RIKO HIGUMA is a highly sought- after piano collaborator and chamber musician, performing with the world’s leading artists throughout the United States, Canada, South America, Europe, Russia and Japan. Ms.Higuma’s collaborations on the recital and concert stage have included distinguished artists such as Ray Chen, Cho-Liang Lin, Alan Gilbert, Steven Tanenbom, Dora Schwarzberg, Timothy Eddy, Albert Markov, Alexander Markov, Neil Rosenshein, Jeffrey Solow, Jorge Bosso, Sergey Antonov, Suren Bagratuni, Steven Banks and Aaron Rosand. She has been engaged numerous times by the New York Philharmonic for conductor/soloist rehearsals, notable ones include for the premier of Lera Auerbach concerto with violinist Leonidas Kavakos conducted by Alan Gilbert and most recently with violinist Gil Shaham conducted by Michael Tilson-Thomas. A top-prize winner at the Jacob Flier International Piano Competition and the Santa Fe International Piano Competition, Ms. Higuma has been featured in numerous music festivals around the world, including the La Jolla Music Society Summerfest in California (where her live solo performance was broadcast on NPR’s Performance Today), the Nagano-Aspen Music Festival, New Music On the Point (as a member of the American Modern Ensemble), New DOCTA festival in Argentina, Lidal North festival in Oslo. Notably, she was one of the Young Artists for the Van Cliburn Piano Institute in Fort Worth, where she appeared with the Fort Worth Symphony under Edward Browne.

As the founding member of the acclaimed Zodiac Trio, she has garnered top prizes at international competitions, including the International Peninsula Young Artist Festival, Yellow Spring Chamber Music Competition, Joyce Dutka Arts Foundation, FNAPEC Ensemble Competition, and the Cziffra Foundation audition. The Zodiac Trio has appeared in such venues and festivals as Festival Radio France Montpellier, International Colmar Festival, Ottawa Chamberfest, Edinburgh Festival, Shanghai Oriental Performing Arts Center, Beijing National Performing Arts Center, Merkin Hall and Le Poisson Rouge in New York City; Performance broadcasts include France 3 Television, Canada’s CBC Radio and Television, WQXR, WGBH, and Radio France. and has given master classes in such institutions as the Boston Conservatory, Berklee College of Music, Boston University, Tufts University, Roosevelt University, University of Calgary and British Columbia in Canada, College Conservatory of Cincinnati and the Manhattan School of Music.

In 2012, the Zodiac Trio has launched the Zodiac Music Academy & Festival, a two-week festival working with students from all over the world and presenting concerts in the Côte d’Azur region of the south of France. Ms.Higuma studied with Phillip Kawin at the ManhattanSchool of Music in New York and chamber music with the Ysaye String Quartet in their Superior Chamber Music Program at the Paris conservatory. Currently, she is on the staff pianist and vocal coach at the Manhattan School of Music.

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