Newly-named 2008 Gilmore Young Artist Naomi Kudo
was born in
Naomi made her orchestral debut at age sixteen
performing Tchaikovsky's First Concerto with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra
and, later that same year, with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Orchestra
Hall playing Falla's Nights in the
Gardens of Spain.
The recipient of the Chopin Prize and consecutive winner
of the 2007 and 2008 Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition at the
Juilliard School, Naomi has received international recognition in several
competitions: as the only American finalist at the Fifteenth International
Frederic Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw (2005); Second Prize at the Seventh
National Chopin Competition of the United States (2005); First Prize at the Ninth
Oberlin International Piano Competition (2003); and First Prize at the Fifty-Third
National Student Music Concours of Japan (1999). Also an avid chamber
musician, she has won the silver medal at the 2003 Fischoff National
Chamber Music Competition.
Naomi received the 2003 I.M.A. Music Award of
In September 2007 Naomi opened the eighth season of
The Gilmore's Rising Stars Recital Series and performed in the Juilliard
Bachauer Competition Winners' concert, broadcast live on WQXR Radio in
Highlights of her career include performances at the 2001 Fifty-Sixth International Chopin
Festival in Duszniki-Zdroj, Poland; the 2001 "New Names of the 21st Century"
International Music Festival in Russia; the 2002 Nagoya International Youth
Music Festival in Japan; Chopin's birth house "Zelazowa Wola", Lazienki Park, and the Royal Castle in Poland; the Stradivarius Museum in Cremona; the Salle Cortot in Paris; the
Musikverein in Vienna; the Aspen Music Festival; the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series in
Chicago; the Peter Jay Sharp Theater, Avery Fisher Hall, Alice
Tully Hall in New York; and the 2003 Opening Night Gala Celebration for the
Music Institute of Chicago honoring conductor Sir Andrew Davis.
Naomi's appearances with orchestra include the
Warsaw Philharmonic, the Reno Philharmonic, and the Ars Viva, Montgomery, Fort
Collins, Northbrook, Everett, Oak Park, Southwest Michigan, and Fukui (in
Japan) orchestras. She has been featured on WFMT Chicago radio's
"Impromptu," "Introductions," and WQXR New York radio's "Young
Artists Showcase" programs; and she is a four-time scholarship recipient
from the Chopin Foundation of the
Naomi is featured in Defining Chopin, a film documentary about four American pianists
competing in the 2005 Fifteenth International Chopin Piano Competition in