Haruna Shinoyama began playing the violin at the age of four in Brazil, nurturing her passion for music from an early age. After returning to Japan, she studied with Aguri Suzuki at the Toho Gakuen School of Music for Children. She later studied under Gérard Poulet and Tomoko Kato, graduating from Toho Gakuen Music High School.

 

Following her studies at Toho Gakuen College, she moved to Salzburg, Austria, to pursue further studies at the Mozarteum University under Pierre Amoyal and Rainer Schmidt (Hagen Quartet). Since 2015, she has been a member of the Beija-flor String Quartet and is presently studying with Cibrán Sierra Vázquez (Cuarteto Quiroga).

 

Haruna has participated in numerous prestigious masterclasses and academies, including the Kawaguchiko Seminar with Oleg Krysja and the Kronberg Academy with Igor Ozim.

 

Performances and Collaborations

 

As a soloist and chamber musician, Haruna has performed extensively across Japan, Brazil, Taiwan, Canada, and Europe. She has appeared at major festivals such as the Salzburg Festival Youth Program schräg/strich, Mozartwoche (Salzburg), Pablo Casals Festival (Spain), Budapest Festival (Hungary), Festival Radovljica (Slovenia), Accademia Chigiana International Festival (Italy), and Schleswig Holstein Musik Festival (Germany). She has collaborated with distinguished artists including William Coleman (Kuss Quartet), Luca Pianca (lute), Vittorio Ghielmi (viola da gamba), Jonathan Brown (former Cuarteto Casals), and Alexander Melnikov (piano).

 

As a soloist, she has performed under conductors Kazuyoshi Akiyama, Toshiaki Umeda, and Kai Röhrig, with ensembles such as the Tokushima Memorial Orchestra, Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra, Salzburg Chamber Soloists, Due Mondi Chamber Ensemble, and Bad Reichenhaller Philharmoniker.

 

Awards and Recognition

 

During her studies at the Mozarteum University, Haruna served as concertmaster and performed under renowned conductors such as Bruno Weil, Maxim Vengerov, Hansjörg Albrecht, Ion Marin, Kai Röhrig, and Gernot Sähler.

 

In 2016, she received the Paul Roczek Prize and scholarship, awarded to exceptionally distinguished performers. Since 2019, she has performed regularly with Camerata Salzburg and appeared with the Wrocław Baroque Orchestra in Poland.

 

Her major awards include:

 

· 2010 Kirishima International Music Festival Prize (Japan)

· 2010 1st Prize, Osaka International Music Competition (Japan)

· 2012 1st Prize, Romania International Music Competition (Japan)

· 2012 Grand Prix, Japan Classical Music Competition (Japan)

· 2015 1st Prize, Zhuhai International Mozart Competition (China)

· 2016 Special Prize “Swabian Chamber Music”, Leopold Mozart International Violin Competition (Germany)

· 2017 Prizewinner, Ruggiero Ricci Competition (Austria)

· 2018 Prizewinner and Audience Award, Debussy Competition (Austria)

 

Recent Highlights

 

In 2024, Haruna gave the world premiere and first recording of W.A. Mozart’s newly rediscovered "Ganz kleine Nachtmusik KV 648" in collaboration with the International Mozarteum Foundation. The recording was released by Deutsche Grammophon.

In 2025, she performed the work again during the Mozartwoche in Salzburg, celebrating Mozart’s birthday.