Pianist Rie Tanaka

Dr. Rie Tanaka enjoys a multifaceted career as a performing artist, educator, and artistic director. She has been praised for her “brilliant and lyrical tone” (‘Chunichi Shimbun’ Central Japan News) and “lovely sensitivity” (Pioneer Press). Native of Osaka, Japan, Rie is a prize winner of international and national competitions in Japan and the U.S. She was the winner of the MTNA Young Artist Competition in the West Central Division, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. She also won top prizes at the Schubert Club Competition (1st), Chautauqua Piano Competition (Finalist, Commissioned Piece Award), New York Piano Festival and Competition (finalist), Rosenstock International Piano Competition (Special Judge’s Award), to name a few.

Rie maintains a full concert schedule for solo and chamber performances. She has been featured in the Minnesota Public Radio’s “Your Classical,” KMSP-TV (channel 9) Minneapolis, Wisconsin Public Radio’s “Route 51,” Chamber Music America magazine, the Chautauquan Daily (NY), among many regional channels and press. Her performances have been listed four times in StarTribune’s “The best things to do in the Twin Cities this week” as well as the front page of StarTribune’s Variety page. She was the featured artist at the Des Moines Symphony Orchestra, Kenwood Symphony Orchestra, Schubert Club’s Courtroom Concerts Series, Midsummer’s Music Concert Series, the Cowles Center Fall Forward Festival, Japan America Society of Minnesota, Bayfield Summer Concert Series, Leif Eriksson International Festival, among other. As a chamber musician, she often collaborates with her husband and cellist Jesse Nummelin (assistant principal Cellist of the Des Moines Symphony Orchestra and a member of the Griffon Quartet) as Duo Ihana. She has been a guest pianist with the South Beach Chamber Ensemble for the past 10 years, performing numbers of major Piano Trios, Quartets, and Quintets. She has collaborated with members of the Minnesota Orchestra, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Phoenix Symphony, and many other notable musicians.

A devoted music educator, Rie has experience working with students of all ages (from ages 3 – 75), levels, as well as a diverse group of students such as ethnic minorities, international and transgender students, first-generation college students, and those with diagnosed disabilities. She currently serves as a full-time Instructor of Piano at the University of Arizona, teaching applied piano and group piano classes. Previously, she held academic positions at the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point and Macalester College, and also taught at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, MacPhail Center for Music, and St. Paul Conservatory of Music. She has given masterclasses and lectures at the University of Minnesota Duluth, University of North Carolina Asheville, Green Lake Chamber Music Camp, and Rebecca Penneys Piano Festival. She presented at various Music Teachers Associations in the states of Minnesota, South Dakota, and Washington, and was the featured presenter at the Minnesota Music Teachers Association’s annual convention in 2023.

Rie has been an advocate for musician’s wellness ever since she went through injuries on both of her wrists in 2011. As a certified Yoga instructor through Yoga Alliance with an RYT 200, she has led Yoga classes and lectures at the Rebecca Penney’s Piano Festival, Green Lake Chamber Music Camp, Saint Paul Chamber Music Institute, and Minnesota International Piano Camp. She presented her doctoral thesis, “Wellness for Musicians; Blueprint to Your Very Own Injury Prevention Course,” at various Music Teachers Associations in the states of Minnesota, South Dakota, and Washington.

Rie attended the music program at Yuhigaoka High School in Osaka, Japan, which led to the musical tour in Vienna, Austria, performing in Wiener Musikverein. She received her Bachelor of Music from the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point, where she studied under Dr. Raffi Besalyan. While there, she was a recipient of more than 15 scholarships and awards for her excellence in performance and academia. She received a Master’s and Doctor of Musical Art degrees in Piano Performance at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, studying under Alexander Braginsky.