Takuma Itoh (b. 1984) spent his early childhood in Japan before moving to Northern California where he grew up.  Currently a student at Cornell University, he has attended the University of Michigan (M.M.) and Rice University (B.M.), and has studied with composers Steven Stucky, Roberto Sierra, Kevin Ernste, William Bolcom, Bright Sheng, Shih-Hui Chen, Anthony Brandt, Pierre Jalbert, and Karim Al-Zand.  His music has been performed by ensembles such as the New York Youth Symphony with the Shanghai Quartet at Carnegie Hall), the Albany Symphony, the Haddonfield Symphony, the University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra, the Pioneer Valley Symphony, the Woodlands Symphony, and the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble.  He is the recipient of the American Composers Orchestra 2008 Underwood New Music Readings, ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Awards (2004, 2007, honorable mention in 2008), Haddonfield Young Composer Competition, New York Youth Symphony First Music Commission, Pioneer Valley Symphony Young Composers Competition, and Russell Horn Voices of Change Young Composer Award.  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 and has had the opportunity to work with Detlev Glanert, Christopher Rouse, Marc André-Dalbavie, Sydney Hodkinson, and Stephen Jaffe.  His music has been published by Theodore Presser.  He enjoys playing jazz piano and has studied with Geri Allen.  For more information, please visit www.takumaitoh.com.