Masahide Kurita

Masahide Kurita ("Kuri") started his musical education at age 5 and began training on the flute at age 11. He has taken lessons and master classes with world famous flautist James Galway in Japan, USA and Switzerland and was an active player in James Galway's International Flute Seminars held in Lucerne, Switzerland in 1994 and 1995. His meeting and subsequent lessons with James Galway were fundamental in shaping his artistic tone development. Kurita made his European debut concert with Japanese pianist Maho Nabeshima in Goerlitz, Germany in May 1999.

Masahide Kurita was born in Utsunomiya, Tochigi, Japan in 1973. He started his musical education at age 5 and began training on the flute at age 11. He won many prizes at local competitions from the ages 13 to 15. He won 1st prize in the All Japan Student Music Competition in Tokyo 1992 and appeared as a soloist in that competition's Winners Concert. He gave an Irish Music Concert in Utsunomiya City Hall and appeared on NHK TV in 1994. He continued his studies at the Music High School in Utsunomiya followed by the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. From 1996 through 1997 he studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Masahide Kurita has studied with famous flautists including Soichi Minegishi, Sho-kok Kim, Akiko Mikami, Masami Nakagawa, William Bennette, and Wolfgang Schulz. He has taken lessons and master classes with world famous flautist James Galway in Japan, USA and Switzerland and was an active player in James Galway's International Flute Seminars held in Lucerne, Switzerland in 1994 and 1995. His meeting and subsequent lessons with James Galway were fundamental in shaping his artistic tone development. Masahide Kurita made his European debut concert with Japanese pianist Maho Nabeshima in Goerlitz, Germany in May 1999. He has given solo, chamber and family concerts in Japan, Germany, New Zealand and Australia. Masahide Kurita has an extensive repertoire from baroque music to contemporary music and his highly polished technique and rich tone as well as his delicate attention to detail and sharp musical expression give his music a beauty and flavour that is unlike other flautists.

Masahide Kurita appears on

Kuri: Romantic Flute

The young Australian/Japanese flautist, Masahide Kurita - "Kuri" for short - performs a selection of Romantic virtuoso works for solo flute and flute with piano, accompanied by Len Vorster. Repertoire includes Nielsen's Fantasy Pieces, the Donizetti Sonata, Lemmoné's Graceful Dance and Honegger's Danse de la chèvre.

Performer