Kiyotaka IZUMI , piano

Kiyotaka IZUMI was born in Tokyo, Japan. In 1995 he graduated from The Music High School attached to the Faculty of Music, Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. In 1997 he left his country for Belgium and studied at the Royal Flemish Conservatoire of Music in Antwerp, under the supervision of Levente Kende and Heidi Hendrickx. Furthermore he enrolled in improvisation classes given by Rene Arons.

He performed at concerts such as the International Chopin Festival in Ghent, and the Royal Gala Concert for the Prince and Princess of Belgium. He played with orchestras such as the National Orchestra of Belgium, the Hermes Ensemble, the Concert festival Orchestre, and the Orchestra of the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp. He has performed concerts and recitals in Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxemburg, Germany, Italy, England, Spain, Switzerland, Russia and Japan. His last live concert in Japan, recorded by the Japanese radio, has been broadcast several times.

Kiyotaka IZUMI became laureate of several national and international piano competitions, including the Machida Piano Competition (Japan, 1992), the Benelux Young Virtuoso Competition (Belgium 1998), the International EPTA Competition for Piano Duo (Belgium 1999), where he also received the SABAM Prize, the International Emmanuel Durlet Piano Competition (Belgium 2002), where he was awarded the special prize for the Best performance of the work of Emmanuel Durlet, the International Maria Yudina Competition for Piano Duo (Russia 2005), the special prize for the best performance of music by a Balearic Island Composer at the International Piano Competition Vila de Capdepera (Spain 2005), and the International Competition - Un Ricetto in Musica for piano-duo (Italy 2008).

In 2002 he received the Master of Music degree from the Royal Flemish Conservatoire in Antwerp, with highest honours for piano. Afterwards he studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Music in Brussels under the supervision of Professor Boyan Vodenitcharov. In 2004 he recorded a CD with works of F. Chopin and the Belgian composer Emmanuel Durlet. These pieces are often broadcast by Radio VRT/KLARA. In 2005 he received the degree Specialization in Chamber Music from the Royal Conservatory in Brussels and in 2008 he received the Postgraduate Concert Soloist Degree with highest honours from the Royal Flemish Conservatory of Music in Antwerp. In 2009 he recorded his second CD with Lyric pieces by E. Grieg. In 2011 he recorded his third CD with chamber music works of Emm. Durlet.

Izumi received several scholarships from such organizations as the Rotary Club, the Oranjebeurs (Holland) and the Stichting Conservatorium Antwerpen. He joined master classes given by Murray Perahia, Conrad Hansen, Jan Wijn, Jozef De Beenhouwer, Hans Leygraf. Kiyotaka is piano accompanist at the Royal Flemish Conservatory in Antwerp. He teaches piano at the Municipal Academy of Music and Word in Borgerhout and Willebroek.