Megumi Masaki

Megumi Masaki (born 9 September 1963) is a Japanese-Canadian pianist[1], multimedia artist, educator, researcher, arts administrator, conductor, and curator. She specializes in the interactive possibilities of sound, image, text, and movement in the creation and performance of multimedia works involving the piano enhanced by technology.

Megumi Masaki
Background information
Born9 September 19--
GenresNew music multimedia and interdisciplinary works
Occupation(s)pianist, educator, arts administrator, conductor
Instrumentspiano, audio/visual and computer effects
Years active1993-present
LabelsCentrediscs
Websitemegumimasaki.com

Early life and education

Masaki was born in Tokushima, JP. She began her piano studies in Winnipeg, MB with Alice Nakauchi and continued with Leonard Isaacs. She received her Bachelor of Music (Hons.) in Piano Performance from Western University in London, ON, studying with Ronald Turini and Peter Katin. Her graduate degree in Piano Performance and Literature was also from Western University, and her Master's thesis, A Survey of Toru Takemitsu's Solo Piano Music, was supervised by Dr. Jack Behrens. Post-graduate work was at the Royal College of Music in London, UK, where she received an A.R.C.M. (Associate of the Royal College of Music) Diploma in Piano Performance, and an Advanced Studies Diploma in Piano Performance under the instruction of Kendall Taylor, with Philip Wilkinson as her academic supervisor.

Career

Academic

Since 2006, Masaki has been a member of the piano faculty[2] at the School of Music at Brandon University in Brandon, MB, Canada, and she was made a full professor in 2014. Notable students include Everett Hopfner (2013 winner, Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music Competition), George Waddell (Research Associate in Performance Science at the Royal College of Music London, UK), Xiaoni Shen (2nd place winner of the 2016 American Protégé International Piano & Strings competition) and Andreas Eggertsberger (Austrian pianist). In 2007 Masaki founded the educational outreach project "Masaki's Rising Stars of Brandon University" in partnership with rural arts associations, schools, and personal care homes. The project offers performances and workshops to communities where interaction with music is limited, simultaneously providing Masaki's students with research opportunities as well as touring and performance experience. Masaki received the Brandon University Alumni Association's Award for Excellence in Teaching[3] in 2010.

In addition to piano instruction and pedagogy, Masaki directs Brandon University School of Music's New Music Ensemble[4] and its New Music Festival. In 2019, in collaboration with Brandon University Indigenous Peoples' Centre Knowledge Keeper Barb Blind, Masaki founded the BU Indigenous New Music Festival[5], a two-day festival featuring a complete program of contemporary classical music by indigenous composers.

Masaki is also on faculty at the Casalmaggiore International Festival[6], a student-focused solo and chamber music summer school and festival in Casalmaggiore, Italy; the Banff Centre for the Arts and Creativity[7] in Banff, AB, Canada; and Chetham's International Piano Summer School[8] in Manchester, UK. As the Artistic Director of the Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music Competition[9] in Brandon, MB, Masaki has championed the festival's focus on Canadian and contemporary music, leading in the commission of numerous new Canadian works. In 2016, she was a Musician in Residence at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, specializing in interactive electronics and video and serving as an installations mentor.

Megumi Masaki performing Danny's Etudes from Nicole Lizée's Kubrick Etudes, Urumqi, China. 15 Oct 2016

With the composer and computer music specialists Keith Hamel and Robert (Bob) Pritchard, Masaki has collaborated on a research project to develop a three-dimensional digitally augmented keyboard system at the Institute for Computing, Information and Cognitive Systems (ICICS) Sound Studio and School of Music at University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC. Also with Robert Pritchard, she has worked to develop the Sleeve/Hand Responsive User Garment (SHRUG)[10], a project exploring the use of e-textile sensors and active infrared tracking to create new interactive live performance tools and environments.

Professional advocacy

Masaki is in demand as a speaker and guest lecturer, specializing in the area of music performance anxiety and optimal performance. She has presented on these subjects at numerous conferences, including the International Symposium on Performance Science: ISPS 2011[11], in Toronto; the International European Piano Teachers Association (EPTA) Conference 2010 and the International Society for the Study of Tension in Performance Forum[12] (ISSTIP) 2010, both in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

As a guest professor, she has conducted masterclasses and lecture recitals in many universities and academic institutions across Canada, the USA, Europe, and Asia on subjects such as contemporary performance practices, interactive piano and computer music in live performance, cross-cultural exchange and new music trends, and gesture and hand-tracking software applications in live interactive performance.

Masaki is a member of the Advisory Council for the Canadian Music Centre's Prairie Regional Office[13] and the board of the Canadian New Music Network[14]. She has served as a jury member for the Manitoba Arts Council, the Ontario Arts Council, the Canada Council, and is an academy delegate for the Canadian Academy for the Recording Arts and Sciences (the JUNO Awards).

