A versatile pianist, RIKO HIGUMA has performed with world’s leading artists throughout North and South America, Europe and Asia. As a soloist, she was a top-prize winner at the Jacob Flier International Piano Competition and the Santa Fe International Piano Competition. Notably, she was one of the Young Artists for the Van Cliburn Piano Institute in Fort Worth, where she appeared as a soloist with the Fort Worth Symphony.
Ms.Higuma’s collaborations on the recital and concert stage have included artists such as Aaron Rosand, Albert Markov, Neil Rosenshein, Cho-Liang Lin, Alan Gilbert, Steven Tanenbom, Dora Schwarzberg, Timothy Eddy, Yovan Markovitch, Suren Bagratuni, Jeffrey Solow, Dmitri Sitkovetsky and Ray Chen, among others. Appearances in music festivals include Lidal North at the Norwegian Opera House, Zodiac Academy and Festival in France, Summer Voice Program in New York, International Academy of Music in Italy, Intermezzo voice festival in Belgium, La Jolla Chamberfest, New DOCTA festival in Argentina, New Music On the Point in Vermont as a member of the American Modern Ensemble and the Summit Music Festival in New York, where she performed a gala recital with the legendary violinist Aaron Rosand. Most recently, Ms. Higuma was the rehearsal pianist for the New York Philharmonic premier of Lera Auerbach’s violin concerto, working with violinist Leonidas Kavakos.
As a founding member of the Zodiac Trio, she has claimed top prizes at international competitions such as the International Peninsula Young Artist Festival, Yellow Spring Chamber Music Competition, Joyce Dutka Arts Foundation, and the Cziffra Foundation audition. Amongst its many engagements, the Zodiac Trio has appeared at the Festival Radio France Montpellier, International Colmar Festival in France, Ottawa Chamberfest in Canada, Edinburgh Festival in Scotland, the Oriental Performing Arts Center in Shanghai, National Performing Arts Center in Beijing, Izumi Hall in Japan, Le Poisson Rouge, Lincoln Center’s Bruno Walter Auditorium, Tishman Auditorium and Merkin Concert Hall in New York, UCLA Clark Library in CA; has been broadcast by France 3 Television, Beijing’s CCTV News, Canada’s CBC Radio and Television, WXQR (including an hour-long in-studio feature on the Young Artist Showcase), had performances broadcast live on WFMT, featured on WGBH’s “Live from Frasier” in Boston, and has recorded multiple times for Radio France in Paris. The Zodiac Trio is under the management of Latitude 45 of Montreal, Canada.
Ms.Higuma studied with Phillip Kawin at the ManhattanSchool of Music and chamber music with the Ysaye String Quartet in their Superior Chamber Music Program in Paris. Currently she is engaged as a staff pianist and vocal coach at the Manhattan School of Music.