Tomoya

Yokokawa

Tomoya Yokokawa was born in Nagano in 1988. In 2011 he completed his studies at the Gakugei University of Tokyo in music education with a focus on composition with Masahiro Yamauchi and Choji Kaneda as well as with private lecturer Miyuki Shiozaki. In 2013 he began studying composition at the Graz University of Art with Klaus Lang. After completing his bachelor's degree in 2016, he continued his studies in “Master Composition” with Elena Mendoza at the Berlin University of the Arts. He completed his studies in 2019. His first opera “Konjiki Yasha - The Golden Demon” premiered at the Graz Opera in 2018.

He received scholarships from the "Deutscher Musikrat", the Ad Infinitum Foundation, the DAAD and the State of Styria. His works are published by Verlag Neue Musik and BabelSores. Tomoya Yokokawa's compositions have already been performed by renowned musicians such as Paul Becket and ensembles such as the modern art ensemble or the Ensemble Schallfeld. Tomoya Yokokawa is the winner of multiple international composition competitions. In 2018 he received first prize in the “Chamber Music” category at the Torre Della Quarda International Composition Competition. In 2023 he beat 150 competitors and received first prize in the international composition competition Città di Udine with his composition The scent of autumn breeze. As one of four finalists for the Claussen Simon Composition Prize in 2023, he worked with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra and its chief conductor Alan Gilbert.

In addition to composing, his passion is also for traditional Japanese music and its instruments. In 2022 he founded Doppelmond, an ensemble that specializes in the use of Japanese instruments in contemporary music. He also taught as a guest lecturer at the Berlin University of the Arts.