Keiko Abe holds the position of Professor Emeritus at Toho Gakuen School of Music and serves as a Guest Professor at Nagoya Music College.
Renowned as a legendary marimbist, she has showcased her musical talents in performances across more than 60 countries worldwide. With a distinguished career, she has provided instruction at over 110 universities and institutions, and actively participated in more than 60 music festivals.
In her pursuit of original marimba compositions, Keiko Abe has presented an extensive repertoire of over 295 pieces, encompassing her own compositions as well as those commissioned and premiered by various artists.
Keiko Abe has achieved historical recognition as the first woman worldwide to be inducted into the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame. Her exceptional contributions to the field of percussion have been acknowledged with numerous awards, including the Fine Arts Festival Award on six occasions and the Commissioner of the Agency for Cultural Affairs Award from the Government of Japan.

Kamiya Momoko is the first prize winner of the Luxembourg International Marimba Competition and recipient of the Kawasaki City Azalea Award. She successfully passed the Tokyo University of the Arts entrance exam as the first-ever Marimba player, subsequently graduating from the university and the Juilliard School. With numerous recitals and collaborative performances across 22 countries worldwide, she has served as a judge for international competitions in 12 countries and held positions as a visiting lecturer at various music universities and workshops globally. Additionally, she has released numerous CDs, produced four percussion seminars in collaboration with the TROMP Competition in the Netherlands, and played a key role as a founding member of the Shanghai IPEA.
Currently, Momoko holds the position of professor at Tokyo College of Music, visiting professor at Senzoku Gakuen College of Music and Elisabeth University of Music, and lecturer at the National University of Music. As an influential mentor, she has nurtured numerous emerging marimba and percussion players who are active both domestically and internationally. Recognized as a Yamaha and Resta-Jay Percussions artist, she has signature mallets produced by Resta-Jay Percussions.

Hailed by the New York Times as “deeply expressive” for his groundbreaking recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations on solo marimba, Pius Cheung is widely known as one of the most important percussionists of his generation. He has presented solo recitals at Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, National Concert Hall in Taipei, Kyoto Arts Center (Japan), as well as music festivals around the globe such as the Usedom Music Festival (Germany), Hong Kong Arts Festival, Taiwan International Percussion Convention, Chiapas International Marimba Festival (Mexico), Drum Fest (Poland), Percussion Plus Festival (Denmark), Italy PAS International Percussion Festival, Osaka Percussion Festival and Shenyang International Percussion Festival (China).
As one of the most sought-after composers for percussion today, Pius Cheung’s latest works include Allegro Brutale, commissioned by Dame Evelyn Glennie; Heaven and Earth, a 40-minute ballet for percussion ensemble and dancers; two percussion concerti, Princess Chang Ping and Heaven and Earth, for the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra; Theater, Resonance, and Zen, a percussion duo concerto for the Taiwan Chinese Orchestra; and Hibiki- Colors of Resonance, a marimba concerto for the Eugene Symphony.
Furthermore, Mr. Cheung frequently serves as a judge at national and international competitions, as well as presents masterclasses at renowned institutions such as the Juilliard School, Curtis Institute of Music, Manhattan School of Music, Amsterdam Conservatory, Paris Conservatory, Toho Gakuen (Japan) and Beijing Central Conservatory.
Mr. Cheung endorses Yamaha, Zildjian, Remo, and Innovative Percussion, which produces his signature mallet series. Mr. Cheung is currently a Professor and Chair of the Percussion Area at the University of Oregon.

Tomoko Nakamura graduated from the Percussion Department of Toho Gakuen School of Music. She completed graduate studies at the same university. She participated in the Seiji Ozawa Music Academy Opera Project V. In 2006, as a member of the Marimba Ensemble Japan.
Tomoko Nakamura started performing with the world-renowned marimba player Keiko Abe at PASIC (Percussive Arts Society International Convention), and has since performed with Keiko Abe many times in Japan and overseas. She is involved in various activities, including music production for theatrical stage productions and solo performances.
Currently, Tomoko is an adjunct lecturer at Toho Gakuen School of Music and Kanagawa Prefectural Sagamihara-Yaei Senior High School.

The 1st prize winner of the International Marimba Competition in Paris, Noriko Tsukagoshi is one of the marimbists attracting the most attention today. She has received numerous prizes at competitions inside and outside Japan including the International Marimba Competition in Belgium and the World Marimba Competition in Shanghai.
Noriko started off at the Music High School of the Kunitachi College of Music in Tokyo, before studying at the college. When she graduated as a top student receiving the Takeoka Award, she performed in the presence of the Japanese Imperial family members at the Toka Gakudo auditorium inside the Imperial Palace.
Noriko won the 1st prize at the 8th Japan Classical Music Competition’s Percussion Division (1998), the 2nd prize at the 2nd International Marimba Competition in Belgium (2004), the Talent Award at the 4th World Marimba Competition in Shanghai (2005), the Grand Prix at the 22nd Japan Percussion Association Newcomers Concert (2006) as well as the 1st prize at the 2nd International Marimba Competition in Paris, France (2006).
Besides her solo concerts, Noriko has performed with different orchestras such as the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Miyazaki International Music Festival Orchestra, Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra, Gunma Symphony Orchestra and Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra to be highly praised. She has been invited to give solo recitals and masterclasses in Belgium, Switzerland, Poland, United Kingdom, Argentina and the United States. Her international activities also include her guest performances at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC, one of the world’s largest festival of percussion) in America (2009), the Patagonia International Percussion Festival in Argentina (2012, 2019, 2022) and the American Percussion Seminar (2022).
Noriko has received scholarships from the Kunitachi College of Music and the Meiji Yasuda Cultural Foundation. She was the first percussionist ever who was given an overseas training grant by the foundation to study at the University of North Texas, America from 2008 to 2010.
Noriko has released four albums. Her debut CD “DEAR MARIMBA” was awarded a “Special Commendation” by the most prestigious Japanese CD magazine Record Geijutsu. To her CD “Cantabile” celebrating the fifteenth anniversary of her debut, the magazine gave a “Special Commendation” as well as a “Record Academy Award”.
Currently, Noriko serves as an adjunct lecturer at the Kunitachi College of Music and the Senzoku Gakuen College of Music. Recipient of the 22nd Idemitsu Music Award, Noriko is an Ishinomaki Tourism Ambassador.