Performance

Masaki is a prolific performer, and frequently collaborates with composers, visual artists, writers, computer scientists, and choreographers on interdisciplinary projects involving new technologies. She is a member of the Windsor, ON performance collective Noiseborder Ensemble[15], and of Slingshot-Kidõ[16], an interdisciplinary collective based at the University of Hartford, CT. With Noiseborder Ensemble she has presented more than twenty original multimedia pieces featuring a combination of acoustic and electric instruments with live processing and mixing of sound and video, and she is active in the ensemble's SSHRC-funded research project entitled "Integrating Sound and Image in Multimedia Performance."

Megumi Masaki in performance, International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM). Photo credit Anna Murray

Masaki has premiered over ninety works for piano, chamber ensembles, and multimedia. As a solo artist she has commissioned pieces from notable Canadian composers such as Nicole Lizée (Kubrick Etudes for piano and glitch (soundtrack and film); Hitchcock Etudes[17] [18]for solo piano and film, chosen to represent Canada at the ISCM World Music Days in Poland, 2014), Brent Lee (Immaterial Los Angeles for solo piano; Agency and Structure for piano and fixed video), Keith Hamel (Touch for piano and live electronics[19]; Corona[20] for piano, interactive electronics and interactive visuals; Piano Games for piano and new computer game), and T. Patrick Carrabré (Orpheus Drones for piano and electronics; Orpheus (2) for piano, electronics and poetry by Margaret Atwood; Orpheus (1) for piano, toy piano, Roli keyboard, video, and text by Margaret Atwood). As a chamber musician she has collaborated with the Penderecki String Quartet, the Gewandhaus Orchestra soloists, Shauna Rolston, and Koh Gabriel Kameda, among many others. She has concertized across North America, Europe, and Asia, including such venues as the National Arts Centre Ottawa, London's Royal College of Music, the Dark Music Days Festival in Reykjavik, IS, and Coronet Concert Hall in Okazaki, JP.

A devotée of the music of Sophie Carmen Eckhardt-Gramatté, Masaki has done much to advance the legacy of this Manitoba-based composer, including recording Eckhardt-Gramatté's piano compositions and her works for violin and piano duo (with Oleg Pokhanovski), publishing a critical performance edition of the composer's Piano Caprices, and appearing on film as a historical researcher and pianist in the film “Appassionata: The Extraordinary Life and Works of Eckhardt-Gramatté”, produced by Paula Kelly.[21]

Recordings
Audio
Performers Title Album Details
Megumi Masaki, piano Megumi Masaki plays Eckhardt-Gramatté:

The Six Piano Caprices and Other Works for the Piano[22]
  • Release date: 1993
  • Producer: Paul V. Wichert
  • Distributor: Eckhardt-Gramatté Foundation/Centrediscs
  • Format: CD
Megumi Masaki, piano S. C. Eckhardt-Gramatté: "Piano Caprice No. 1"

in Canada's Living Music: The Spirit of Independence/

Musique vivante canadienne: Un air de liberté[23]
  • Release date: 1994
  • Distributor: Canadian Music Centre
  • Format: CD
Megumi Masaki, piano

Oleg Pokhanovski, violin

 The Complete Works for Violin and Piano Duo

by Eckhardt-Gramatté Volume 1
  • Release date: 2009
  • Producer: Theresa Leonard, Banff Centre Music and Sound Studio
  • Distributor: independent
  • Format: CD
Megumi Masaki, piano Nicole Lizée: "Hitchcock Etudes" in Bookburners[24]
  • Release date: 2011
  • Distributor: Centrediscs
  • Format: CD, DVD, vinyl, streaming audio
Megumi Masaki, piano MUSIC 4 EYES&EARS[25]. Compositions by Keith Hamel, T. Patrick Carrabré, Nicole Lizée
  • Release date: 2017
  • Distributor: Canadian Music Centre/Centrediscs
  • Format: CD, streaming audio
Video
Role Title Details
pianist Stars on Ice: The Piano Bar
  • Release date: 2003
  • Director/Producer: First National German Public Television
  • Distributor: German National TV
  • Format: VHS, DVD
pianist, researcher Appassionata: The Extraordinary Life and Music of

Sophie Eckhardt-Gramatté[26]
  • Release date: 2006
  • Director/Producer: Paula Kelly, Buffalo Gals Productions
  • Distributor: Moving Images Distribution
  • Format: DVD
pianist, documentary subject New Music: The Pianist[27]
  • Release date: 2018
  • Director/Producer: G Street Media, Inc.
  • Distributor: Bell MTS Stories from Home
  • Format: TV

Grants & Awards

2012: Canada Council for the Arts: grants for International Touring and for Commissioning of Canadian Compositions (3)

2014: Manitoba Arts Council: grants for Composer Commission & Development (2)

2014: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada: shared grant for Research & Creation in the Fine Arts. Project entitled "Integrating Sound and Image in Multimedia Performance."

2015: Manitoba Arts Council: grant for Composer Commission & Development

2015: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada: shared grant for Insight project entitled "Mapping the acoustic space of live electronic music."

