Prize-winning Japanese guitarist to give concert at church in coup for Louth
A young and talented international prize-winning guitarist is to visit Louth for a concert at St James’s Church.
In quite a coup for the town, Japanese ace Tohi Harada will perform at the latest show to be presented by the Louth and District Concert Society at the historic Westgate church on Sunday, March 22 at 3 pm.
His programme will include pieces by John Dowland, François Couperin, Jean-Philippe Rameau, Pyotr llyich Tchaikovsky, Edvard Grieg, the Spanish masters Joaquin Rodrigo and Isaac Albéniz, and the celebrated ‘Cavatina’, by Stanley Myers, made famous in the 1978 war thriller film, ‘The Deer Hunter’.
Harada first took up the guitar at the age of three and, during his childhood in Japan, he won first place in more than ten junior competitions.
Now studying under Michael Lewin at the Royal Academy of Music in London, he has already won more than 15 international prizes.
These prizes include the Aalborg Guitar Competition (Denmark) in 2022, the Albania International Guitar Competition in 2023, the International Guitar Competition (Croatia) in 2024 and the Ivor Mairants Guitar Award (United Kingdom) last year.
Moreover, he has gained a three-year scholarship with the Julian Bream Trust and performed in front of legendary guitarist John Williams.
Most recently, Harada has been collaborating with a flautist and a guitarist, exploring new repertoires.
For his solo work, in 2024, he was a guest performer at the 17th Veria International Guitar Festival in Greece, at the UK-Japan Music Society’s 32nd Christmas concert in London and then again at its spring concert last year.
Tickets for the Louth concert, which include a complimentary glass of wine or soft drink at the interval, are priced £16 for unreserved seating. They are available either from the society’s website at louthconcertsociety.uk or on the door. Under-18s can attend free.