Adachigahara - A Demon Dwelling in the Darkness of Ginza

Munenori Takeda (Noh Theater Lead, Kanze School)
Munenori Takeda is a member of the Nohgaku Performers’ Association and is designated as a holder of an Intangible Cultural Property. He also serves as a director of the Kanzekai (Kanze Association). He graduated from the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Waseda University with a degree in Theater. He has studied under his father, Munekazu Takeda, and Kiyokazu Kanze, the 26th head family of the Kanze school. He debuted on stage at the age of 2 years and 11 months and played his first leading role at the age of 10, and has later gone on to perform in Ishibashi, Ran, Dojoji, Mochizuki, Okina, and more. He has often performed internationally as well. In the US in 2014, he organized Tomoe & Yohsinaka, a two-part competition of Noh and modern opera, and played the lead role in both productions. He produced and starred in a model Noh play called Momotaro at a public performance hosted by EXTRAD in 2021. He presides over the Munenori Takeda Association. In addition to his stage performances, he also hosts lectures and workshops in Japan and abroad, such as “Uta Salon”.

Fuminori “Maro” Shinozaki (violin)
Nicknamed “Maro”, Fuminori Shinozaki serves as the 1st Concertmaster of the NHK Symphony Orchestra. Starting at the age of three, he was taught to play the violin by his father. At 15, he won first place at the Mainichi Student Music Concours national competition. After graduating high school, he entered Konservatorium Wien Privatuniversität (the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna). The following year he made his concert debut at the Wiener Konzerthaus, then won numerous awards at major European competitions. He returned to Japan in 1988, where he began working as concertmaster for the Gunma Symphony Orchestra and the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, becoming the concertmaster of the NHK Symphony Orchestra in 1997 at the age of 34. He has since served as the “face of the NHK Orchestra” in Japan and abroad. Since 1996, he has served as the music director of the Tokyo Junior Orchestra Society and as a member of the WHO Council, working passionately on its concerts. In 2020, he received the 33rd Music Pen Club Music Award.

Mari Moriya (Soprano)
Mari Moriya graduated from the Mannes School of Music in New York. She performed as Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute in 2006 at the Metropolitan Opera to great acclaim, has served as a resident singer at the Linz State Theatre, and recently starred in Madame Butterfly at the Saxon State Opera in Germany. She has performed with many prominent conductors and major orchestras in Japan and abroad. In 2019, she performed the Japanese national anthem at the National Celebration for His Majesty The Emperor's Accession to the Throne. She works as an associate professor at the Nagoya College of Music, a lecturer at the Tokyo University of the Arts, and a lecturer at the Senzoku Gakuen College of Music. https://marimoriya.com/

Taira Kaneko (Clarinet)
Taira Kaneko was born in Tokorozawa, Saitama in 1984. He studied at Tokyo University of the Arts and Lübeck Academy of Music in Germany from 2005, graduating from its graduate school in 2012. In 2001, he won first place in the Young Artist division of the Young Clarinetist Contest. In 2006, he placed first in the Music Competition of Japan and also received the E. Nakamichi Award and the Iwatani Award (Audience Award). Among his numerous awards, he won first place in the Wiesbaden Mozart Competition in 2008 and in the same year was the first Japanese person to place third at ARD International Music Competition in Munich, then won the Louis Spohr Medal in 2009. From 2009 to 2012 he was clarinetist of the Theater Lübeck (Lübeck Philharmonic). He has performed at NHK-FM, the Kiso Music Festival, the Tokyo Spring Music Festival, and more. He currently serves as Principal Clarinet in the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra and is a member of the Kioi Hall Chamber Orchestra.

Masanori Kato (Composer)
He graduated first in his class at the Department of Composition at the Tokyo University of the Arts and completed a graduate course at TUA as well. His compositions span a wide range that includes opera, orchestral music, and choral music, and he is renowned for his creative arrangements. He has provided music for many soloists and is highly regarded as an accompanying pianist as well. His performances and classical music lectures, planned from a unique perspective and approach, have also attracted attention. He is a radio personality on the NHK-FM program “Kenban no Tsubasa” and a resident producer at the Nagano City Arts Center. He also serves as music ambassador for Hiratsuka Culture and Arts Hall.

June Iyeda (Director)
June Iyeda lived in the US during his teens. He graduated from the International Christian University and studied abroad at the University of Edinburgh. He trained at the Royal Opera House in England. He worked as an assistant director to many world-class directors at such places as the Tokyo Nikikai Opera and the New National Theatre, then has composed, translated, scripted, and directed operas, concerts, and musicals. Recently, he has worked on subtitling operas in both Japanese and English. He works as an associate professor at the Senzoku Gakuen College of Music.