安東理恵 音楽博士 (D.M.A.:Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance)
3歳よりピアノを始める。桐朋学園大学付属「子供のための音楽教室」、桐朋学園女子高等学校音楽科を経て、1997年に桐朋学園大学音楽学部ピアノ専攻卒業。
在学中、当時東京藝術大学および二期会でオペラ指導を行っていた故マエストロ・ウバルド・ガルディーニのレッスンに、数年間にわたり伴奏者として通う。ガルディーニ氏は、マリア・カラスやルチアーノ・パヴァロッティをはじめとする世界的オペラ歌手を指導し共演してきた、オペラ指導の名手として広く知られる存在である。主にソプラノの伴奏を務めながら、ベルカントやコロラトゥーラ唱法の指導法を間近で学ぶ貴重な機会を得る。この経験は、ピアノ演奏におけるフレージングの構築や音楽表現に大きな影響を与えた。
1998年に渡米し、ピアニスト パヴェル・シュクリペック（Pawel Skrzypek）氏に師事。1999年、ポーランド・ラジンで開催された「The International Workshop of Interpretation」に参加。翌2000年、カリフォルニア州で開催された「The Gold Country Piano Institute Competition」で優勝し、その結果、ポーランド・グダニスクの「The Fermata Piano Institute」に招待される。シュクリペック氏の指導のもと、ショパン演奏法や、より効率的かつ表現豊かな運指技法について深く学ぶ。
2001年、ワシントン州ベリンハムにある Western Washington University へ入学し、修士号（Master of Music in Piano Performance）を取得。ロレイン・ミン（Dr. Lorraine Min）氏に師事。The Ford Hill Piano Scholarship、The Margaret E. Hamstreet Music Scholarship、The Bellingham Music Club Competition より奨学金を授与され、ティーチング・アシスタント（TA）を務めながら学位を取得。Concerto Competition で選出され、オーケストラと共演し、リスト「ピアノ協奏曲第2番 S.124」を演奏。卒業後1年間、同大学にて専任伴奏者として勤務。
2004年、ワシントン大学（University of Washington）博士課程に進学し、クレイグ・シェパード（Craig Sheppard）氏に師事。The Helen Crowe Snelling Scholarship をはじめ複数の奨学金を受賞し、2年間 Graduate Staff Assistant（GSA）として勤務しながら研究を続ける。在籍中、The Seattle Musical Art Society から奨学金を授与される。2007年、学内で開催された「Mozart Piano Concerto Competition」で優勝し、翌2008年2月にモーツァルト「ピアノ協奏曲第20番 K.466」をオーケストラと共演。2010年、博士号（Doctor of Musical Arts, DMA）を取得。
これまでに、安孫子和子、加藤伸佳、Pawel Skrzypek、Dr. Lorraine Min、Craig Sheppard に師事。伴奏法・コレペティートルをマエストロ・ウバルド・ガルディーニに師事。
Dr. Rie Ando
Dr. Rie Ando began studying piano at the age of three. She trained at the Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo, progressing through its Children’s Music Program and Toho Gakuen Music High School before earning a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from Toho Gakuen College of Music in 1997.
During her studies, she spent several years as an accompanist in the studio of the late Maestro Ubaldo Gardini, a renowned opera coach who worked at Tokyo University of the Arts and the Nikikai Opera Company. Gardini, widely recognized as a master in opera coaching, had previously collaborated with world-renowned opera singers such as Maria Callas and Luciano Pavarotti. While primarily accompanying soprano repertoire in his lessons, she gained invaluable insights into bel canto and coloratura vocal techniques, which significantly influenced her approach to phrasing and musical expression on the piano.
After moving to the United States in 1998, Dr. Ando studied under a Polish pianist, Pawel Skrzypek. In 1999, she participated in The International Workshop of Interpretation in Radzyn, Poland. The following year, she won first prize at The Gold Country Piano Institute Competition in California, which led to an invitation to The Fermata Piano Institute in Gdańsk, Poland. Under Skrzypek’s guidance, she developed a deep understanding of Chopin’s performance style and honed techniques for efficient and expressive fingerings in piano playing.
In 2001, Dr. Ando enrolled at Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA, to pursue a Master of Music in Piano Performance under Dr. Lorraine Min. She was awarded multiple scholarships, including The Ford Hill Piano Scholarship, The Margaret E. Hamstreet Music Scholarship, and support from The Bellingham Music Club Competition. As a teaching assistant, she gained experience in instruction and performance while completing her degree. Selected as a winner of the Concerto Competition, she performed Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in A Major, S.124, with the university orchestra. Following graduation, she remained a staff accompanist at the university for a year.
In 2004, Dr. Ando moved to Seattle to begin doctoral studies at the University of Washington under Craig Sheppard. She received several scholarships, including The Helen Crowe Snelling Scholarship, and worked for two years as a Graduate Staff Assistant (GSA) while continuing her studies. During her time at the university, she was awarded a scholarship from The Seattle Musical Art Society and, in 2007, won the Mozart Piano Concerto Competition, leading to a performance of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20, K.466 with the university orchestra in February 2008. She earned her Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in 2010.
Her principal teachers include Kazuko Abiko, Nobuyoshi Kato, Pawel Skrzypek, Dr. Lorraine Min, and Craig Sheppard. She also studied collaborative piano and opera coaching with Maestro Ubaldo Gardini.