Nobutaka Shimizu
He studied flute with Ririko Hayashi from the age of 9. He also studied at Toho Gakuen High School of Music and Toho Gakuen College of Music with Ririko Hayashi and Ryu Noguchi. He joined the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra during his sophomore year of college.
In 1982, he studied at the Juilliard School with Julius Baker, principal flutist of the New York Philharmonic, and in 1986, he was invited to join the Kyoto Symphony Orchestra. He had been a principal flutist for 21 years; in 2016 he was appointed professor at Soai University Music Department, and in April 2022 he returned to the orchestra as principal flutist of the Kobe City Chamber Orchestra, as well as acting as the first call principal flutist of the orchestra.
In 1984, he participated in the "Hideo Saito Memorial Concert", the foundation of the Saito Kinen Orchestra; in 1989, he participated in the Saito Kinen Orchestra's second European tour and its first recording.
He has performed with conductors, such as Tan Dun, Antoni Wit, Ransom Wilson, Naoto Otomo, Junichi Hirokami, Ken Takaseki, Hidemi Suzuki, etc., and has performed with Kyoto Symphony Orchestra, Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra, Kyushu Symphony Orchestra, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Toyohashi Symphony Orchestra, Kobe City Chamber Orchestra, Geneva Chamber Orchestra, China National Center for Performing Arts, Jeju Island Music Festival Orchestra and others, performing concertos by Ibert, Nielsen, Bernstein, Jacob, Honegger, Khachaturian, Mozart, Damase, Takemitsu, Mercadante, CPE Bach, Telemann, Vivaldi, and others.
He has received international acclaim as a soloist, recitalist, chamber musician, master class, competition judge, and writer, and has been invited as a guest to music festivals and flute conventions in Japan, China, Korea, the United States, Brazil, England, France, and Switzerland.
He has written magazine seminars for Band Journal, Pipers, The Flute, and Japan Flutist's Association's magazine. His "Shimizu Seminar" in Pipers magazine was so well received that it sold out.
Since 2002, he has participated as an instructor in master classes given by Julius Baker in and around New York City.
In addition to major domestic competitions such as the Japan Music Competition, Japan Wind and Percussion Competition, Biwako International Flute Competition, Japan Woodwind Competition, Sendai Flute Competition, and All Japan Student Music Competition, he has also served as a jury member for the UFAM Competition in France, the Leonardo de Lorenzo International Flute Competition in Italy, the International Flute Competition of Lorenzo, the International Flute Competition of Maxence Larrieu, and the graduation examinations of the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Musique de Paris.
He met French composer and pianist Jean-Michel Damase and performed many of Mr. Damase's works, and his recital with Mr. Damase at the Salle Gaveau Hall in Paris was acclaimed by the French newspaper "Le Figaro". He performed the world premiere of "Duettino" and "Duo Concertante" for flute, harp, and string orchestra composed by Mr. Damase.
His 2017 recital at Engelman Recital Hall in New York City, sponsored by the New York Flute Club, was highly acclaimed.
In 2003, he released a CD with Mr. Damase, "Glimpses of Paris". It was selected as one of the CDs of the month by Ongaku no Tomo magazine. He participated in Jean-Pierre Rampal's CD "Japanese Music" on piccolo. He recorded Doppler's "L’oiseau des Bois" and Barboteu's "Flutacoranne" on Sinfonia Hornisten's CD, the world premiere recording of Barboteu. He recorded Vivaldi's Piccolo Concerto with Flute Concord Hiroshima and a Sonata on composer Hirose Ryohei's CD [Clima].
He is currently a professor at Soai University Music Department, a guest professor at Showa University of Music, faculty member of Doshisha Women's College of Liberal Arts, and Kobe College Music Department, principal flutist of the Kobe City Chamber Orchestra, and the Vice President of the Japan Flutist's Association.