CHAPTER FIVE: Music by Rakuto Kurano

Award-winning performer-composer Rakuto Kurano presents a concert of entirely his own compositions.

The programme features many of his most popular works: Fantail in Tokyo, SNOW for Violin Quartet, The Cycle, plus many new works!

Performers

Rakuto Kurano - Violin / Viola / Piano

Justin Hodges - Violin

Indiana Bell - Violin

Abby Wheeler - Viola / Violin

Ingrid Kosaka - Cello

Tor Chiles - Bassoon

Rakuto Kurano | Biography

Described as a musician with "flair and panache" by the Christchurch Mail, Rakuto Kurano (b. 2000) is a versatile performer, composer, artistic director, and educator.

He made his composer debut in 2016 at the age of 16 with Angelic Glow, a winning work in the NZ Harp Duo Composition Competition. In 2019, his composition Fantail in Tokyo was also recognised as a winning work in the NZTrio Composition Competition and premiered by the NZTrio in Auckland.

In 2021, Kurano was commissioned by the Baroque Music Community and Educational Trust of New Zealand to compose Concerto Grosso, a Baroque-style work for three soloists, string ensemble, and harpsichord. Premiered as the finale of an 11-concert national tour, it received standing ovations at every performance. Peter Mechen of Middle-C praised it as a "splendid work" in his review of the Wellington concert. In 2023, Concerto Grosso was performed by the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, with Kurano as a featured soloist.

An advocate for contemporary music, he has performed as a violinist, violist, and pianist at events such as the International Society of Contemporary Music & Asian Composers League double festival (2022) and the Composers Association of New Zealand Nelson workshops (2019 and 2020). He has also personally funded and commissioned works by seven young New Zealand composers.

Kurano's passion for early music led him to study Historically Informed Performance Practice (HIPP) with a focus on Baroque repertoire. His extensive performance experience includes concertos and sonatas by over 50 Baroque composers, and he has further explored this genre through harpsichord studies at university.

He joined the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra at 18 and has since performed with NZ Opera, the Royal New Zealand Ballet, and various orchestras, including the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra and the Hawke's Bay Orchestra. His musical theatre credits include productions such as Fiddler on the Roof, Chicago, and Next to Normal with The Court Theatre, New Zealand's largest theatre company. As a recording artist, he has released numerous original works and contributed to recordings for artists such as UK singers Aled Jones and Russell Watson under the BMG label (UK).

Kurano studied piano with the late Rosemary Miller-Stott QSM, earning a Licentiate Diploma from Trinity College London in 2017. In 2023, he graduated with a Master of Music degree from the University of Canterbury studying with Professor Mark Menzies. Currently, he serves as the Artist-in-Residence at the Aspiring Village in Wānaka and is the Artistic Director of the Magic Carpet Music Trust, a charitable trust he co-founded with music patron Lyn Milne MNZM.

Supported by

Aspiring Village Wānaka

Dame Adrienne Stewart

Henna Hair NZ

University of Canterbury School of Music

SOUNZ

Wilson & Dorset