Miho Kurihara
Pianist from Tokyo, residing in Poland since 2002. After graduating from the Kunitachi College of Music in Tokyo, she studied at the Chopin University of Music in Warsaw and furthered her training at the Feliks Nowowiejski Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz under Professor Tatiana Shebanova. She was twice a recipient of the Polish Government Scholarship (2004–2006, 2006–2008). She has won numerous national and international piano competitions, including the Special Prize at the First International Piano Competition in Nagano (2002), Third Prize at the International Music Forum in Vienna (2007), and First Prize at the International Music Competition “Musica Classica” in Moscow (2012).
In February 2015, she was awarded the title of Honorary Member by the Music Society in Sanok. From 2008 to 2014, she taught piano at the State Music School in Sanok (First and Second Levels), the Music School (Second Level), and the Jan Grodek State Higher Vocational School. From 2016 to 2018, she performed in Poland and Japan with Polish artists, participating in projects such as “The Face of Japanese Culture in Contemporary Music” (2018) and the “Young Musicians Festival” in Tokyo (2017). In 2016, she appeared as a soloist in the concert “Charming Polish Music for You” in Tokyo with the Tama Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Chikara Imamura.
In 2019, together with Piotr Nikiel, soloist of the Polish National Folk Song and Dance Ensemble “Śląsk,” she took part in a series of concerts commemorating the 100th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Poland and Japan, held in 12 cities across both countries. In recognition of her contributions to strengthening cultural ties between Poland and Japan, she was awarded the title of Polish Culture Ambassador by the Podkarpackie Cultural Development Foundation, the National Institute of Education, and the Polish Music Foundation.
From 2021 to 2022, she performed at the opening ceremony of the Japanese Garden in Silesian Park (Chorzów), a concert in Tarnowskie Góry, a piano recital in Kraków, and at the Polish Festival in Tokyo. She also participated in the ballet “Young Spirit of Dance,” commemorating the 100th anniversary of Polish children orphaned in Siberia arriving in Japan, performing alongside young artists from Europe and Japan.
As of 2025, she continues to pursue an active performance career, participating in concerts and musical projects both in Poland and abroad.