Donemus Webwinkel — Mizutani, Shin

Shin Mizutani was born in Tokyo in 1991 and began studying the violin at the age of three. He graduated from the Tokyo University of the Arts High School of Music with a major in bassoon, after which he moved to the United States to study jazz piano at the Berklee College of Music. He later pursued composition and electronic music at Codarts University for the Arts (Rotterdam Conservatory) and at the Institute of Sonology, Royal Conservatoire The Hague in the Netherlands.
His works have been performed at various festivals and concerts across Japan, the United States, Spain, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Russia, China, Thailand, and Brazil.
His string quartet A Study of Difference and Repetition (2015–2016) was premiered at the Valencia International Performance Academy & Festival in 2016. That same year, his chamber piece Quintet (2016) for flute, clarinet in A, piano, violin, and cello was premiered at the Darmstädter Ferienkurse in Germany. In 2022, the same string quartet was selected as one of the most highly rated works by the jury at ICE Week 2022 in Germany. In 2023, his Fanfara e Allegro (2018) for woodwind quartet was awarded and performed again by the European Composers Network (ECN).
He has received numerous international composition awards. In 2018, he was awarded the First Special Prize at the “Città di Udine” International Composition Competition (Italy). In 2019, he received the First Special Prize in the Solo Instrumental Composition category and Second Prize in the Orchestral Composition category at the ACADEMIA MUSICA International Music Competition in Vienna, Austria. In 2020, he received Second Prize at the 4th International Sergei Slonimsky Composition Competition (Russia), as well as First Prize in the Ensemble Composition category at the International Young Musician Competition “Città di Barletta” (Italy), where he was also nominated in two additional categories. In 2022, he received a special mention in the Andrea Cesaro Rome Award (Italy), and in 2023, he was selected as a finalist in the “Luciano Berio” International Composition Competition (Italy).
Beyond the realm of music, his scores and calligraphy have also been exhibited in visual art contexts, including Musica con Vista (2016) in Italy and the Northern Disease Exhibition (2016) in Japan.
He studied composition with Richard Barrett, Brian Ferneyhough, Robin de Raaff, Marc André, Stefano Gervasoni, Claus-Steffen Mahnkopf, Milica Djordjević, Philippe Hurel, Daniel d’Adamo, Dimitri Papageorgiou, Panayiotis Kokoras, and Rand Steiger. His electronic music teachers include Kees Tazelaar and Rene Uijlenhoet. He also studied harmony, counterpoint, fugue, and general music theory with Rijnhard Bokelmann, Frans de Berg, and Theo Verbey; style imitation with Arie Boers; music history with Marcel Zijlstra; jazz piano with Francesca Tanksley; and music aesthetics and philosophy with Tom Dommisse.
He has collaborated with several internationally renowned ensembles, orchestras, and musicians, including the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra (Bulgaria), KLK Symphony Orchestra (Ukraine), Hatay Academy Symphony Orchestra (Turkey), Klangforum Wien (Austria), Mivos Quartet (USA), Ensemble Dal Niente (USA), Oerknal Ensemble (Netherlands), Ensemble Phace (Austria), Ensemble Suono Giallo (Italy), Ensemble Linea (France), Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble (Russia), Wood Quintet Rosier (Japan), Sapporo Kreis Quartet (Japan), and Tacet(i) Ensemble (Thailand), among others.
He is currently working as an arranger and orchestrator for the Piano Teachers’ National Association of Japan.