Sakura & Rose Duo

Sakura & Rose Duo is a soprano and piano duo founded in 2023 by Rose Hegele (soprano) and Sakurako Kanemitsu (piano). The duo brings the immensely diverse repertoire of soprano and piano music to New England audiences, with a special emphasis on collaborating with and championing works by living and underrepresented composers, and programming a wide range of different genres . Their duo name pairs the flowers in their own names - the Japanese sakura (cherry blossom) and the English rose - reflecting both their heritage and their focus on ephemeral, intimate performances.

In the summer of 2023, the duo debuted at the Otter Creek Music Festival in Vermont for their 44th year concert series. They commissioned Boston-based composer Ryan Suleiman to compose "july midnight," which sets lyrics by Bostonian 20th-century poet, Amy Lowell. The program also featured works by New York-based composers Mason Bynes, Lauren Vandervelden, and Anne Philips, as well as Boston-based composer Andrew List.

In 2024, the duo performed at Cambridge's Lilypad Inman, a venue known for avant-garde music and art. Their eclectic recital, warmly received by audiences, featured 20th-century French art songs, works by living local composers, and concluded with Broadway hits and jazz standards.

Their 2025 season included an interdisciplinary portrait concert with composer Ryan Suleiman and the Fourth Wall Ensemble, highlighting the climate crisis through music and movement. The duo also created a multimedia concert experience in 2026, pairing art songs and solo piano music to paintings through a program aptly titled, “Ekphrasis: Music in Conversation with Art” which was performed at Berklee School of Music as well as at UC Davis (performance linked below). As part of their 2026/27 concert season, the duo will make their New Gallery Concert Series debut by premiering an art song cycle by composer Evan Williams who set text by feminist poet, Edna St.Vincent Millay. Through their concerts, Sakura & Rose strive to create engaging musical experiences by incorporating visual mediums, emphasizing stylistic diversity and representation, and bringing quality performances to intimate venues near you.

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