Anna Hashimoto

Anna Hashimoto’s career encompasses appearances as a soloist and orchestral musician alongside a commitment to education and new music. As a soloist Anna has worked with conductors such as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Myung-Whun Chung and Martin Brabbins, performed with chamber musicians such as Michael Collins, Leon McCawley, and Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, and string quartets such as the Endellion, Kodaly, Maxwell and Prazak String Quartets. After winning the Young Clarinettists Competition in Tokyo in 2003, she made her London concerto debut at the age of fifteen with the English Chamber Orchestra at the Barbican Centre, and went on to win international clarinet competitions in Carlino, Italy, in 2009, and the 1st International Clarinet Competition Ghent, in 2010. Following this, her solo career took her to major venues across Europe and Japan. Her four solo CD albums all received high praise, and have been heard on NHK TV and FM, Tokyo FM, ABC Radio and BBC Radio 3. She is a founding member of the Atéa Quintet, the Associate Ensemble in Residence at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and former Quintet in Residence at The Purcell School.

She has appeared as guest principal clarinet with numerous UK orchestras including the BBC Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London Mozart Players, and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, as well as orchestras further afield such as the Japan Chamber Orchestra, Amman Chamber Orchestra, and the Flanders Symphony Orchestra.

Anna teaches at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and the Royal College of Music Junior Department, and is a Tonebase Artist. She has taught on many summer schools and is a regular tutor for the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. She has given masterclasses and workshops across the country and judged numerous competitions for organisations such as the Japan Clarinet Society, Cardiff Clarinet Convention, and the International Clarinet Association.

Anna is keen to promote new music, having commissioned numerous works for her recitals, including ‘Hikinuki’ by Richard Bullen. She recorded an album of music for clarinet and piano by Edward Cowie, and regularly works with contemporary ensembles such as Manchester Collective and Trans Atlantic Ensemble.

Anna is a graduate of the Royal College of Music Junior Department, The Purcell School, and the Royal Academy of Music where she studied with the world–renowned soloist Michael Collins. She is now an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music, a Vandoren-UK artist, and is represented by Nippon Artist Management Inc. in Japan. She plays on Peter Eaton International model clarinets and basset clarinet. In her free time Anna enjoys spinning wool and knitting.