Shonorities

Shonorities is a diverse group of performers and composers committed to promoting a range of repertoire that encompasses a wide spectrum of musical styles including old, contemporary and traditional pieces. By blending a variety of musical cultures, Shonorities aims to show the potential of the cross cultural collaboration in the contemporary music creation.

Shonorities’ past projects feature works for a variety of instrumental combinations including female voice and traditional Japanese instruments supported by organisations such as the Japan Foundation, Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, Sawakawa Foundation, Japanese Embassy in Greece, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, British Council and the Greek-Japanese Association.

Shie Shoji
Shie studied singing at Trinity College of Music and the Royal Welsh College of Music. With an experience in both operatic and musical theatre roles Shie has taken part in productions such as Turandot, I Due Foscari, Boris Godoenov (National Reis Opera), Miss Saigon (Cameron Mackintosh Production) and The Merry Widow (Carl Rosa Opera Company). New dance/music theatre works credits include the production of Love Suicide at Amijima, (Riverside Studios), Evelyn Ficarra/Sarah Fahie’s Submarine (Robin Howard Dance Theatre) and Nigh bed is in mess (Japan), broadcast on Resonance FM in Soap Opera (Albany Theatre) and Kurtag’s Kafka Fragmente (Greece).
As a co-founder and vocalist of Shonorities, Shie has been actively collaborating with musicians and other artists for the creation of new works. Her recordings of Basil Athanasiadis’ works have been released on two CDs under the UK-based label Sargasso.

Naomi Sato
Naomi studied saxophone at the Tokyo University of the Arts and Conservatorium van Amsterdam and shō with Ko Ishikawa at the Tokyo University of the Arts. She was the Semi Finalist of the 2nd International Adolphe Sax Concours in Dinant (1998), and 3rd prize winner of the Saxophonewettbewerb Gustav Bunke in Hannover (1999).
Naomi is a permanent member of the Atlas Ensemble in the Netherlands.

As soloist she has performed with ensembles such as Ives Ensemble, Nieuw Ensemble, Diotima Quartet, Ensemble Resonance, Ensemble PHACE, Ictus Ensemble, B’Rock, Prague Modern, N-JP project and the Vancouver Intercultural Orchestra.

Stelios Chatziiosifidis
At the age of seventeen Stelios entered the Royal Academy of Music, London, and gained his BMus and MMus in performance. He is an ardent chamber music player and a founding member Shonorities and Lunaire Quartet. Stelios has collaborated with composers such as John Taverner, Rodion Shchedrin, Roderick Watkins and Basil Athanasiadis, recorded in orchestras on Nimbus and Naxos labels and featured in three CDs with Shonorities on Saragasso label. He is also a Lecturer of Music Performance at Kent University and an Associate Tutor at Canterbury Christ Church University, where he also teaches the violin and viola. He currently teaches at Simon Langton School for Boys and St Edmund’s School and directs the orchestra and the choir at Kent University.

Keiko Hisamoto
Keiko studied koto with Nanae Yoshimura. Graduate of the Kunitachi College of Music, was trained in the Yamada style which is not very common in the contemporary Japanese music scene. Keiko has participated in numerous performance projects in Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Korea and appeared on the NHK-FM programme Japanese Music Moments. She has also collaborated with artists of different music genres, such as live appearances by Demon Kogure performing with Japanese drums and voice or soundtrack recordings. Keiko is master of the Genso Koto Association, member of the organisation Pro Musica Nipponia and a lecturer at the Tokyo University of the Arts.
Lin Lin
Lin has studied at the Royal College of Music; Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance and currently undertaking performance based PhD research program at Goldsmiths University of London. Lin has established herself by giving a large number of solo and chamber recitals in major concert halls and music festivals throughout Europe and Asia. She also worked with leading orchestras as the soloist and principal flute, including recent public performance with Trinity Symphony Orchestra, as the flute soloist, for the European premiere of Golden Flute Concerto (Chen Yi) as well as world premiere of Hua Mulan Saga (Sandy Clark) at London Blackheath Concert Hall.

Nao Tohara
Nao studied violin at the Tokyo National University of Arts. During his studies and at the time of his graduation, he was recipient of the Anke and Acanthus Music Awards respectively. In 2012 won the 1st prize at the 17th Concert Sale Maronie 21 String Competition, whereas in 2014, he was recipient of the Aoyama Foundation Scholarship. In the following year, he became member of the Tokyo Kioi Sinfonietta and in 2016, he was awarded the Career Development Award at the Banff International String Quartet Competition. A fellow at the Suntory Hall Chamber Music Academy (3rd Season), Nao is a member of the Quartet Arpa (violin), Lemoned Quartet (viola) and concert master at the Geidai Philharmonia Orchestra.

Jasmina Samssuli
Noted for her lyrical and passionate interpretations of everything from Bach to contemporary composers, Jasmina Samssuli has a rare ability to communicate the essence of music: she draws in her audience with a very intimate sound and compellingly open, spirited playing. Both as a soloist and chamber musician, she has performed on concert platforms in Europe, Africa and Asia and has broadcast widely on German and French radio and television. Jasmina studied solo piano in Hamburg before being awarded scholarships by both the German government and the Mozart Academy in Prague and completing her studies at the Royal Academy of Music with a PhD on the etudes of Claude Debussy. Jasmina also practises, teaches and writes at the interface of music and other artistic disciplines. Together with a group of artists she was awarded one of Germany’s most prestigious prizes for interdisciplinary art, the Karl-Hofer Prize.