A former music PhD student at the Edinburgh College of Art will compete in the final for the Toru Takemitsu Composition Award 2012. Shiori Usui has been selected as one of the four finalists for the prestigious award, and will perform her composition at Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall in May 2012. The Toru Takemitsu Composition Award The Toru Takemitsu Composition Award, set up by the Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu and continued in his memory, is an annual international competition of orchestral composition which aims to encourage younger generations of composers who will shape the coming age by creating new musical works. The award is unique in being decided by a single judge each year, who examines the submitted scores, selects the finalists who will perform their works and then makes the final decision on the winner. The Takemitsu Memorial Foundation appoints three composers to judge the competition in three year cycles. Mr Toshio Hosokawa, judge of the 2012 Award, selected four orchestral works out of 90 entries from 31 countries . The four nominated works will be performed on 27 May 2012 at the Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall. Shiori Usui Shiori Usui, who was born in Japan, studied composition at the University of Edinburgh with Nigel Osborne, Peter Nelson and Marina Adamia. Her works have been performed in Japan, Europe and USA, and she was a composer in residence for BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra from October 2010 until February 2011. She has worked in both instrumental music and motion capturing sensors, and many of her compositions are inspired by the theme 'using the body as a musical instrument'. She enjoys playing in the improvisation groups in Edinburgh, UK and Lisbon, Portugal as a noise vocalist and pianist. Related links Toru Takemitsu Composition Award Shiori Usui Publication date 15 Oct, 2015
