BIOGRAPHY
Meiko Nakahira, a graduate of the Tokyo University of the Arts, pursued her studies in Switzerland at the Haute École de Musique de Genève in the class of Tedi Papavrami. She obtained two Master’s degrees in Specialized Music Performance Soloist and Orchestral Music Performance. Upon completing her Soloist Master’s degree, she received the highest grade and was awarded the Prix Henri Stern.
She is an artist in residence at the Académie of the Opéra national de Paris for the 2024/2026 season.
A laureate of numerous national and international competitions, she has been awarded prizes at the Czech Music Competition, the CittĂ di Palmanova International Music Competition, the Malta International Music Competition, the Osaka International Music Competition, and the Yokohama International Music Competition.
She has also participated in prestigious academies, including the Kyoto French Music Academy, the Accademia Chigiana and the Accademia Stauffer (Italy), the Tibor Varga Academy (Switzerland), Verão Clássico (Portugal), and the Rencontres Musicales de Noyers (France), where she performed in concert.
She has received guidance from distinguished artists such as Jean-Pierre Wallez, Leonidas Kavakos, Olivier Charlier, Boris Belkin, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Stephan Picard, Massimo Quarta, Renaud Capuçon, and Mihaela Martin.
She has also been invited to several major festivals, including the Verbier Festival, the Bellerive Festival (Switzerland), the Aix-en-Provence Easter Festival, the Musica Festival in Strasbourg (France), and Musik Fest Nara (Japan).
She has worked under the direction of conductors such as Zubin Mehta, Christoph Eschenbach, Klaus Mäkelä, Jonathan Nott, Péter Eötvös, and Esa-Pekka Salonen, and has performed with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Orchestre de Chambre de Genève, the Orchestre de Paris, as well as at the Opéra national de Paris.
In Japan, she has participated in numerous concerts as a member of the NagaokakyĹŤ Chamber Ensemble since her university years.
As a soloist, she has performed with the HEM Orchestra under the direction of Pierre Bleuse and Yann Kerninon.
She is also dedicated to chamber music and is a member of the Quatuor Citadelle. She studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris with François Salque and Jean Sulem, as well as at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Paris with Miguel da Silva.
The Quatuor Citadelle will be artist in residence at the Chapelle Musicale Reine Elisabeth starting in September 2026, and is also an artist in residence at ProQuartet (France), having been selected for the Merita cubed program. It is furthermore invited to perform at several festivals, including the Festival International de Piano de La Roque d’Anthéron (France), the Rencontres Musicales de La Baule et Pays Blanc (France), and the Zeister Muziekdagen (Netherlands).
She studied violin with Sayaka Takeyoshi, Yuko Mori, Kazunori Sato, Kazuki Sawa, Yasuko Otani, Natsumi Tamai, GĂ©rard Poulet, Yang Sungsic, and Tedi Papavrami.
She also received chamber music training from Toshiaki Hayashi, Gábor Takács-Nagy, the Quatuor Ébène, Corina Belcea, Günter Pichler, Bruno Giuranna, John Sulem, François Salque, and Miguel da Silva.
She is a laureate of the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation (Switzerland).