The goals of the Sound Singers are to:

• Build friendship among Japanese, Japanese-Americans and others who are interested in Japan.

• Share Japanese culture with people from all backgrounds through our performance and contribute to local communities

• Through Japanese songs rediscover the virtues of Japanese culture; and through other songs deepen our understanding of other cultures.

• Experience the joy of singing every day.

Director: Fumi Tagata 田形ふみ

After graduating from Tokyo University of the Arts, soprano Fumi came to Washington State in 1998 to expand her musical experiences and repertoire. Since then, she has performed at various venues in the Greater Seattle area, as well as at local events such as Mariners games, and functions at the Official Residence of the Consulate General of Japan and the Washington State Governor.

Besides her own performances, Fumi is a voice trainer, the director of three choirs, as well as the founder of Songs of Hope, a Seattle-based group of musicians who gathered to support children in Fukushima affected by the nuclear accidents following the earthquake and tsunami of March 2011. She became the Director of Sound Singers in 2022.

東京藝術大学卒業後、1998年ワシントン大学大学院留学のため渡米。リサイタル、オペラ等の演奏活動の傍ら、シアトルマリナーズ開会式でのアメリカ国歌斉唱や、ワシントン州知事公邸、在シアトル日本国総領事公邸での演奏など、コミュニティイベントにも数多く招待される。

2011年の東日本大震災を機に設立された、復興支援のための音楽グループ「Songs of Hope」発起人。2012年よりシアトル地域の合唱団の指導にあたる。2022年よりサウンドシンガーズのディレクターに就任。

Pianist: Naoko Nakamura

Born and raised in Osaka, Japan, Naoko began piano lessons at the age of four and has loved music ever since.

She is an experienced accompanist for singers and instrumentalists in adjudications, recitals, and competitions, and has supported musicians for many years.

She became Sound Singers’ pianist in 2022. After a short break, she came back to join Sound Singers in 2025.

Naoko currently works with the world-renowned Dusty Strings, a leading maker of harps and hammered dulcimers, and she’s now learning to play the harp herself!

４歳からピアノを始め合唱、リサイタル、コンクールなどで数々の歌手や楽器奏者の伴奏の経験を積んできました。

2022年にサウンドシンガーズの伴奏を担当。 2025年に再びピアニストに復帰しました。

現在は世界的に有名なハープメーカーのダスティ・ストリングス社で働きハープの演奏も学んでいます。