KEIKO NAKATA
BIOGRAPHY
Keiko Nakata, Organ
Keiko Nakata is one of Japanese leading female organists.
She was born in Japan and grew up loving music from an early age. After majoring in sociology at Tokyo Woman’s Christian University, she studied in earnest as an organist at Tokyo University of the Arts. While often attending music seminars in Europe, she advanced to graduate school with excellent grades and wrote her master’s thesis on the performance interpretation of J.S. Bach’s Toccata in C major, BWV 564. After that, she finally moved to France and furthered musical training at Conservatoire à rayonnement régional de Paris under the direction of Professor Christophe Mantoux, and completed the performer course with the highest score, unanimously voted by the judges. Now, she is currently based in Japan and performs all over the world.
The impressive achievements so far, she has achieved excellent results in numerous competitions, including first place at the 11th André Marchal International Organ Competition, and also received the Giuseppe Englert Prize for outstanding interpretation of contemporary music. In addition to giving recitals at Suntory Hall, Kyoto Concert Hall, Toyota City Concert Hall and so on, she has frequently performed with orchestras, such as the NHK Symphony Orchestra, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Japan Century Symphony Orchestra, Bach Collegium Japan, and Yokohama Sinfonietta. Since 2021, she has been serving as organ advisor at Kanagawa Prefectural Hall, where works to promote all musical arts, focusing on the appeal of the organ.
In 2019, Arcantus, a CD label based in Bremen, Germany, released her debut CD, “Joy of Bach.” This album was recorded in a session at the Saint-Jean Church in Belfort, France, and is a collection of Bach’s famous works. It received international acclaim, including receiving five tuning forks from the French music magazine Diapason. In 2022, her second CD, “Pray with Bach,” was released by King International. This album was recorded at the Kamakura Yukinoshita Church of the United Church of Christ in Japan, where she serves as the organist, and won the Classical Music Award at the 15th CD Shop Awards 2023. Finally, in 2025, her third and most recent CD, “Frank,” recorded at Saint-Louis Cathedral in Blois, France, was released, also on Arcantus. Because the organ works of César Franck (1822-1890) are her favorite repertoire, this album perfectly expresses her artistry. Moreover, the German music magazine Fono Forum praised the album, saying, “It successfully combines French-style precise legato with rhetorical rubato in an expressive way.”
As one of the most lovely organists of her generation, possessing both popularity and talent, she is attracting increasing attention from many quarters for her further development in the arts.
Official Web Site https://keikonakata.b-sheet.jp/en/