Boston-based pianist Sakurako Kanemitsu is a colorful and creative interpreter of music ranging from the established classical repertoire to the music of our time. She began her studies at the age of 5 in Tokyo, Japan, and has since performed as soloist and chamber pianist in Italy, Germany, and the United States. She is inspired by the subtle nuance of Rubinstein’s Chopin, the intricate sonorities of Debussy and Ravel, and the aphoristic beauty of Arvo Pärt.

Ms. Kanemitsu maintains a busy concert schedule, performing as a soloist and chamber musician as well as in theatrical settings such as dance and theater productions and has appeared regularly as an artist with the Hawkins School of Performing Arts, Sacramento Contemporary Dance Theatre, and the Sacramento State Opera.

Past projects include an Artist-in-Residence award from UC Davis in support of a collaborative project involving the university’s graduate composers, award-winning choreographer Jacob Gutierrez-Montoya, and cellist Michael Dahlberg. A solo recital of all contemporary works at the San Francisco Center for New Music, Mu Phi Epsilon-sponsored concert at California State University Sacramento in collaboration with clarinetist Katsuya Yuasa, concert of all new works by the UC Davis composition faculty with Cornell-based soprano Lucy Fitz-Gibbons, collaborating with Boston-based Nightingale Vocal Ensemble on their Massachusetts tour of “Voices of Water” and “Journey of Seasons,” performing a coast-to-coast tour of “Ekphrasis: Music in Conversation with Art” with the Sakura & Rose Duo and more. In 2021, Sakurako organized and performed a portrait concert of Joe Hisaishi’s works from the Studio Ghibli films, raising funds for Support AAPI Community Fund.  In recognition of her work, she was also featured on CapRadio’s Summer Concert Series further highlighting Joe Hisaishi’s work and social justice issues regarding the rise of anti Asian hate crimes. 

Sakurako earned her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music in Piano Performance from Sacramento State School of Music, where she worked as a teaching assistant and administrative assistant for the School of Music’s Piano Series. Her previous teachers include Steinway Artist Richard Cionco, Kirsten Smith, Natsuki Fukasawa, and Tanya Gabrielian. In 2013, Ms. Kanemitsu became one of the the youngest students to receive the exclusive Saturday Club Scholarship in Piano. During her graduate studies, she received the Music Research Symposium Award in 2017 for her research on the connection between Friedrich Chopin’s composed works and his improvisations. In 2024 Sakurako completed her Graduate Performance Diploma at Longy School of Music at Bard College as the Barbara Roth Donaldson Scholar, where she studied with Grammy-nominated pianist Andrius Žlabys.