Nobuko Baba

Nobuko Baba, one of the most well known koto players in Japan , began learning the instrument at the age of five, and obtained a master's certificate when she was 16 years old. While studying at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, she won the Ataka Award, which is given to the most promising students majoring in arts and music in this university. Upon graduating with a masters degree in Japanese music, she was selected among top candidates from the other universities of music to perform koto in the presence of the Imperial Family at Toka-gakudo in the Imperial Palace .

Beginning in 1991, when she led a group of musicians organized for the welcome performance of Michael Gorbachev, the former president of the USSR , she has made many special performances throughout Japan . She has played with members of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, William Bennett, and many more. She receives a lot of requests for koto performances from TV and radio stations because her performance style is not bound by conventional styles. In addition, she played an active role as one of the original members of KOTO-ZA, a performing ensemble . The first CD of “ KOTO-ZA ” was released from Victor Music Co., Ltd. This CD was most frequently used for TV and radio broadcastings. Within Japan , she gave koto performances at a number of different embassies. Today, she not only performs by herself, but also teaches at the Koto Academy , in order to raise young koto and shamisen players for the future.

She has an excellent reputation as a koto performer both domestically and internationally. Regarding her overseas activities, she has traveled to as many as 20 countries to perform. She visited Middle Eastern countries as a cultural delegate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and she performed in Russia , India , and various countries in Europe and Africa , through sponsorship by the Japan Foundation. In the United States , she played koto as a guest lecturer at the University of Michigan , and joined the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington D.C. Recently, she participated in a peace concert in Croatia , which was held for the first time after the war there. In addition she has performed together with an excellent flutist in many well-known musical festivals throughout the world.