Shio Okui
Piano
Geneva-based Japanese pianist Shio Okui began her career at an early stage. Since the age of eight, she has appeared with many orchestras in various countries.
At the age of 12, she performed with the Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Valery Gergiev and signed with the JapanArts. Since then, she has performed with world renown conductors including Mikhail Pletnev, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Vladimir Spivakov, Kazuki Yamada, Jiří Rožeň. In October 2019, at the age of 15, Shio was appointed as a soloist for the concert tour in Europe which dedicated to the 40th anniversary of the State Chamber Orchestra «Moscow Virtuosi» and made her debut in European prestigious concert venues including the Berlin Philharmonie, the Vienna Musikverein, the Smetana Hall and the Elbe Philharmonic in Hamburg. In April 2021, at the age of 16, she was awarded «Classical Performer of the year from Partner State» at the III BraVo International Professional Music Award ceremony which was held in the Bolshoi Theatre in Russia.
Born in Tokyo in 2004. Shio studied at the Central Music School of the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatoire (class of Prof. Elena Ashkenazy) and graduated from the Moscow Gnessin Special School (College) of Music (class of Prof. Tatiana Zelikman) with the highest honors and a red diploma. She is currently pursuing bachelor’s degree at the Haute école de musique de Genève in the class of Prof. Nelson Goerner.
Since the age of nine, Shio has invited to international music festivals including the Mariinsky International Piano Festival, the Mariinsky International Festival «FarEast», the Russian Seasons in Germany, the Sergei Rachmaninoff “White Lilac” Festival, the NHK Music Festival and the ArtDialog Festival. Shio has already debuted at renowned concert halls such as the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris, the Kurhaus Wiesbaden, the Tonhalle Düsseldorf, the Tonhalle Zürich, the National Auditorium in Madrid, the Bozar Brussels, the Mariinsky Theatre, the Bolshoi Theatre, the Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory, the Tokyo Metropolitan Theater, the Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall, the Astana Opera. As a soloist, Shio has often appeared with various orchestras - the Russian National Orchestra, the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia, the State Orchestra of Russia named after E. Svetlanov, the NHK Symphony Orchestra, the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, the New Japan Philharmonic and other orchestras of Armenia, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Russia and UK etc.
Her performance of Prokofiev Piano Concerto No.3 was broadcasted by the Nippon Television, and her Mozart Piano Concerto No.23 was broadcasted by the NHK television. Some other piano concertos and solo works were also broadcasted by the NHK-FM radio, the Russia Culture television channel and the Radio Orpheus.
Shio is a laureate of various prestigious competitions, including the XII International Paredewski Piano Competition (Poland, 2022, the youngest finalist and Honorable Mention prize), the Vladimir Krainev Moscow International Piano Competition (Russia, 2015, 1st prize), the Manchester International Piano Concerto Competition under 16 years old category (UK, 2013, 1st prize), the International Competition for Young Pianists in Memory of Vladimir Horowitz (Ukraine, 2013, 1st prize), the International Television Contest for Young Musicians “Nutcracker” (Russia, 2013, 2nd prize "Silver Nutcracker" and Audience Award).
Shio is a Scholarship holder of the ROHM Music Foundation (2023, 2024), the International Piano Foundation Theo and Petra Lieven of Hamburg (2023, 2024), the Vladimir Spivakov International Charitable Foundation and the State Memorial Museum of A.N. Scriabin (2019).
