Megumi Hamaya
Organist

Megumi Hamaya was born in Japan and has played the piano and harmonium since early childhood. She has been studying organ with Kimiko Nakayama since she was 18 and completed her bachelor's degree in Kyoto/Japan.

Since 2009 she studied organ at the State University of Music in Freiburg with Prof. Helmut Deutsch and graduated with a master's degree. In 2015 she continued with her concert exam at Prof. Leo van Doeselaar in Berlin University of the Arts.

She has won several prizes at international organ competitions, such as the 2nd prize at the renowned international Schnitger organ competition in Alkmaar/Netherlands.

Her repertoire includes works from the Renaissance to the present day, including numerous world premieres. In her approximately 50 concerts in a year, Megumi Hamaya particularly enjoys playing contemporary music at international festivals such as "Orgel-Mixturen" in St. Peter in Cologne, "BRANDNEU" in St. Martin in Kassel or "Randspiele" in Berlin-Zepernick.

Hamaya performed in all major churches in Berlin, such as the Berlin Cathedral, the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church and all other important churches in Berlin. Also worldwide, like in the Tokyo Metropolitan Theater (Tokyo/Japan).

Since 2020 she has been the cantor at the Ev. Segenskirche in Berlin.

In addition to her distinctive solo activities, she is a popular chamber music partner with Wu Wei (sheng), Erik Drescher (flute) and Mai Takeda (trumpet). A current project is a CD production of a rarely played work, "Rituale" by Nicolaus A. Huber, for the KAIROS label, which will be released in 2024.