Japan Preliminary Round

PIANO

Kentaro Nagai

Kentaro Nagai is a Japanese pianist who graduated from the Royal College of Music with an Artist Diploma and Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees with Distinction, studying under Professor Gordon Fergus-Thompson and Professor John Blakely, supported by the Irene Hanson Memorial Award. He also studied with Josep Colom at Liceu Conservatorio in Barcelona.

He began piano at age four, influenced by his mother, a professional opera and Lieder singer, and made his concerto debut at eight.  At 14, he moved to Canada, receiving several awards including the Canmore Mayor’s Award.

He has performed widely across Japan, Canada, and Europe, including at Royal Albert Hall’s Elgar Room, Cadogan Hall, and St Martin-in-the-Fields, and has appeared as a concerto soloist with the Calgary and Sofia Philharmonic Orchestras.

PIANO

Saya Okada

Japanese pianist Saya Okada began piano at age four and studied at Osaka College of Music with Takako Kawakami. In 2010, she moved to Cardiff to study under Richard McMahon at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, earning a diploma with distinction in 2012. She later received the Mary Rees Prize and Postgraduate Award, and completed her Master’s degree with a scholarship.

She won first place in the RWCMD Concerto Competition performing Bartók’s Piano Concerto No. 3, and gave a solo recital at St Martin-in-the-Fields, London. She also appeared on BBC Radio 3 for a BBC Proms pre-concert.

Returning to Osaka in 2016, she began teaching at Piano Salon Arco. She performs actively in duo and chamber settings, and works as a collaborative pianist under Maestro Giorgio Lormi.