ARK BRASS is a dream ensemble at the forefront of the 21st century brass world, comprised of top players and modeled on the legendary Philip Jones Brass Ensemble (PJBE), which captivated brass fans all around the world in the 1970s.
ARK BRASS consists of a virtuoso core including Tomonori Sato (trumpet), Nobuaki Fukukawa (horn), Kou Aoki (trombone), and Shimpei Tsugita (tuba). In addition to these, they sometimes include other top players in Japan to provide orchestrational flexibility and to express the breadth of brass-ensemble potential, focusing on the PJBE style of 5 to 10 parts. The ensemble was formed in 2021 as a resident brass ensemble of the "Suntory Hall ARK Classics" festival, held in Suntory Hall and ARK Karajan Place. Their debut CD "Easy Winners~ Hommage à PJBE" was released by Avex Classics in September 2021.

Tomonori Sato, trumpet
Tomonori Sato is an alumnus of the Tokyo University of the Arts. He has won various awards, including 1st place in the 16th Japan Wind and Percussion Competition, 2nd place in the 69th and 72nd Music Competition of Japan, the 2nd Lieksa International Trumpet Competition prize, and 3rd place in the 6th Philip Jones International Brass Ensemble  Competition. Sato is currently Principal Trumpet of the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra and a contract member of the Siena Wind Orchestra. He is a member of the Bach Artists Japan Takumi. He is a part-time lecturer at the Tokyo University of the Arts, Senzoku Gakuen College of Music, and Shobi College of Music Diploma Department. He is the Executive Director of the Japan Trumpeters’ Association.
Sato was a PMF Junior Fellow in 1996, a member of the PMF Orchestra Academy in 2000, and performed in the 2019 PMF Premium Orchestra.

Cheonho Yoon, trumpet
Cheonho Yoon was raised in Yokohama, Japan. While in the Aichi University of the Arts, he participated in the Asian Youth Orchestra, the Seiji Ozawa Music Academy, and the Pacific Music Festival. Yoon then moved to the United States to further study at the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Colburn School Conservatory of Music. While in the US, he held positions with the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra and the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra. He is currently a member of the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, and works as a part-time lecturer at both the Senzoku Gakuen College of Music and the Showa University of Music.
Yoon was a member of the PMF Orchestra Academy in 2004 and 2010.

Nobuaki Fukukawa, horn
An active performer on the world stage, Nobuaki Fukukawa’s contributions to the orchestra world include serving as Principal Horn of the NHK Symphony Orchestra, and as a soloist he has played with the major orchestras of Japan, including the NHK Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, and Osaka Symphony Orchestra. He is also a member of the Tokyo Sextet. Fukukawa has been invited to perform as a soloist all over the world – in the United States, Brazil, and in Wigmore Hall, London – and he has given recitals in many countries in Asia. He is an assistant professor at the Tokyo College of Music, and a guest lecturer at the Osaka College of Music. He is a councilor of the International Horn Society.
This is his first appearance at PMF.

Kou Aoki, trombone
Kou Aoki was raised in Hamura, Tokyo and graduated from the Kunitachi College of Music. While still in college he held a position with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. Through 2018 he performed both 1st and 2nd trombone in the orchestra and was a member of the Tokyo Metropolitan Trombone Quartet. In 2019, Aoki became Principal Trombone of the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra. He is a part-time lecturer at the Kunitachi College of Music, Showa University of Music, and Senzoku Gakuen College of Music. He also performs as a member of both Slide Japan and Bachbone Japan. He has participated in the Spring Festival in Tokyo and the Miyazaki International Music Festival.
This is his first appearance at PMF.

Shimpei Tsugita, tuba
In 2002, Shimpei Tsugita graduated with honors from the Kyoto City University of the Arts, simultaneously receiving the Faculty Award and the Kyoto Musical Association Award. He won 1st place at the 24th Japan Wind and Percussion Competition. He joined the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra in 2003, and currently holds a position with the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra. He is an assistant lecturer at the Senzoku Gakuen College of Music and a part-time lecturer at both the Showa University of Music and the Shobi College of Music Diploma Department. Tsugita actively performs chamber music as a member of both Samurai Brass and World Heritage.
He was a PMF Junior Fellow in 1999 and a member of the PMF Orchestra Academy in 2001.

Takanori Akita, percussion
Takanori Akita is an alumnus of the Tokyo University of the Arts. He performs a wide range of genres, including classical, jazz, and pops, and has played in many musicals. He is a TAMA Concert Percussion supporting artist and an ASPR artist. Currently, he is a part-time lecturer at the Senzoku Gakuen College of Music. After working with the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra, as of April 2023 he is a percussionist with the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra.
This is his first appearance at PMF.


https://avex.jp/arkbrass/

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