Dr. Rie Tanaka is a Pianist, music educator, and wellness specialist. Native of Osaka, Japan, Rie is a prize winner of international and national competitions in Japan and the U.S. She was the winner of the MTNA Young Artist Competition in the West Central Division, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. She also won top prizes at the Schubert Club Competition (1st), Chautauqua Piano Competition (Final ist, Commissioned Piece Award), Rosenstock International Piano Competition (Special Judge’s Award), to name a few. Rie maintains a full concert schedule for solo and chamber performances. She was featured on Minnesota Public Radio’s “Your Classical,” Wisco nsin Public Radio’s “Route 51” and StarTribune’s “The Week’s Best Classical Concerts,” among many regional channels and press. She has performed in venues such as NHK Osaka hall, Phoenix hall in Osaka Japan, the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, Landm ark Center in St. Paul, and Thrasher Opera House in Wisconsin. She was the featured artist at the Des Moines Symphony Orchestra’s DMSO at Home, Leif Eriksson International Festival, Bayfield Summer Concert Series, Schubert Club’s Courtroom Concerts, St. Lo uis Park Summer Concert Series, and Minneapolis Downtown Improvement District. As a chamber musician, she often collaborates with her husband Jesse Nummelin (assistant principal Cellist of Des Moines Symphony Orchestra) as Duo Ihana. She has been a guest p ianist with the South Beach Chamber Ensemble for their annual Wisconsin tour for the past 9 years, performing numbers of major Piano Trios, Quartets, and Quintets. She has collaborated with members of the Minnesota Orchestra, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Phoenix Symphony, and many other notable musicians. Rie’s passion to create an innovative performance of Classical music led to a collaborative partnership with a ballet dancer and choreographer Ms. Yuki Tokuda. Tog ether they founded a multi - disciplinary group, “Mirage Performing Arts” in 2019, after their initial sold - out concerts. Their projects during the Covid - 19 pandemic ranged from a virtual benefit concert raising over $1,000 for a Covid - 19 relief fund, to out door performances, as well as various video projects. A devoted music educator, Rie has been teaching Piano to students of all ages and levels for 12 years. She taught applied lessons and group piano classes at the University of Minnesota from 2013 – 2018. She has given masterclasses and lectures at the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point, University of Minnesota – Duluth, and Rebecca Penneys Piano Festival. Her private students have won prizes at regional competitions and festivals, and have been accep ted into music programs at Universities in Wisconsin and Minnesota. She currently teaches piano lessons at the Mount Olivet School of Music and Macalester College, and has her private studio in Mound, Minnesota. Rie has been an advocate for musician’s well ness ever since she went through injuries on both of her wrists in 2011. As a certified Yoga instructor through Yoga Alliance with an RYT 200, she has led Yoga classes and lectures at the Rebecca Penney’s Piano Festival, Green Lake Chamber Music Camp, Sain t Paul Chamber Music Institute, and Minnesota International Piano Camp. She presented her doctoral thesis, “Wellness for Musicians; Blueprint to Your Very Own Injury Prevention Course,” at various Music Teachers Associations in the states of Minnesota, Sou th Dakota, and Washington. In response to Covid - 19, she co - directed an online course “Peaceful Musicians: 5 - Day Challenge” and taught at the University of Arizona as well as independently. Rie attended the prestigious music program at Yuhigaoka High School in Osaka, Japan, which led to the musical tour in Vienna, Austria, performing in Wiener Musikverein. She received her Bachelor of Music from the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point, where she studied under Dr. Raffi Besalyan. While there, she was a reci pient of more than 15 scholarships and awards for her excellence in performance and academia. She received a Master’s and Doctor of Musical Art degrees in Piano Performance at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, studying under Alexander Braginsky. Yuki Tokuda is a ballet dancer, choreographer and teacher, based in the Twin Cities. She is originally from Japan and was trained under Mikiko Dei, Hideo Fukagawa and Jun Ishii, internationally recognized dancers, teachers and competition judges. She moved to the US i n 2000 to continue her training in New York at the Joffrey Ballet School. Ms. Tokuda has danced professionally with USA Ballet, Peoria Ballet, Metropolitan Ballet and she was the principal dancer at Continental Ballet for 7 years. With diverse training in classical, contemporary, modern and jazz, she is an international guest dancer and collaborator with many companies, including James Sewell Ballet and Minnesota Dance Theatre. While training in New York, Ms. Tokuda’s instructors included David Howard, John Prinz, Fabrice Herrault, and Michael Vernon. At Steps on Broadway in New York she was one of the first International Visa Program students. She has, also, trained with Boston Ballet and Connecticut Ballet. She has performed many principal roles, most nota bly in: Le Corsaire, Don Quixote Pas de Deux, Les Sylphides, Pas de Quatre, Agnes de Mille’s Rodeo, Princess Aurora, Lilac Fairy and Princess Florine in The Sleeping Beauty, the Sugar Plum Fairy and Clara in The Nutcracker, Odette and Odile in Swan Lake, C oppelia, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and the title roles in Romeo and Juliet, and Giselle. She has performed at The Walker Art Center, The Ritz Theater, The State Theatre, The Tek Box, The Ted Mann Concert Hall, The O’Shaughnessy, The Pantages Theatre, The I ntermedia Arts, The Lab Theatre and Peavey Plaza. Ms. Tokuda is a faculty member at Minnesota Dance Theatre, Ballet Co.Laboratory, Community Movement Collective and a certified STOTT Pilates Instructor. She has taught many master classes in Japan and the US including at Cathedral Dance Festival and Interl ochen Center for the Arts. Her choreography was chosen for Choreographer’s Evening at The Walker Arts Center and commissioned by Wayzata Symphony Orchestra, Wooddale Church, Cerulean Fire, Japan America Society of Minnesota and Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists. She is a recipient of Minnesota State Arts Board and St. Louis Park Arts & Culture Grant. She is a co - director with Rie Tanaka of Mirage Performing Arts where their mission is envisioning, enriching and enhancing both the cultures of Cl assical Music and Ballet. She is the owner/designer of YukiTard, a custom dancewear company, as well as, the owner/instructor of Tokuda Ballet, a private ballet school.