Fumito Nunoya
Marimbist Fumito Nunoya is gaining recognition internationally as one of today’s leading marimbists. Born in Odate, Japan (a small city in Akita Prefecture), he currently lives in Kreis Herford, Germany. He actively performs in Germany and Japan as Adams Marimba Artist.
Fumito's Adams Gear
An interview with Nunoya was featured as the cover story of the May 2012 issue of Percussive Notes magazine. He has been described as “magnetic… impressive” (Houston Chronicle) and “agile and terrifically talented” (Boston Herald). His repertoire spans a wide range of solo and chamber works for marimba, including arrangements of Bach, Piazzolla, Japanese folk music, Ennio Morricone, and more.
As a concerto soloist, Nunoya has appeared with the Houston Symphony, Eastern Connecticut Symphony, and The Boston Conservatory Orchestra (USA); the Sendai Philharmonic and Atorion Chamber Orchestra (Japan); OWL Kammerphilharmonie Minden and Bartholdy-Ensemble Rheinfelden (Germany); and Di Repercussio Ensemble percussioni dell’Istituto Peri (Italy).
His solo marimba CD Red Dragonfly was hailed as a “monumental CD” (Percussive Notes) and “an example of artistic music making at its highest level” (PAS – Florida Chapter). His second CD The Sower, focusing on Japanese repertoire, was released in August 2013 by Octavia Records, Japan. In August 2016, he released Piazzolla on Marimba and Classics on Marimba with Oehms Classics. Both received special commendation from Record Geijutsu Magazine (Japan). His fifth CD Concertos on Marimba, released in February 2019, was awarded the “Gouden Label” by Klassiek Centraal Belgium and 5 stars in BBC Music Magazine.
Nunoya gained international attention after winning 3rd Prize at the prestigious 3rd World Marimba Competition (Germany, 2002). He also earned First Prizes at the Ima Hogg Young Artists Competition (2005, USA), the Libertango International Competition (2009, Italy), and Second Prize at the PAS International Marimba Competition (2003, USA).
Mr. Nunoya has presented numerous solo performances in the USA, Europe, and Japan, including appearances at the Zeltsman Marimba Festival (USA and Amsterdam, NL); Keiko Abe Lausanne International Marimba Academy (Switzerland); Southern California Percussion Ensemble Festival and Berklee Percussion Festival (USA); and the Central Japan Percussion Festival, Kansai Japan Percussion Festival, and Fukui Marimba Seminar (Japan). He has performed live twice on WGBH-Radio’s “Classics in the Morning,” hosted by Cathy Fuller in Boston, Massachusetts (USA).
Fumito Nunoya began studying piano at age seven and marimba and percussion at age thirteen. He earned his degree in Music Education from Yamagata University (Japan) and received both a Master of Music and Artist Diploma in marimba performance from The Boston Conservatory (USA). He was the first marimba (or percussion) major in the school’s history to receive the Artist Diploma – on a full scholarship.
His teachers include marimbists Nancy Zeltsman and Nanae Mimura, and percussionists Patrick Hollenbeck and Tomoyuki Okada. He also studied marimba with pianists such as Dr. Karl Paulnack, Professor Etsuko Okazaki, and Kiyomi Takeda, all of whom had a profound impact on his musical approach.
Since 2009, Mr. Nunoya has taught marimba at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold (Germany) and taught at Kyoto City University of Arts (Japan) from 2015 to 2018. In September 2015, he was appointed sightseeing ambassador of his hometown, Odate.
