Himari

Born in 2011 in Japan, Himari has captured the classical music world's attention with her technique, imaginative interpretations, and emotional depth as a young artist. She is one of the youngest-ever applicants at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where she studies with Ida Kavafian.

In the 2025-26 season, Himari makes several high-profile debuts, including performances at the Ravinia Festival with Marin Alsop, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra with Jaap van Zweden performing Bruch's Violin Concerto, and with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra with Manfred Honeck. In Europe, she makes her debut with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall under Kahchun Wong, performing Sibelius' Violin Concerto, and with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande in Geneva, conducted by Jonathan Nott. An established and celebrated artist in Japan, Himari also appears with the New Japan Philharmonic performing Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 2, as well as with the NHK Symphony Orchestra and the Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra.

In the 2024-25 season, Himari received widespread acclaim for her European debut with the Berlin Philharmonic, performing Wieniawski's Violin Concerto No. 1. She appeared with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Marin Alsop in their New Year's Eve concert at Verizon Hall. Tickets for her Japanese recital tour, featuring performances in Nagoya, Osaka, Fukuoka, and Tokyo, sold out in less than five minutes.

In 2025, Himari signed as an exclusive recording artist with Decca Classics, the youngest-ever female artist to join the British label. Her debut EP, recorded with pianist Chelsea Wang, features Waxman's Carmen Fantasy, Amy Beach's Romance, Op. 23, and Kreisler's La Gitana. Himari has built a following of more than 100,000 subscribers on YouTube, and a 2025 documentary about her by Japanese media company Asahi TV has been viewed more than 5 million times. She has been named a 2025 Classic FM Rising Star.

Himari has won top prizes at several international competitions, including the International Competition for Young Violinists in Honor of Karol Lipiński and Henryk Wieniawski, the 12th Arthur Grumiaux International Violin Competition in Belgium, the 26th Andrea Postacchini International Violin Competition in Italy, the 20th Schedrin "Schelkunčik" International Music Competition in Russia, and the Kogan International Violin Competition in Belgium. She also won the audience prize at Mini Violini 2023, held as part of the Montreal International Violin Competition. Himari began her violin studies at age 3 under Koichiro Harada and Machie Oguri.