Biography
"Music is the language of the soul, and the piano is my voice to speak it."
Masako Yamamoto is a Japan-born pianist from Tokyo, currently based in the UK. She began playing the piano at the age of three and entered the elementary school attached to Kunitachi College of Music. She joined the Music Class for Children attached to Toho Gakuen School of Music in the second grade and studied under Masako Tsujii. Masako received the Regional Excellence Award at the 31st Piano Audition of the Piano Teachers' National Association (PTNA) of Japan in November 2014. After graduating from elementary school, she entered the Junior High and High School attached to Kunitachi College of Music.
During junior high school, she joined the choir club and won numerous gold medals in competitions. Masako also participated in volunteer performances organised by the school at institutions such as the National Centre for Global Health and Medicine and in local community events. In the latter half of junior high, she switched to the vocal music department and studied under Hiroko Haneda until the first year of high school. Later, she returned to the piano department and deepened her understanding of music through various experiences such as planning, organising, and performing in school recitals. In the second year of high school, she won the Best Composition Award in the school's music theory class and actively performed as a chamber musician and vocal accompanist. Most remarkably and memorably, she performed on the stage with a flautist the Chaminade's Concertino for Flute and Orchestra at a concert.
Prior to starting music college, Masako studied under Yukari Miyashita for six years, after which she decided to switch her base to the UK and then studied under Yusuke Kikuchi, Maya Kagami, and Masahiro Yamaguchi. In 2023, Masako won two regional championships at the 41st All-Japan PTNA and advanced to the national competition. She won the Gold Prize and the Philia Award at the 17th Fresh Yokohama Music Competition in Japan. On 5 February 2026, she was awarded First Prize in the Piano Duo Prize at the Royal Northern College of Music as a duo Lunaria. She is currently completing her second year at the Royal Northern College of Music, studying under pianist Head of Chamber Music Jeremy Young.
