The rising star of world organ music, Mari Fukumoto, inaugurated her residency at the National Forum of Music on 18 October 2020 with Wrocław Baroque Orchestra. She will perform George Frideric Handel’s organ concertos on a chest organ. This season, Marie Fukumoto will return to Wrocław with two more concerts, in which she will play on the newly built organ at the NFM Main Hall: with the NFM Leopoldinum Orchestra and the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic.

Mari Fukumoto’s residency is part of the European Union-funded Classical Futures Europe programme, which aims to showcase and support the careers of the most talented artists in the field of classical music.

Mari Fukumoto is the winner of the 1st prize at the 7th the International Organ Competition Musashino-Tokyo, and at the same time the first Japanese woman to receive this award. She has performed recitals and concerts at respected festivals, in the most important churches and concert halls in Asia and Europe, such as Suntory Hall Tokyo, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Philharmonie Essen and Konzerthalle Bamberg.

Marie Fukumoto lives in Germany and lectures at the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt in Weimar. She performs regularly in Japan, where she is well known and highly appreciated by the audience. Just a few weeks ago, she returned from concerts with two great Japanese orchestras – the Kyoto Symphony Orchestra and the Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra.

Marie Fukomoto’s performances have been recorded and broadcast in Japan and Germany. Naxos has released her first solo album. The second album will be released this season. Marie Fukumoto’s repertoire includes early music, with an emphasis on German Baroque, as well as Romantic works (German and others) and contemporary compositions.

Classical Futures Europe is one of the Creative Europe programme platforms. Its aim is to initiate projects supporting the most important cultural centres in Europe, as well as assisting the development of the most talented artists of the young generation. It is run by the European Concert Hall Organization, a body that brings together the most important concert halls in Europe, so that they can support each other and develop through participation in international projects.