About

Takuma Itoh (b. 1984) spent his early childhood in Japan before moving to Northern California where he grew up.  Currently a Master’s student at the University of Michigan, he has studied with Bright Sheng and William Bolcom.  He received a B.M at Rice University where he studied with Shih-Hui Chen, Anthony Brandt, Pierre Jalbert, and Karim Al-Zand.  His music has been performed by the New York Youth Symphony and Shanghai Quartet at Carnegie Hall, Haddonfield Symphony, Pioneer Valley Symphony, Bakersfield Symphony, Woodlands Symphony, and Aspen Contemporary Ensemble.  He has received the 2008 American Composers Orchestra Underwood New Music Readings, 2006-7 Haddonfield Young Composer Competition, 2 ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Awards (2004, 2007), the New York Youth Symphony First Music Commission, a 1st place in the Voices of Change Russell Horn Young Composer Award, and was the finalist in the 2007 Columbia Orchestra American Composer Competition.  He has also been a fellow at the Pacific Music Festival and the Aspen Music Festival, and an associate artist at the Atlantic Center for the Arts, where he has had the opportunity to work with Detlev Glanert, Christopher Rouse, Marc André-Dalbavie, Sydney Hodkinson, and Stephen Jaffe.  He enjoys playing jazz piano and is studying with pianist Geri Allen.