Sound and Music

Yuko Ohara was born in 1977, Yokohama, Japan. Yuko studied musicology, piano and composition at Ferris University in Japan. Her composition for chamber orchestra was performed by the Ferris University Chamber Orchestra in 2001 and her first orchestral work was premiered at the Tokyo Universal Philharmonic Orchestral in 2002. She later completed a Masters degree at Ferris University, where she was taught by Haruna Miyake. In 2003, Yuko received a distinction in Composition and Musicology and a grant towards the cost of studying abroad.

Yuko then came to London in 2003 and completed the Postgraduate Diploma in Composition at the Royal College of Music, London where she was taught by Dr. David Sawer in 2005. While in London, she received a distinction in the Postgraduate Diploma in Advanced Composition in 2006 and the won the United Music Publishers Prize for Composition 2006.

Yuko's recent successes include being short-listed in the Fine Arts Sinfonia Composition Competition (London, 2005); the London City Showcase (2006); being a finalist at the Tokyo International Ensemble Composition Competition (2005) and the Takefu Composition Prize at the Takefu International Music Festival (2006). One of her pieces was selected for the Young Composers' Workshop, at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival in 2006.