Misa Yamamoto is currently based in Kuala Lumpur, where she is widely sought after as a performer and teacher. Misa has performed throughout Malaysia, Australia, Japan and the UK. Most recently, Misa has worked extensively with the Malaysian Piano Quartet, an ensemble specialising in arranging and performing music for 2 pianos-8 hands music, for which is a co-founding member, established in 2016.
Growing up on the beautiful Gold Coast in Australia, Misa completed her Bachelor of Music in Performance (Honours) at the Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University, where she studied piano under Leah Horwitz, graduating with the University and Conservatorium Medals as the highest achieving graduate in her year. Misa went on to further her studies as a full scholarship holder at the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) in Melbourne from 2003-2005, where she received extensive training in solo performance and chamber music under distinguished pianists and pedagogues including Frank Wibaut, Max Olding, Piers Lane, John Perry, Igor Machlak and the late legendary Australian pianist Geoffrey Tozer. During her student years, Misa enjoyed many successes in numerous competitions, including being a keyboard finalist in the ABC Symphony Australia Young Performers Awards in 2007. Before arriving in Malaysia, Misa frequently gave performances for various concert series throughout Australia, including the Musica Viva Menage series, ABC Sunday Live and the Firm, and her performances were heard regularly on ABC Classic FM and the MBS radio network.
Misa’s love of chamber music has led her to collaborate with numerous artists locally and abroad, including Lana Trotovsek, Mats Lidström, Alexander Baillie, John Harding, Caroline Henbest and the Henschel Quartet. Misa also enjoys joint projects with her sister, harpsichordist Masumi Yamamoto. In KL, Misa performs regularly with Malaysian tenor Tan Chee Shen at such venues as No Black Tie and Bobo KL, and she also performed with the NSO Wind Ensemble in the JB Classical Music Festival in 2017.
As an educator, Misa’s passion for working with children and her extensive training in pedagogy on both the piano and violin keeps her in high demand as a teacher for young beginners. Misa has served on the panel of judges for the Macau Piano Competition, the Malaysian Youth Orchestra Foundation (MYOF) Festival and the Kota Kinabalu Music Festival and is also an examiner for the Australian and New Zealand Cultural Arts Limited (ANZCA) music examinations.