Profile

Akiko Haruyama

mezzo-soprano


After completing the music course at Takasaki Municipal Takasaki University of Economics High School, she graduated from the Kunitachi College of Music, where she also completed a postgraduate programme specialising in German Lieder. She attended Mitsuko Shirai’s public masterclass on German Lieder. She was recommended by Gunma Prefecture to attend the Kusatsu International Summer Music Festival on a tuition-free scholarship and was selected to perform in the “Student Concert” at the festival. She performed the roles of Kurohime in the opera Mizuchi and Orpheus in Orpheus (in Mori Ōgai’s Japanese translation).

She performed with the chamber orchestra Camerata Zion and the TIAA Philharmonic Orchestra. She presented Kabunari Goku – a composition by contemporary composer Jōji Yuasa set to five haiku by Yosa Buson – with the Fukushima Chamber Orchestra.

She completed the 3rd Advanced Course of the Suntory Hall Opera Academy and also completed the Giuseppe Sabbatini masterclass in Rome. As part of the Suntory Hall Enjoy! Music programme, she taught Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony to elementary school students in Minato Ward. She appeared in the Suntory Hall Open House, the Opera Academy Operatic Concert at Suntory Hall, and the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan Young Artists Support Concert, among others.

In 2022, she performed in the “Festival of Opera” (produced by conductor Hideaki Hirai) at the Hibiya Music Festival 2022.

In 2023, she performed as Maddalena in Rigoletto (produced by the Itabashi Ward Performers’ Association) and as Annina in La Traviata with Sawakami Opera in Tokushima. She also participated in the Vivaldi Academy of the Fondazione Giorgio Cini and the Lucca Bel Canto Institute.

In 2024, she organised the event VIVA ITALIA at Yamaha Hall. At Milan’s Casa di Verdi, she performed in the winners’ concert of the Nagoya Italy Competition. In Vienna, she took part in the “Opera Gala Concert” hosted by the Merano Academy and earned acclaim for portraying Hansel in that academy’s production of Hansel and Gretel. She appeared in the “Christmas Concert” organised by the Monte Gral Academy in Lucca. She also participated in the Fiorenza Cedolins Master Class, the Todi Opera Master Class, and the Belcanto Ossiach Master Class in Milan.

In 2025, she attended a Jennifer Larmore masterclass in Paris.

She studied voice under Miyuki Asakura, Etsuko Kano, Giuseppe Sabbatini, Gemma Bertagnolli, Jennifer Larmore, Akiko Nakashima, and Ferdinand von Bothmer.

She was a part-time lecturer at the music course of Takasaki Municipal Takasaki University of Economics High School. She is a member of the Gunma Music Association and is currently enrolled in a master’s programme at the Gustav Mahler Private University.

Competition Awards
  • Finalist in the 26th Japan–Germany Lieder Competition (2015).
  • First Prize in the 3rd K Vocal Competition (2018).
  • Second Prize in the 10th Tokyo International Vocal Competition (2018).
  • Third Prize in the 21st Japan Musicians Competition (2019).
  • Second Prize (no first prize awarded) in the 31st Burckhardt International Music Competition (2021).
  • Special Prize (Premio Speciale) in the 14th Italian MusicArte Concorso (2022).
  • Gran Premio (Grand Prize, highest award) in the 15th Italian MusicArte Concorso (2023).
  • Sixth Place in the 2023 Japan Tosti Song Competition.
  • Encouragement Award in the 1st Nagoya Italian Concert (2024).
  • Special Prize in the 1st Concorso di Canto Lirico Virtuale SOI “Fiorenza Cedolins” (2024).
  • Finalist in Con i vincitori del 38° Concorso Internazionale di Canto Lirico “Ismaele Voltolini” (2024).
  • Finalist in the 6th Vienna International Music Competition (2025).