Ushio Torikai

Ushio Torikai (鳥養潮; surname Torikai; born July 11, 1952, in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, Japan) is a Japanese composer of contemporary classical music. She is known for her highly individual musical voice, developed over many years of research and compositional experience in diverse musical fields including European classical music, traditional Japanese music, ancient Japanese music and computer/electronics. Early life Torikai was raised in Matsumoto, Nagano, where she attended Matsumoto Fukashi High School. She then moved to Tokyo and graduated from the faculty of Economics at Keio University. Career She started a concert series of her own music in 1979, and was invited to the Paris Biennale in 1982. Concerts of her music have since been presented in major cities in Europe, North America and Japan, including at the Georges Pompidou Center (Paris), the Cathedral of St. John the Divine (New York), the Museum of Modern Art (San Francisco), and Meiji Shrine (Tokyo). Torikai’s compositions vary considerably in instrumentation, ranging from Western orchestral instruments to traditional Japanese ones, computer/electronics to reconstructed ancient Asian instruments, and Western Choir to