SUZUKI, Jummei

Born in Tokyo in 1970, Jummei Suzuki gained his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in composition at the Tokyo University of the Arts in 1995 and 2000 respectively. He studied composition, orchestration and analysis at the Paris Conservatoire from 1997 to 2002, between 1999 and 2001 under the auspices of the Programme of Overseas Study for Upcoming Artists, a scholarship programme offered by the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs. He completed the CURSUS study course at IRCAM in 2003. He studied composition with Mutsuo Shishido, Hiroshi Hara, Teruyuki Noda, Ryōhei Hirose, Toshi Ichiyanagi, Ichirō Nodaira, Gérard Grisey, Marco Stroppa and Philippe Leroux, orchestration with Marc-André Dalbavie, and analysis with Michaël Levinas. Works by him have been selected for competitions including the 18th Japan Symphony Foundation Composition Awards (1996) and International Gaudeamus Music Week ’99 (1999). He won the 24th Yasushi Akutagawa Suntory Award for Musical Composition in 2013 with his orchestral work, La Romanesca II: Les pérégrinations de Petrucci. He has received commissions from Henri Selmer Paris, Printemps des Arts de Monte-Carlo, Music From Japan, Zen-On Music, Suntory Foundation for the Arts, Kanagawa Arts Foundation and Shizuoka City Cultural Promotion Foundation, and his works have been premiered by many ensembles including Nieuw Ensemble (Amsterdam), Nouvel Ensemble Moderne de Montréal, Zagreb Saxophone Quartet, Doulce Mémoire (Tours), Ensemble Cairn (Paris), Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra (Tokyo), Geidai Philharmonia Orchestra (Tokyo), NHK Symphony Orchestra (Tokyo), Philharmonic Chorus of Tokyo, Art Respirant, Ensemble Muromachi, Vox Humana, and Quartet Excelsior.
Jummei Suzuki’s works “Embellie” for soprano saxophone and saxophone quartet are published by Editions Henry Lemoine and “Antienne” for two soprano saxophones by Editions IMD in Paris, while Zen-On Music has published “Gewuërzwolfie ?!” for string quartet in Japan. A CD featuring his compositions entitled Jummei Suzuki: La Romanesca was issued by Fontec in 2021 as the 56th release in its series of CDs of music by contemporary Japanese composers. Jummei Suzuki currently serves as professor in the Department of Composition at Tokyo University of the Arts and lecturer in the Music Department of Toho Gakuen College.