I founded the Tokyo International Piano Association (TIPA) with a dream of creating a Festival Academy where children, students and artists would all be able to come together to study, perform, enjoy concerts and sharing in the joy of music-making while also exploring culture, arts, cuisine and scenery.
In 2016 we launched our first ‘Tokyo International Piano Festival’, offering an inspiring five-day piano academy in Kyoto, Osaka, Shiga, Yokohama and Tokyo with the highlight of a grand gala recital with world-class concert pianist Peter Jablonski at the Kioi Hall in Tokyo. This successful event led to the perfect opportunity and privilege of hosting the festival in collaboration with Serbia’s most popular piano duo – ‘LP DUO’ at the Kolarac Hall and the Old Palace in Belgrade. In 2019, TIPA has co-directed the Montecatini Piano Festival in the historical opera town of Montecatini Terme in Italy. Our celebrity artists included Sofya Gulyak (described as a Rach Star Pianist by The Washington Post), Emanuel Salvador (Concertmaster of the Baltic Neopolis Orchestra) and Martin Tillman (EMMY nominated Hollywood film composer). Our wonderful resident artists offered an attractive series of individual lessons, masterclasses and chamber music coaching sessions which allowed an audience to enjoy both an outstanding concert and a post-concert cocktail reception – all offered in beautiful Tuscan style. It is especially noteworthy that, during the festival, participants are given the opportunity to perform in the concert hall on a superb Steinway concert grand piano, participate in chamber music and also take part in a competition. The winners’ prizes offer young talented artists a concert opportunity as an important steppingstone towards a professional concert career. Since 2018, TIPA has been the official Japanese management for the Royal College of Music (RCM) and we have so far co-presented an annual RCM Audition, concert and masterclass by Director Prof. Colin Lawson and Head of Keyboard Prof. Vanessa Latarche at the Matsuo Hall in Tokyo.
TIPA now operates our festival in three countries; Japan, Italy and Serbia. In 2020, we are also delighted to be able to announce the launching of our new digital platform and we invite you all to join to take online lessons, workshops and enjoy our creative online concerts from your home!
Franz Liszt wisely and famously said that ‘Music is the heart of life. It speaks love; without it, there is no possible good and with it everything is beautiful’. I have certainly experienced the inherent beauty of a musical journey of discovery. I hope our visiting musicians and participants will consider our festival academy a home in which they can feel united in a shared journey of discovery. I look forward to welcoming many of you to our worldwide musical odyssey!

Aisa Ijiri