Naoko Takada Comes To The Squitieri Studio Theatre 1/17

Renowned marimbist and first-place winner of the 2002 Young Concert Artist International Auditions, Naoko Takada will bring her beautifully melodic talent to the Squitieri Studio Theatre on Sunday, January 17.

Takada is renowned for her wide range of repertoire, from Bach to Piazzolla. An arranger as well as a performer, Ms. Takada's transcriptions have been published by Studio 4 Music as part of the Naoko Takada Series, which also includes works written for her by composers including Yasutaki Inamori, Paul Fowler, John Anthony Lennon, and Hayato Hirose. Committed to educational outreach, Takada participates in Adventure Concerts, an educational concert series in New York City public schools, run by Midori & Friends. During the 2009-10 season, Ms. Takada performs the Kevin Puts Marimba Concerto with the Youngstown (OH), Great Falls (MT) and West Los Angeles symphonies.

Ms. Takada released her first CD, Marimba Meets the Classics, produced by Japan Victor Entertainment, Inc. She has appeared as soloist with the Houston, South Dakota, West Shore (MI), Anchorage, Mobile, Fargo-Moorhead (ND), Vallejo (CA), China National, and Xalapa (Mexico) symphonies, the Boise and Louisiana philharmonics, and the Chamber Orchestra of the South Bay (CA). Ms. Takada has performed at the Belgium International Marimba Festival and in a benefit for Paul Newman's Hole in Wall Gang Camp, where she appeared onstage with such personalities as Bruce Willis, Meryl Streep and Danny Glover. She has appeared at the Patagonia International Percussion Festival in Argentina, the KoSA International Percussion Festival (VT), Nancy Zeltsman's Marimba Festival (WI), and the Yamaha Sounds of Summer Drum Camp at Central Washington University.

Ms. Takada won First Prize in the 2002 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, and was presented in her New York debut at the 92nd Street Y, sponsored by the Peter Jay Sharp Prize, as well as debuts at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC and at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.

Born in Tokyo, Ms. Takada began marimba lessons at the age of eight. She first appeared as soloist with orchestra at the age of 11, when she played with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Philharmonic. In Japan, she studied with Akiko Suzuki and Keiko Abe and attended Waseda University, majoring in psychology. Ms. Takada then decided to focus on her marimba studies and entered California State University at Northridge as a student of Karen Ervin-Pershing, where she earned a Bachelor of Music degree. She earned a Master of Music degree from Ithaca College, working with Gordon Stout, and has studied at the Boston Conservatory with Nancy Zeltsman. Ms. Takada is a Yamaha performing artist. Her signature line of mallets is available through Encore Mallets.

Ticket Prices: $28.50

Web sites:
University of Florida Performing Arts: www.performingarts.ufl.edu
Artist web site: http://www.yca.org/

To Purchase tickets, call the Phillips Center Box Office at 352-392-ARTS (2787) or 800-905-ARTS (toll-free within Florida) or call Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000 (toll-free). Tickets may also be purchased in person at the Phillips Center Box Office, the University Box Office at the University of Florida Reitz Union or from any Ticketmaster outlet, or online at www.ticketmaster.com. Cash, checks, MasterCard and Visa are accepted.

UF students may purchase $10 tickets (with a valid student ID) at the Phillips Center Box Office and the University Box Office at the Reitz Union. Other students may purchase $10 student tickets (in the balcony) at the Phillips Center Box Office.