Yoko Yates

Yoko Yates, born in Sapporo City, Japan, is a composer, pianist, and an educator. She began her keyboard study at age four and was exposed to a variety of music by her music-loving family. Though classically trained, her keen interest in improvisation led her take innovative approaches and to develop the style of composition she is known for today.

Yoko is an integrated musician with a unique voice as a composer. Her compositions reflect her multi-faceted artistry; her experience with a variety of musical genres and the visual arts; her love of nature and storytelling. She has composed music for films, media, and literary events. Her music is heard on Reuter Business Weekly and in several international award-winning documentaries including “Mothers’ Way, Daughters’ Choice” directed by Kyoko Gasha, who describes her musical contributions as going beyond what words can express. She wrote pieces for “9.11, My Journey of Jasmine” by author, Akiko Endo, who says her compositions are born of a wonderful sensitivity that conveys emotion at a deep level.

She was awarded a Cultural Merit Scholarship from Sapporo City and a Professional Music Scholarship from Berklee College of Music in Boston. Graduating from Berklee with a B.A. in music, summa cum laude, she went on to receive a Master’s in Education from Lesley University in Cambridge (MA). She continued her doctoral study in music education at Columbia University, Teachers College (NY), where she was awarded a teaching assistantship and scholarship. She has been a member of the piano faculty at Greenwich House Music School in Manhattan and Brooklyn Conservatory of Music since 1996. At Brooklyn Conservatory she served as a piano chair from 2011 - 2013.

All through her schooling and teaching years, she has maintained a performing career, playing in both traditional concert settings as well as in clubs and special events in Boston, New York, and Japan. In April 2022, her first leader album “ Mystic Life” was released on SteepleChase Records. The album contains her 10 original compositions played in quintet by the notable musicians: Jamie Baum (Flt./A.Flt.), Sam Sadigursky (A. Sax./Cl./B.Cl.), Aryeh Kobrinsky (Bs), Jeff Hirshfield (Ds.) and herself (Pf).  In September 2025, her second leader album "Eternal Moments" recorded by the same quintet is scheduled to be released on her own label, Banka Records.

Awards

• Cultural Merit Scholarship from Sapporo City, Japan.
• Professional Music Scholarship from Berklee College of Music in Boston.
• Minority Scholarship and teaching assistantship from Columbia University, Teachers College in New York.
• Wrote soundtrack for the documentary film “Mothers’ Way, Daughters’ Choice,” which received "Audience Award and Best Cultural Documentary Award" in New York International Independent Film Festival (2010) and "Front Page Award" from Newswomen's Club in New York (2010).

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