FUKUSHI, Norio

Born in Tokyo in 1945, Norio Fukushi graduated with a master’s degree from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music in 1969, whereupon he began his compositional career as a founder member of the five-man group Shiranami. 
He was awarded the Prize for Excellence at the Arts Festival sponsored by the Agency for Cultural Affairs in 1972. In 1973 he travelled to France to study under a scholarship from the French government. After returning to Japan in 1977 he became a founder member of the composers and performers collective Vent d’Orient, which received the first Kenzō Nakajima Music Prize in 1983. 
A concert exclusively featuring his chamber works was presented at the Kusatsu International Summer Music Academy and Festival in 1992. Concerts featuring his music were subsequently presented at the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan hall in 2004 and 2019. In 2003 his work Ryōiki (Domain) III for chamber orchestra was awarded the 3rd Keizō Saji Prize. In 2008 he was invited to Italy by the Civitella Ranieri Foundation to serve as composer-in-residence. In 2011 he was invited by Music from Japan (MFJ) to travel to the United States to present his works in New York and Washington. A new work by him was performed by Ensemble InterContemporain in Paris in 2018. His major works have been performed throughout Europe as well as in the United States, Canada and Asia. 
Norio Fukushi has served as judge at the Japan Music Competition, chairman of the Japan Society for Contemporary Music and deputy chairman of the Federation of Authors and Composers Associations. Recordings of his work have been released on CD on the Camerata Tokyo, Fontec and ALM labels. His music is published by Ongaku no Tomo Sha Corporation and Zen-On Music. 
He currently serves as a director of the Japan Society for Contemporary Music and honorary advisor to the Association Franco-Japonaise de la Musique Contemporaine.