LEOプロフィール

9歳より箏を始め、カーティス・パターソン、沢井一恵の両氏に師事。
16歳でくまもと全国邦楽コンクールにて史上最年少・最優秀賞・文部科学大臣賞受賞。一躍脚光を浴び、その後東京藝術大学に入学。「情熱大陸」「題名のない音楽会」「徹子の部屋」など多くのメディアに出演。セバスティアン・ヴァイグレ、井上道義、沖澤のどか、東京フィルハーモニー交響楽団、京都市交響楽団などと共演。
鈴木優人指揮・読売日本交響楽団との共演で、藤倉大委嘱新作・箏協奏曲を2021年に世界初演。2024年にはヨーロッパに招聘され同作品をウィーン・コンツェルトハウス、スロヴァキア・フィルハーモニーでも好演を果たしている。
箏奏者として初めてブルーノート東京や、SUMMER SONICにも異例の出演を果たすなど、箏の新たな可能性を広げる活動に注目と期待が寄せられている。
出光音楽賞、神奈川文化賞未来賞、横浜文化賞文化・芸術奨励賞受賞。

LEO began playing the koto at the age of nine, first studying under music teacher and koto player Curtis Patterson, and later under the renowned Japanese koto player Kazue Sawai. At age 16, he became the youngest winner ever of the Grand Prize and the MEXT Award at the Japanese Hogaku Music Competition in Kumamoto. He has performed as a soloist with renowned conductors, including Sebastian Weigle, Michiyoshi Inoue, Kazuyoshi Akiyama, and Nodoka Okisawa. He has also performed with several orchestras, including the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Kyoto Symphony Orchestra, and the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra.
In 2021, he performed the world premiere of a newly commissioned koto concerto by Dai Fujikura with the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Masato Suzuki. In 2024, he was invited to Europe, where he performed the concerto to great acclaim at the Wiener Konzerthaus and at the Slovak Philharmonic.
As a koto player, he made an unprecedented appearance at the Blue Note Tokyo and SUMMER SONIC, garnering attention for his innovative approach to the instrument.
He has received the Idemitsu Music Award, the Kanagawa Culture Award's Future Prize, and the Yokohama Cultural Award's Art Encouragement Prize.