The Bard College Conservatory of Music announces the appointment of harpist Mariko Anraku to its faculty. Anraku is also a faculty member of the Manhattan School of Music and the Pacific Music Festival. She has given masterclasses at the Curtis Institute of Music, the Juilliard School, Peabody Institute, the Glenn Gould School, Conservatorium Maastricht, the Central Conservatory and China Institute of Music in Beijing, the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, and others.
Since 1995, Anraku has held the position of Associate Principal Harpist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. She has appeared as soloist with major orchestras such as the Toronto Symphony, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, and Tokyo Symphony. As a recitalist, she has performed in major concert halls on three continents, including Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, the Opera Comique in Paris, and the Casals, Kioi and Oji Halls in Tokyo.
Anraku’s awards include first prize at the First Nippon Harp Competition, as well as third prize and the Pearl Chertok Prize for the best performance of the required Israeli composition at the 11th International Harp Contest in Israel.
Anraku holds Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from The Juilliard School and is a recipient of an Artist’s Diploma from The Glenn Gould School in Toronto. Her teachers have included Judy Loman, Nancy Allen, Lanalee deKant and her aunt Kumiko Inoue.
Check out our cover interview with Anraku in the May/June 2021 issue of Harp Column.