2016: Manitoba Arts Council: grant for Composer Commission & Development

2016: FACTOR Canada: grant for Juried Sound Recording

2016: Canada Council for the Arts: grant for Music Production

2017: Manitoba Arts Council: grant for Composer Commission & Development

2018: Western Canadian Music Awards: nomination for Classical Artist/Ensemble of the Year

2020: Manitoba Arts Council: grants for Share - Connecting at a Distance and Professional Development (2)

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References
  1. "Megumi Masaki". Japanese Canadian Artists Directory. 2017-08-02. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  2. "Biography | Megumi Masaki". people.brandonu.ca. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  3. "Excellence in Teaching Award | Alumni". www.brandonu.ca. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  4. "New Music Ensemble | School of Music". www.brandonu.ca. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  5. Music, Manitoba. "Brandon University Indigenous New Music Festival 2020". Manitoba Music. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  6. "MEGUMI MASAKI | Casalmaggiore" (in Italian). Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  7. "People | Banff Centre". www.banffcentre.ca. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  8. Masaki, Megumi. "Megumi Masaki » Profile". Chetham’s International Piano Summer School. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  9. "Eckhardt-Gramatté Music Competition – E-Gré". e-gre.ca. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  10. "Sleeve/Hand Responsive User Garment (SHRUG) for Meg Masaki | Tracking And Smart Textiles Environments". Retrieved 2020-07-10.
  11. "ISPS | 2011". Performance Science. 2018-07-13. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
  12. "International Society for Study of Tension in Performance". www.music.org. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
  13. Andrea Ayotte. "Regional Advisory Council". CMC Prairie Region. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  14. "Board of directors – CNMN". www.newmusicnetwork.ca. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  15. Windsor, University of. "Noiseborder Ensemble, Noiseborder Multimedia Performance Lab, University of Windsor". Noiseborder Ensemble. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  16. "index.html". www.slingshotkido.net. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  17. Morano, Christopher (2016). A performer's perspective on three works for pianist and moving images : analysis with performance and practice strategies for Michel van der Aa's 'Transit', Nicole Lizée's 'Hitchcock Études', and 'Surface Tension' by Eve Egoyan and David Rokeby (Thesis). University of British Columbia. doi:10.14288/1.0340648.
  18. Woo, Naomi (2020-07-01). "The Practicality of the Impossible": studies in 20th- and 21st-century piano études (Doctoral thesis). University of Cambridge.
  19. Ritter, Martin (2017-05-11). "Touch: Reaching for Creative Solutions in Canadian Gesture Tracking Technologies". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  20. Media, IAST (2019-03-01), Corona for piano, interactive electronics and interactive video by Keith Hamel, Megumi Masaki, performer, retrieved 2020-07-24
  21. Appassionata: The Extraordinary Life & Music of Sonia Eckhardt-Gramatté (2006) - IMDb, retrieved 2020-07-15
  22. Megumi Masaki plays Eckhardt-Gramatté: the six caprices and other works for piano., Canada: Eckhardt-Gramatté Foundation, 1992, OCLC 29214081, retrieved 2020-07-24
  23. "Various - Canada's Living Music = Musique Vivante Canadienne". Discogs. Retrieved 2020-07-24.
  24. "Nicole Lizée". www.nicolelizee.com. Retrieved 2020-07-24.
  25. Music 4 Eyes+Ears - Megumi Masaki | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic, retrieved 2020-07-24
  26. "Moving Images Distribution: Appassionata: The Extraordinary Life and Music of Sonia Eckhardt-Gramatte". movingimages.ca. Retrieved 2020-07-24.
  27. "New Music - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2020-07-24.

Further reading
  • Masaki, Megumi. (2012). Music 4 Eyes & Ears II: Integrating Sound and Image in Multimedia Performance. In J. Fröst, P. Jovell, A. Julin, and J. Sandback (eds.), EPTA Sweden Conference Magazine, Svenska Pianobulletinen no 3, 2012, ISSN: 2000-799X, pp. 36-37.
  • Masaki M., Hechler P., Gadbois S., and Waddell G. (2011). Piano performance assessment: Video feedback and the Quality Assessment in Music Performance Inventory (QAMPI). In  A. Williamon, D. Edwards, and L. Bartel (eds.) (2011), Proceedings of the International Symposium on Performance Science 2011[1], Utrecht: The Netherlands: European Association of Conservatoires (AEC), ISBN 9789490306014, pp. 503-508.
  • Masaki, Megumi, ed. (2006). Critical Edition of S. C. Eckhardt-Gramatté’s Six Piano Caprices, 2nd ed., revised. Brandon University Press. First edition 1996. ISMN 979-0-9001422-0-7.
  1. Masaki, Megumi; Hechler, Peter; Gadbois, Shannon (2011). "Piano performance assessment: Video feedback and the Quality Assessment in Music Performance Inventory (QAMPI)" (PDF). Proceedings from the International Symposium on Performance Science. 2011: 503–508.
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