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Born in Saitama, Japan. Asami Orihara is a viola da gambist, currently lives in Japan. She performs numerous concerts not only in Japan, but also in Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Italy.

 

Asami started studying the viola da gamba with Yukimi Kambe at the Kunitachi College of Music, where she was studying musicology and the traditional Japanese instrument Sho. In 2010 she graduated and also received the Arima Prize, an award given to singularly outstanding students. In the same year she moved to Belgium to study with Philippe Pierlot at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, where she received her Master diploma with distinction in 2016. During her study she had been offered scholarships from Saitama and the Viola da Gamba Society of Japan.

 

Asami has presented herself on stage with among the others: Philippe Pierlot, Paul Dombrecht, Céline Scheen, John Elwes, Kaori Uemura, Yukimi Kambe and Yoshio Watanabe. She has been a soloist of St. Johannes Passion by Bach in the Orchestre Convivium in Liege. She has performed in chamber music ensembles such as AYAME Ensemble Baroque, Duo Rurie, Yukimi Kambe Viola da Gamba Consort, Lux Beata, Bug’s and Motus Animae. In the meantime, she has appeared in music festivals such as Oude Muziek Utrecht, the Festival Musiq3, the Festival Midis Minimes, the Festival Antiqua Torino and the Hokutopia international music festival.