Profile
Tokuhide Niimi
1947: Born in Nagoya, Japan
1970: Graduated from the Faculty of Technology at Tokyo National University
1974: Awarded a prize at the NET-TV Competition of Composition
1975: Graduated from the Composition Class of the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music
1977: Grand Prix of Composition at the 8th International Competition of Ballet Music, Geneva, and the Citizen’s Award of Geneva
1978: Completion of the post graduate course at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music
1982: Special Prize and Incentive Prize for Creative Stage Art at the Fine Arts Festival
1983: Member of the jury of the International Competition of Ballet Music in Geneva together with G.Petrassi, etc.
1984: Prize for Excellence at the Fine Arts Festival. Accepted at IMC.
2000: Awarded the 18th Nakajima Kenzo Prize.
2003: Awarded Bekku Prize.
2004: Grand Prix of the Phonogram Section in the Fine Arts Festival for the CD “Fûjin-Raijin” on the Camerata label.
2006: Awarded Sagawa Yoshio Music Prize for symphonic opera “White Bird”.
2007: Awarded the 55th Otaka Prize for Sinfonia concertante “Elan Vital”
He has contributed many remarkable works to the orchestral, chamber, piano and choral music repertoires. He is a present-day romantic, and one of considerable intelligence. His music reflects two worlds, the “melodic wind round” where all is delicacy, elegance and sensuality, and the “rhythmic wind round” which abounds with constructive, centrifugal energy. His recent creative activity is devoted to effecting a unification of these two worlds.
Remarkably, his orchestral works have been domestically performed by the NHK Symphony Orchestra and others , and in oversea countries they also have been performed by some of the leading orchestras, such as the Suisse Romande, Netherlands Radio, BBC Scottish, Radio France, Berlin, Nürunberg, etc. In particular, he is one of the most popular composers in the world of choral music, and his pieces have been constantly performing all over the country.
In 2011, he had an individual concert I for violin pieces. In 2013, concert II for chamber pieces. In 2018, he was invited as a theme composer to N.Y by MFJ(Music From Japan) to hold a individual concert including Piano Quintett (new piece), String Quartet No.2-Asura, Choral Concerto for Mixed Choir. Those were deeply impressed for audience and critics.
He has held a guest Professor at the Tokyo College of Music, a Professor at the graduate school of Toho Gakuen.