Yuya Miyazaki
Conductor
Profile
Born in Tokyo in 1988. After graduating from high school, Yuya Miyazaki moved to the United States, where he studied music (trombone and piano) and neuropsychology at the University of Nevada, Reno. While still a student, he honed his skills at festivals, orchestras, and opera houses across the U.S. Supported by the Murchison Foundation Scholarship, he entered the Master’s program in Orchestral Conducting at the University of North Texas. After completing his master’s degree, he continued into the doctoral program with a full tuition waiver, later leaving after completing coursework (ABD). During his studies, he began his professional career, conducting regional orchestras, leading educational concerts, and teaching as an adjunct lecturer at both high school and university levels.
Placing music education at the core of his work, Miyazaki served as a trainer for youth ensembles. From 2016 to 2019, he was Music Director of the Dallas Asian American Youth Orchestra, where he led the ensemble’s first-ever European tour, with concerts in Vienna and Salzburg. From 2013 to 2017, he directed the student orchestra of the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science, tripling its membership and strengthening the program while also leading students in community service initiatives.
In the U.S., Miyazaki was engaged not only in artistic and creative work but also in organizational management of non-profit arts institutions. These experiences cultivated his perspective on arts management and deepened his commitment to building sustainable cultural frameworks.
In 2016, he was invited as Assistant Conductor and Music Staff to the Varna International Opera Academy in Bulgaria, where he conducted opera and oratorio productions. The following year, he returned to Varna to conduct Copland’s The Tender Land, marking his European opera debut. He later served as staff conductor at the Accademia Europea dell’Opera (Italy) and the Varna International Music Academy, working alongside music staff from the Teatro alla Scala, Vienna State Opera, Royal Opera House, and the Metropolitan Opera, while also teaching conducting students.
Since relocating to the Japan in 2019, Miyazaki has combined his operatic experience in Europe with the arts management perspective gained in the U.S. He was appointed Artistic Director and General Manager of Sakai City Opera. In 2020, he conducted Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel in the company’s first Agency for Cultural Affairs school touring program. The following year, he collaborated with the Embassy of the Czech Republic on the Japan–Czech Exchange Centennial Project, reimagining Dvořák’s Rusalka as “The Little Mermaid.” Together with lyricist and composer Yohei Matsui, he created a new family-oriented opera production blending classical interpretation with anime aesthetics. He has also staged Japanese operas incorporating traditional dance and developed productions for children, expanding audiences for opera. These initiatives were widely featured in newspapers and digital media.
In 2022, he joined Maestro Kent Nagano and Noh master Akihiro Yamamoto (Kanze School) as a music staff member for a collaborative project. The production paired a newly composed Noh piece themed on “the moon” with Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire (featuring Mihoko Fujimura and members of the Hamburg Symphony), staged in Osaka and Kumamoto, where he served as assistant conductor.
The COVID-19 pandemic prompted him to reflect on the fragility of cultural demand and systemic issues within the arts sector. He deepened his engagement in cultural policy and arts management, joining Osaka City’s entrepreneurship program “Risshian” (Osaka Business Development Agency) to study business and organizational operations while gaining practical experience. He has since pursued research and writing on the integration of theory and practice in non-profit arts management.
Currently, Miyazaki works as a freelance conductor while also serving as Executive Director of the Osaka Arts Council (since 2022), Cultural Policy Advisor for Osaka Prefecture and Osaka City, and, since 2023, Program Officer for the Japan Arts Council (music division). In these roles, he is involved in capacity building, program evaluation, research, policy recommendations, and training to strengthen the cultural ecosystem. In addition, he teaches as a part-time lecturer in the Faculty of International Studies at Ryukoku University (Music and Arts Studies), contributing to the education and development of the next generation.
Miyazaki believes that music is not a self-contained art form but a force that takes root in communities, fostering empathy and solidarity. He integrates his operatic knowledge gained at major European opera houses, his arts management experience in the U.S., and his policy insights from working with arts councils into his creative practice.
For him, music is a chemical reaction and a contact with society. It does not possess meaning on its own; it acquires meaning only when it engages with people and society. The “reactions” and “events” that arise in this encounter are the true essence of the musical experience, with performance serving only as a catalyst.
Therefore, his work transcends professional boundaries, moving fluidly across culture, history, education, tourism, urban development, and community building through the lens of music and the performing arts. By breaking away from fixed ideas and creating new values, he seeks to let music live not merely as artistic expression but as a “place” where people grow together and connect. Guided by this conviction, he continues to expand both sensitivity and social vision, embracing challenge as an essential part of his artistic mission.
Education
University of North Texas College of Music (2015–2019, ABD)
Doctoral Program in Orchestral Conducting
Minor: Opera Studies
University of North Texas College of Music (2013–2015)
Master’s Program in Orchestral Conducting
Minor: Music History
University of Nevada, Reno (2008–2012)
Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance (Trombone)
Minor: Neuropsychology
Conductors and Music Staff Collaborated With (Selected)
Throughout my career, I have been fortunate to collaborate with many distinguished conductors and music staff.
Among them, the following individuals have been particularly memorable:
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Ariadna Zagrean-Chiba (Former Music Staff, Vienna State Opera)
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David Itkin (Music Director and Conductor, Abilene Philharmonic Orchestra; Professor of Music, University of North Texas)
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Dian Tchobanov (General Music Director and General Manager, State Opera Plovdiv)
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Enza Ferrari (Former Coach, La Scala, Milan)
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Gregory Buchalter (Staff Conductor, Metropolitan Opera)
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James Conway (General Director and Stage Director, English Touring Opera)
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Jonathan Eaton (General Director and Stage Director, Pittsburgh Opera)
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Jonathan Peter Kenny (Lecturer, Royal Academy of Music; Freelance Conductor)
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Kento Nagano (Music Director, Hamburg State Opera)
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Mariano Furlani (Freelance Stage Director)
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Marek Ruszczynski (Coach, The Royal Opera House; Jette Parker Young Artists Programme)
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Chiyuki Murakata（Conductor, Former President of the Japan Villa-Lobos Association）
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Russell Miller (Opera Coach, Eastman School of Music)
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Simone Luti (Former Coach, La Scala, Milan; Lecturer, La Scala Academy)
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Stephen Dubberly (Associate Professor, University of North Texas; Coach, Dallas Opera)
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Stephen Hopkins (Répétiteur, Vienna State Opera)
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Tomáš Netopil (Music Director, Essen Philharmonic and Aalto Theatre)
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William Billingham (Principal Coach, Lyric Opera of Chicago)