Yayoi Okaniwa    Profile

 

Yayoi Okaniwa is an internationally renowned Sephardic singer and traditional Oud guiter musician. A native of Japan, Yayoi graduated from the prolific Kunitachi College of Music where she majored music education (Eurythmics), Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music. Yayoi has been a featured recording artist in numerous international concerts and has appeared in a variety of TV commercial and productions.

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In 2010, Yayoi encountered Sephardic music for the first time. She was intrigued by the unique sounds and mysterious voices. Sephardic music finds its roots in the musical traditions of the Jewish communities of Medieval Spain and Portugal. Over the centuries, Sephardic music has also adopted the melodies and rhythms of various countries where the Sephardim settled- Greece, Turkey, and North Africa.

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Fascinated by these diverse sound and haunting melodies, Yayoi realized she had found her musical passion, In 2010, Okaniwa performed Sephardic music for the first time accompanied by Masatoshi Kainuma on the Qanun in Tokyo.

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By 2012, she had released her first album Sephardic Songs - Songs by the Soul. The album was hailed in Japan's Nikkei newspaper and was number one in musical sales on Amazon.com, Japan. As a result, Yayoi was featured on NHK TV's program El Mundo.

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Yayoi possesses an unparalleled vocal range which spans four octaves: one octave below middle C up to 2 octaves above middle C! This incredible ability makes her voice the perfect instrument for many types of music. Yayoi sings mainly in the Sephardim language of Ladino and in Hebrew but also has a passion for Ottoman classical music as well as traditional Arabic and Jewish hymns and songs.

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In 2012, Ms. Okaniwa was awarded an international scholarship from the government of Israel for the study of Sephardic culture and music in the Ladino Center at Bar-Ilan University. During this time, she also studied Middle Eastern and Mediterranen music at Musrara Music Center in Jerusalem. She then became acquainted with the oud guiter and began to learn to play. During rhis time, she also learned the Persian hammered dulcimer, called santur.

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In 2015, Ms. Okaniwa launched a musical project entitled "LadinoJazz". The project featured a unique fusion of Sephardic music and jazz. Together with renowned Israeli jazz pianist, Gilad Chatsav, they toured to Japan great acclaim.

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In 2017, Okaniwa performed at the 4th annual Ladino Festival in Tel-Aviv - the biggest Sephardic music festival in Israel at the Habima National Theater. Since 2018, she has been a member of the "Israeli Ladino orchestra" as a solo singer and oud player. Ms. Okaniwa has also performed at the Ladino festival in Safed and Dead Sea. In 2019, she launched her own project "Ladirinto" --meaning  Labyrinth of Ladino-- which mixed Sephardic music and other interactive music, along with story - telling.

 

Ms. Okaniwa is currently earning a master's degree in Musicology at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, under Professor Edwin Seroussi, a leading researcher in the Sephardic music studies.

 

 

Ms. Okaniwa fuses her love of traditional Sephardic music, rich historical stories and modern music into a truly innovative sound and experience for all those who listen to her voice.

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<Repertoires>

 

Sephardic songs, Rembetiko (Greece), Ottoman Classical Music (Turkey), Piyutim (Hebrew Song from Turkey, Jerusalem, Morocco, Balkan, Yemen, Persia), Byzantine Song, Syrian Orthodox Church's Song, Muwashhaha (Arabic Classical Song), Medieval Spanish Song (Cantigas de Santa Maria, Libre Vermell de Monserrat, Cancionero de Palacio, etc.), Songs of Hildegard von Bingen, Songs of Troubadour and Trouvere in Southern France, Early Italian &Spanish Baroque Music, Air de Cour (French court song), John Dowland, British lute songs, Handel's opera oratorio works, Astor Piazzolla, Villa-Lobos, Toru Takemitsu, Traditional Satsuma Biwa (Japanese Oud) songs, etc.

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