July 28, 2011
News for Otakon 2011:
Otakon welcomes back violinist Hiroaki Yura along with Mari Yoshida
Baltimore, MD (July 27, 2011) - Musician Hiroaki Yura to return to Otakon for 2011 along with fellow musician Mari Yoshida.
Hiroaki Yura is a Japanese violinist who is the founder and Artistic Director of the Eminence Symphony Orchestra in Sydney, Australia.
The founder of the Eminence Symphony Orchestra, the Eminence Audio Production company, and a violin virtuoso, Hiroaki has extensive solo experience ranging from recitals to solo concerto performances. He has played for heads of state, international delegates and officials such as Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, Ambassadors and Consulate Generals to many nations.
Hiroaki has performed with exalted and revered musicians such as Prof. Chikashi Tanaka (violin), Maestro John Harding (violin), Alexev Yemstov (piano), Alexander Gavriluk (piano), and has had a wealth of experiences with top composers around the globe. Hiroaki Yura has performed as a soloist with most of the major Chinese Orchestras including the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Hangzhou Symphony Orchestra, and Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra. He has also performed with the Nanjing Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Youth Orchestra, Woollahra Symphony Orchestra, and debuted in Japan with the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra.
Hiroaki has won numerous competition internationally and locally, including the 7th Etoh Toshiya International Violin Competition for Young Violinists, was a prize winner at the Gisbourne International Music Competition in New Zealand, received multiple scholarships to study at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and has received scholarships with a number of other institutions.
Hiroaki has been critically acclaimed by many leading artists such as Pinchas Zukermann, Salvatore Accardo, and Wanda Wilkomirska.
He now directs all orchestral recording for Interactive Entertainment and Films. Amongst his notable credits are The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, Diablo III, Soul Calibur IV, and The Tower of Druaga: The Aegis of Uruk.
A professional Japanese ninja and also a good singer, Mari will debut with the Last Goodbye project by EDAMAMATION, singing music composed by Japan's leading composers and recorded and mixed by John Kurlander, engineer responsible for the Beatles and the Lord of the Rings. Born in Tokyo, she is forever young as she took the "Perpetual youth and immortality" drug. She hates cucumbers but loves ham and likes to get drunk. She hates the sun and likes to stay indoors but is somehow, very much tanned. She also loves video games so much so that sometimes it seems she has no life. An avid collector of custom entry stamps in her passport but hates travelling. Oh, did we tell you she is a great singer and will take part in a lot of Video Game and Anime music in the near future?
Otakon 2011 will be held July 29 - 31 at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Maryland.
ABOUT OTAKON AND OTAKORP, INC.: Now entering its eighteenth year, Otakon is an annual celebration of Japanese and East Asian popular culture, and also one of the largest gatherings of fans in the United States. Otakon celebrates popular culture as a gateway to deeper understanding of Asian culture, and has grown along with the enthusiasm for anime, manga, video games, and music from the Far East. Since 1999, Otakon has been held in Baltimore, Maryland; currently, Otakon is one of Baltimore's few large, city-wide events, drawing over 29,000 individual members for three days each year (for a paid attendance of over 80,000 turnstile attendees). Otakon is a membership-based convention sponsored by Otakorp, Inc., a Pennsylvania-based, 501(c)3 educational non-profit whose mission is to promote the appreciation of Asian culture, primarily through its media and entertainment. Otakorp, Inc. is directed by an all-volunteer, unpaid staff - we are run by fans, for fans.
For more information about Otakorp, Inc., see http://www.otakon.com/otakorp/index.asp
For more information and the latest news on Otakon 2011, see http://www.otakon.com/
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