Dr. Eri Yoshimura

Osaka, Japan is the birth place of Dr. Eri Yoshimura and where she earned her music education degree from Shinshu University. She obtained Masters and Doctorate of Musical Arts degrees in piano performance from the University of North Texas.  She studied under Dr. Pamela Mia Paul with a related field in Music and Medicine under Dr. Kris Chesky venting piano-related medical problems.  Her research papers were published in the Medical Problems of Performing Artists journal twice.  

Dr. Yoshimura has performed solo and four-hands recitals in the USA (including Hawaii), Japan, Mexico, and Hungary (Franz Liszt International Festival).  She and a Hungarian pianist, Dr. Emöke Ujj,  released their album together, “Contemporary Piano Music for Four Hands”.  It is available at fourhandspiano.com and contains the works by four living composers.  All compositions in this album were specifically composed for Dr. Emöke and Dr. Yoshimura.  

Eri’s scholarly research has focused on understanding and preventing piano-related medical problems. Her research papers were published in the Medical Problems of Performing Artists journal and in the MTNA E-journal.  The latest focused on the possible application of an Ergonomically Scaled Piano Keyboard (a narrower-sized keyboard) for reducing piano-related pain among small-handed pianists. Her performance on the 15/16-sized keyboard at UNT marked its concert premiere.  Conferences at Aspen (PAMA), Chicago (NCKP), Serbia (EPTA) and England (RNCM) have all invited her to perform on this special keyboard and presented her research. The UNT university homepage/magazine and regional TV news reports (NBC, CW33) and radio (WRR) have featured Dr. Yoshimura who has won the research scholarship. She is currently using the 7/8-sized keyboard to teach her students at Preston Harmony.