Naoko Christ-Kato

 

was born in 1976 in Yokohama. After completing her Bachelor of Music at the Conservatory of Tokyo, she came to Germany and studied with Professor Konrad Meister in Hannover. Her artist’s diploma and concert exams were fulfilled in 2006 with Professor Manfred Fock at the Musikhochschule Lübeck. Naoko Christ-Kato is a prize recipient in the young artist piano contest and the best players’ contest in Japan and also received the promotion prize of the educational council. In 2004 she performed the premiere of "Invention & Etude" by the american composer Michael Tenzer (*1957); in 2009 she recorded Tenzer’s "Let Others Name You" on CD for New World Records.In 2015 she founded the Gernsheim-Duo together with soprano Anna Gann. In 2019 it released the CD "Hidden Treasures" on the GENUIN label with 22 world premiere recordings of piano songs by its namesake Friedrich Gernsheim. She maintains an active concert schedule as a soloist as well as collaborative pianist for (among others) ballet performances and song recitals. Additionally, she is active as a piano instructor. 

Naoko Christ-Kato is a scholarship holder of the German Music Council.