Born in Fukuoka, Japan, Yoshiyuki Orii began studying the piano at the age of four. A visit to Germany at the age of ten inspired him to pursue music seriously. After participating in the Budapest Music Seminar in Hungary, he studied under Kálmán Dráfi, former Head Professor of the Piano Department at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music. He graduated from Fukuoka University of Education and completed his graduate studies there. During his academic years, he received a full tuition waiver for six consecutive years and was awarded a university commendation prize. He was also selected for a student exchange program to Busan, South Korea, where he performed at a commemorative concert hosted by Busan National University of Education. Orii received Second Prize and the Iizuka City Board of Education Award at the Iizuka Rookie Music Competition, becoming the youngest prizewinner in the competition’s history. He later won First Prize (Grand Prize) and the Fukuoka Prefectural Governor’s Award at the Kitakyushu Arts Festival Classical Music Competition. He was also selected as a semifinalist at the Franz Liszt International Piano Competition in Budapest. He has participated in the Hamamatsu International Piano Academy and the Kirishima International Music Festival. At the Kirishima International Music Festival, he performed in both the lobby concert and gala concert upon the recommendation of Cyprien Katsaris, and received the Kirishima International Music Festival Prize. He appeared with the festival orchestra at the Wakiaguru Music Festival in Kitakyushu, performing Liszt’s Piano Concerto No.1. In recent years, he has continued an active concert career through solo recitals and concert series featuring piano concertos arranged for two pianos. Currently based in Fukuoka, he is active as both a soloist and ensemble pianist, while also working in outreach programs, piano competition adjudication, and music education at public high schools. He studied under Naoki Sekino, Kálmán Dráfi, Toshiyuki Takeuchi, and Eiko Nagano. He has also participated in masterclasses with Kemal Gekić, Yuki Takao, Hironao Suzuki, Vladimir Tropp, Boris Petrushansky, and Cyprien Katsaris
Opus School of Music
