Hitomi Niikura was born in Japan and began playing the cello when she was eight years old in Dusseldorf in Germany receiving instruction from Mr. Jan Vymyslisky. In 1996, she returned to Japan and started to receive instruction from Hakuro Mori. Also she received instruction of the chamber music from Koichiro Harada. In 2000, she performed as the best player at the concert of Toho Gakuen School of Music for children. In 2001, she entered the Toho Gakuen Music High School. In 2003, she received IMA Scholarship Awards at Ishikawa Music Academy. In 2004, she performed at Graduation concert of high school. She entered the Toho Gakuen School of Music. (University) She participated in Aspen Music Festival as a scholarship student. In 2006, Hitomi released her debut CD album titled “Song of the Birds” from EMI Music Japan, and she performed her debut recital at Kioi Hall in Tokyo. In 2007, she participated in Project Q 4th Young Quartet’s Challenge for Mozart Quartets. She performed as a soloist with the Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra conducting by Taijiro Iimori. She performed as a soloist at the 120th anniversary of the treaty of amity between Thailand and Japan in Bangkok, supported by the Agency for Cultural Affairs. She performed her second recital at Tokyo Bunka Kaikan. In 2008, she graduated top of the music department of the Toho Gakuen School of Music. She performed at the Tokagakudo Hall in the Imperial Palace with the presence of the Empress and Royalties. She performed at the Bordeaux Music Festival in Yokohama with Mr. Roland Daugareil and Mr. Roland Pidoux. Hitomi released her second CD album titled “Traumerui” from EMI Music Japan.. In 2010, she performed her fourth recital at Tokyo Bunka Kaikan. In March, she finished the Toho Gakuen research course where she received instruction from Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi. In April, Hitomi released her first trio CD album of “Haydn & Mendelssohn Piano Trio” from Florestan. Currently, Hitomi is studying at the Basel Music Academy in Switzerland in the Master of Specialized Performance Solist Course, and she is receiving instruction from Prof. Thomas Demenga. <a href="https://www.last.fm/music/Hitomi+Niikura">Read more on Last.fm</a>. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.