Today we’d like to introduce you to Rie Tanaka.
Hi Rie, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Rie Tanaka, and I am a pianist and music educator originally from Osaka, Japan. I started playing the piano when I was three, with my mother, a piano teacher. From the beginning, the belief that was put onto me was, “if you don’t want to end up on the street, you must become the best pianist and win every competition. Now go back to practice.” With this kind of rigorous music training, I won many competitions in Japan but was constantly criticized for playing the repertoire too hard for a girl with small hands and with a spirit “too free.” Since my family was financially struggling, I almost convinced myself that I should quit until I met my former teacher Dr. Raffi Besalyan. He completely transformed me and invited me to study with him at the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point. After moving to the U.S. in 2008 with little to no English background, music became my only way to communicate and connect with people of different cultures, languages, and ages, among other differences. I loved playing for the audience who looked and acted vastly different from the Japanese audience and playing chamber music with musicians I couldn’t converse with. I began teaching almost immediately, and I was surprised to see how much I could communicate, mainly using just music. I felt for the first time in my life that I understood the power of music, and the art I pursued was worth devoting my whole life to. I then went on to get Master’s and Doctor’s degrees at the University of Minnesota, studying with Prof. Alexander Braginsky. I finished my D.M.A. in 2019 and have enjoyed the abundant artistic opportunities here in the Twin Cities.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Pursuing music when my family had financial challenges was always extremely difficult. Before coming to the U.S, I worked three jobs for a year at age 18 – at a mail sorting factory, a music bar, and a Pachinko gambling hall (some of the most toxic work environments in Japan) with no day off, to save money so that I could support myself in America. Initially, I was accepted into a music program in New Jersey with a full-ride scholarship. Still, my teacher took a position at the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point, so I transferred my application to follow him, which is how I landed in the midwest. My savings were all gone after one year of paying out-of-state tuition, so I took out a significant loan, half of which was sent to support my family – about $600 a month. The school supported me with as many scholarships as they could offer. Still, no financial aid was available for international students at the UWSP, and work options were extremely limited for foreigners. I finally came to a point where I could no longer afford to pay rent or food, living off of half a bag of ramen per day. That is when my friend, a cellist, talked to his family who lived locally, and they firmly took my hand and asked me to live with them. They accepted me as part of their warm, loving, and beautiful family, and we did everything together for the next two years until I graduated. I know I could not have graduated my undergrad if it weren’t for them. Also, that friend is now my husband! They say, “You will never graduate from us!” – I don’t know how grateful I am that they came into my life!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I enjoy my active career as a solo and chamber pianist and music educator and exploring interdisciplinary projects in collaboration with dancers and visual artists! I was featured by Minnesota Public Radio, Wisconsin Public Radio, StarTribune, Pioneer Press, and Chunichi Shimbun (Central Japan Newspaper), among many regional channels and press. I won the MTNA Young Artist Competition in the West Central Division, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Also, I won top prizes at the Schubert Club Competition (1st), Chautauqua Piano Competition (Finalist, Commissioned Piece Award), New York Piano Festival and Competition (finalist), and Rosenstock International Piano Competition (Special Judge’s Award), among other. As an educator, I have taught classes and applied lessons at the University of Minnesota and Macalester College and given lectures at the University of Arizona, Rebecca Penneys Piano Festival, and Music Teachers Associations in Minnesota, South Dakota, and Washington. I serve as a piano faculty at MacPhail Center for Music and Mount Olivet School of Music.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://riepiano.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rietanakapianist/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rietanakapianist
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/rtana965
