Piano and Music Theory

Junta Arakawa is a pianist from Japan.

Junta began playing the piano since 4 years old. He studied under the Yamaha Program until 11. Although Junta had a dream to be a pianist, he stopped playing the piano in order to focus on studying for the university entrance examination when he was 17. 

After he entered Nihon University as International American Culture major, he joined Big Band as a trombonist and later became a band leader. When Junta was a sophomore, he had a chance to study in the United States for a month. The trip made him start learning in the United States as business major. In the middle of his junior year, he changed his major to piano performance because of his most inspiring piano teacher, Elaine Moss. It almost took seven years for him to play the piano again until he met her.

While studying piano as major and business as minor simultaneously, Junta won the 2nd prize from both Sheboygan Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition and Lakeshore Wind Ensemble Concerto Competition in 2002. At the same time, he was very active as a pianist/accompanist for Jazz Band, Jazz Combo, and the Music Theatre in performing the musical like Jesus Christ Super Star and Nunsense. 

In 2003, Junta graduated from St. Norbert College and began teaching about 40 students a week at the private piano studio in Green Bay, WI. During the six-month private teaching, he learned to study further more so he auditioned and entered Wichita State University as Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) with a full-scholarship. Due to the GTA job, Junta had to teach two piano classes and more than 10 private students per week. After studying two years with a fantastically supportive teacher, Paul Reed, he received the master degree of piano performance in 2006. 

In the same year, Junta moved to Thailand and has been teaching piano and theory as a full-time lecturer of Assumption University. Now he studies piano with Professor Masayoshi Sasaki who is senior professor at School of Music, Assumption Univeristy.