​Japan native Kimihiro Yasaka is an active pianist, recording artist, and enthusiastic educator. He began his piano studies at the age of twelve in Japan with Ms. Reiko Mizutani, and went on to complete his Bachelor and Master’s degree in Piano Solo Performance under the supervision of Professor Kyoko Hashimoto at the Schulich School of Music, McGill University. During his studies, he received the Yamaha Canada Scholarship, the Ellen Ballon Piano Scholarship, the Schulich School of Music Award in Memory of Jeffrey Campbell, and the Lubka Kolessa Award. His prizes also include the 2014 IBLA Grand Prize (Distinguished) in Italy, along with other awards in his home country.

 

​While pursuing his studies, Mr. Yasaka was selected to perform in masterclasses by renowned musicians such as Gilbert Kalish, Lang Lang, André Laplante, Robert Silverman, Alan Weiss, Andreas Haefliger, Phillip Moll, Maxim Vengerov, Håkan Hardenberger and many others. 

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Mr. Yasaka’s repertoire includes a wide range of styles, from Baroque to Contemporary music. He is particularly devoted to performing new music and has premiered works in Montreal, across Canada, and internationally. A personal mission of his is to make Japanese piano repertoire more accessible to audiences in Canada and abroad. He has collaborated with numerous living composers, including Yukiko Watanabe, Hideki Kozakura, Katsuhiro Oguri, Reiko Yamada, Kota Nakamura, Rikuya Terashima, Akira Kobayashi, Chris Paul Harman, Dominique Lafortune, Tomoyuki Hisatome, Juha T. Koskinen, Daryl Jamieson, Zhuosheng Jin, Alexandra Fol, Andrew Stewart, Josep Maria Guix, Philippe Leroux, among many others.

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His career includes notable performances in Japan, Canada, the United States, Italy, and the UK. Mr. Yasaka has been invited to perform at numerous music festivals, including the ISME World Conference and Festival, Arkas 99 Islands Music Festival, MusiMars Festival, Festival Accès Asie, La Semaine du Patrimoine (NB), and Chosen Vale Festival. He has also appeared as a guest artist at various educational institutions, such as Aichi University of the Arts, Nagoya College of Music, Kyushu University, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Goethe-Institut Montreal, and more. Additionally, he has been invited to perform by government institutions, including Canadian Heritage (Government of Canada), the Consulate General of Japan in Montreal, and the Consulate General of Japan in Edinburgh.

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Mr. Yasaka’s solo piano album Images du Japon was released in Japan under Nippon Acoustic Records and received acclaim from Record Geijutsu in 2014. He also recorded with GRAMMY Award-winning engineer Richard King, and his performance of Chopin's Op. 9 No. 2 was included as an excerpt in Prof. King’s publication Orchestra Recording and Other Classical Music Ensembles (Focal Press/Routledge). In 2020, his second solo piano album Mosaïque (NARC2155) was released and featured in major newspapers and Tower Records Japan. In 2024, his performance of “JSB KMHR” was included in Chris Paul Harman’s album Works (2019–2023), recorded by a legendary recording producer, Martha de Francisco, and released by Redshift Records. His performances have been broadcast on CBC/Radio-Canada, Radio France,  FM Kamakura, and many more.

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Mr. Yasaka is proudly a member of Le Vivier (Members – INDIVIDUALS).