Mami Nakamura

Nakamura graduated from the École Normale de Musique de Paris with a Higher Musician Diploma in Clarinet and Chamber Music, and from the Conservatoire de Rueil-Malmaison and the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Créteil (bass clarinet department) with a unanimous first place from the judges. In 1997, she won first place at the International UFAM Competition in Paris. She has performed in France, Italy, and Africa, and has appeared at the International Clarinet Festival, Tokyo, and on the NHK-FM radio program, Meikyoku Recital. Under the performing name MAMINA, Nakamura released a CD with bass clarinet and electronic sounds, titled Kamikaze. She also undertook studies in the bass clarinet and began performing in ensembles, presiding over the clarinet ensemble Nakamura Mami & Copines et Copains, and the ensemble Amicale Amicaru which developed a unique sound using the French accordion, flute, and piano. Nakamura is also a member of N'SO KYOTO, a Kyoto-based group offering multi-dimensional audio and visual performances. As an educator, she has taught at music schools in France and currently teaches clarinet and bass clarinet at her alma mater, the Osaka College of Music, where she passes on the Ecole Française (French pedagogy), giving elementary school students hands-on experience with the instruments. Nakamura presided over the Kobe City cultural revitalisation project, Let's Enjoy Clarinet Ensembles. She studied clarinet with Kouichi Honda, Kazuo Yasukawa, Guy Deplus, Florent Héau, and Michel Arrignon, and bass clarinet with Philippe-Olivier Devaux. Nakamura is a contract instructor for Buffet Crampon.