Megumi Hamaya, the organ virtuoso from Japan, delights audiences with her technical brilliance and subtle, colorful playing.
In addition to her large classical repertoire, she has a strong interest in collaborating with contemporary composers such as Nicolaus A. Huber, Toshio Hosokawa, Jukka Tiensuu, Bernd Richard Deutsch, Eiko Tsukamoto and Elżbieta Sikora. Among them, she plays numerous world premieres and is a sought-after player at international festivals of contemporary music.
She recently released her first portrait CD “Vision” (2025) with works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Nicolaus A. Huber, Toshio Hosokawa, Tōru Takemitsu and Akira Nishimura on Kreuzberg Records.
She has been playing the piano and harmonium since her early childhood and developed her love for the music of Bach. From the age of 18, she studied organ with Kimiko Nakayama and completed her bachelor's degree in Kyoto/Japan.
Since 2009, she has studied organ at the Freiburg University of Music with Prof. Helmut Deutsch and completed her studies with a Master's degree. In 2015, she finished her concert exam with Prof. Leo van Doeselaar at the Berlin University of the Arts.
She won 2nd prize at the renowned international Schnitger Organ Competition in Alkmaar/Netherlands.
Hamaya has performed in all of Berlin's major churches, such as the Berlin Cathedral, the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church and all other important churches in Berlin. She has performed at organ festivals around the world in Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Poland, Ireland, Portugal, Japan and China, including the Tokyo Metropolitan Theater (Tokyo/Japan), the Xinhai Concert Hall (Guangzhou/China) and the Shenzhen Concert Hall (Shenzhen/China).
From 2020 to 2024 she worked as a cantor at the Ev. Segenskirche in Berlin-Reinickendorf.
In addition to her distinctive solo activities, she regularly plays duo concerts with the world-famous sheng player Wu Wei. She has created several arrangements of classical works for this duo. Megumi and Wu Wei also have a great passion for contemporary music and open the door to their own world of sound.
They are currently working with composer Jukka Tiensuu for his Organ & Sheng Double Concerto, which will be premiered together with NPCA Orchestra in Beijing on July 10, 2026.