Hina Sakamoto

Events

  • Concert – Yun Kim - University of Puget Sound Kilworth Memorial Chapel - Fritts Organ
    3410 N. 18th St.
    July 4, 2022 @ 9:00 am
    Yun Kim performs works by Koehne, Bach, Gigout, Farrington, and the world premiere performance of Hina Sakamoto’s “Tamayura: The Orbs encircling me in Heaven” for organ and marimba. Japanese composer Hina Sakamoto has created a stunning new composition for organ and marimba. In describing this work, Ms. Sakamoto says, “The word of the title, TAMAYURA, is a compound of two Japanese words: ‘tama’ which stands for ‘orb’ and ‘yura’ which stands for ‘sound’ or ‘echo.’ TAMAYURA, in this piece, is a resonance made by the mysterious orbs in heaven as they interact with one another.”

About

Born in Yokohama, Japan, Hina Sakamoto holds degrees in composition and church music from Toho Gakuen College and St. Gregory House Institute for Religious Music, Tokyo. She serves as Organist and Choir Director at St. Andrew’s Anglican Cathedral, Yokohama, and is on the research staff of Rikkyo Institute of Church Music. 

Most of her organ works reflect the concept of the soul being purified by heaven’s light. Recent commissioned works include “REQUIEM for the Spirits of the Victims of the Pacific War”(Soprano Solo, Mixed Choir, Chamber Orchestra & Organ), “Rhapsody <-Toward the Future!> on Somanagareyama & Aizubandaisan” (Organ Duo), and “Moment Mori – The Way toward Light” (Countertenor & Organ). Her latest organ solo work, “The Dawn – Meditation on “RESURREXI” Pre-Introitus” premiered at l’Église Réformée Saint-François, Lausanne in 2021.

“…If …Hello?”, for organ and found percussion, features a dialogue between one person and their alternate self in a parallel universe. Four of her works will be on the recording “French and Japanese Music from the Time around 1700 and around 2020”, to be released in 2022 by Lund University, Sweden. She has also received awards from the 2nd East Asian International Composition Competition and the Senzoku Contemporary Composition Competition.

Ms. Sakamoto’s hymns and service music are published in two hymnals, and her arrangements from a wide range of genres have contributed to a rise in popularity of the pipe organ in Japan. 

Ms. Sakamoto’s works can be heard on Pipedreams, YouTube and the composer’s website  http://project-orb.yokohama