues in New York such as Tomi Jazz and Fiction bar. She released her album, Neon in 2023. The album contains four of her original songs for string quartet, vibraphone and guitar and arranged traditional songs. Ms. Fujiwara’s originals are unique and include classical and jazz elements blended in her style. |
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Miranda Xu
Piano Teacher As a music producer with 8 years of experience, she began her journey as a classically trained piano player and composer. She graduated from New York University in 2020 with a major in Integrated Digital Media and a minor in Music. She then pursued a Master of Music degree in Screen Scoring at the University of Southern California in 2021. Transitioning into the industry, she worked as an A&R officer at Sony Music Entertainment China from 2022 to 2023. Currently, she is based in New York City, expanding her career as a music producer and educator. She recently completed her second Master’s Degree in the Songwriting and Production program at Berklee NYC in 2024. |
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Yuko Kawasaki
Piano/Voice Teacher Yuko Kawasaki is an NYC-based vocalist, improviser, multi-instrumentalist, and composer. She believes that music, her passion, expresses what is invisible, but definitely there. Characteristics in life include emotions, smells, and memories that can only be felt and remembered, but never touched. It’s her mission to capture these invisible qualities through jazz composition and share them with audiences worldwide. Like most passions, Yuko’s started off small, before even picking up a trombone, her first instrument, at the age of 9 to play in a local brass band. In those early years, her love for music instead took shape in drawings on the backside of newspaper ads as she listened to her father’s record collection, enjoying the stories within the sounds. Yuko has been internationally performing at jazz venues and festivals, such as Jazz at Lincoln Center, National Art Center in Canada, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Japan Society, and Smalls, as a vocalist and composer since she moved to New York City. She recently performed with her trio at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and shared the stage with Anthony Roth Costanzo and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. She performed with Grammy Award-winning pianist and arranger, John Beasley at Jazz at Lincoln Center, and also has performed with one of the great influencing saxophonists, Dayna Stephens at ‘North Cadence International Jazz Series’ at the National Art Center in Canada. Yuko performed with the J’s Bee, a Japanese progressive jazz band, releasing five albums with the band. They performed at some of the best venues in Japan, including Blue Note, Bottom Line, and one of the biggest festivals, Metamorphose Festival. The album “Isotope” released by Far Out Recordings, U.K. in 2013 was highly acclaimed by DJs such as Giles Peterson and has been broadcast around the world on media platforms such as BBC 6 Music, BBC 3, KCRW, PBB radio, Inter FM, to name a few. |
