Artist · Violinist · Producer

Ray Iwazumi

Classical music experiences shaped by space, theatre and audience — from the world’s concert stages to fashion runways and industrial sites.

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Live at RequaL≡ 2027 SS · Rakuten Fashion Week TOKYO

About

Ray Iwazumi creates experiences.

Carefully considering spatial, theatrical and stylistic elements, Ray creates classical music experiences tailored to specific audiences while maintaining musicological discipline. He is the creator of the immersive performance art genre “hibikimeguri” and the cabaret-style experience “onyoku”.

  • Hibikimeguri
  • Onyoku
  • Concert stages
  • Fashion runways
  • Site-specific
Ray Iwazumi, masked and in an orange costume, plays the violin alone in a spotlight, reflected on a glossy black floor.
From the RequaL≡ 2027 SS runway show (Rakuten Fashion Week TOKYO)
Ray Iwazumi playing the violin with eyes closed in a dim rehearsal room.
In rehearsal

Biography

As a violinist and recognized musicologist, Ray concertizes as soloist and chamber musician, and is globally recognized for his live, recorded, and written scholarly contributions to music research, editing, and performing art presentations. Frequently invited to present concerts, lectures and masterclasses at prestigious institutions in the U.S.A., Europe, and Japan, his combination of craft, scholarship, research, and artistic discipline combines the principles of his mentors, Dorothy DeLay and Igor Oistrakh.

Ray’s musicological contributions are internationally recognized, particularly for his contributions to research, editing, and analysis of the works of the great Belgian violinist and composer, Eugène Ysaÿe. He has helped catalog rare materials and manuscripts at The Juilliard School, written articles for journals such as The Strad, MLA Notes, Fontes, Revue belge de musicologie, and Revue de la Société liégoise de Musicologie with a four-year serial in the Japanese journal, String. He has also edited the critical text for works by Vieuxtemps, Wieniawski, and Ysaÿe, published in the internationally esteemed Urtext editions by G. Henle Verlag. Ray is on the faculty of The Juilliard School.

Fiercely passionate about delivering profound musical experiences to audiences both within and outside performing arts circles, Ray was the founder of Kontomo, a dynamic playbill app, and is founder of Pushuké, Inc., a neo-theater-centric music initiative based in Tokyo.

Ray is a graduate of The Juilliard School, where he received his Bachelor, Masters, and Doctorate degrees, and is also a graduate of the Koninklijk Muziekconservatorium Brussel (Royal Conservatory of Brussels), where he received further Masters in Violin and Masters in Chamber Music, both with highest distinction.

Concentrations

A masked violinist in a leaf headdress plays beside an open grand piano lit in red, with a second masked performer behind.
From a hibikimeguri performance
  • Genre

    Hibikimeguri

    An immersive performance-art genre Ray created, joining classical works with space, improvisation and close interaction with the audience.

  • Experience

    Onyoku

    A cabaret-style classical music experience, tailored to its audience and setting.

  • Scholarship

    Ysaÿe & G. Henle Verlag

    Urtext editions of Vieuxtemps, Wieniawski and Ysaÿe; research published in Revue belge de musicologie, The Strad, MLA Notes, Fontes and String.

  • Company

    Pushuké, Inc.

    A neo-theater-centric music initiative based in Tokyo, founded by Ray and centered on hibikimeguri works.

Contact

Say hello on Instagram.

@rayiwazumi Message on Instagram

Bookings, collaborations and press — send a direct message.
Pushuké, Inc.: @pushukejp