"Half Chinese, half Japanese, young gifted composer."
− 晶报 (Daily Sunshine) / China
"The music had the misty feeling of Japanese gagakumusic, court music so regal, that it seems static, only the colors changing. Mr. Nakahori blended his instruments with such impeccable taste, that the entire blend could have had a lulling, a mesmeric feeling on the listener.”
− Harry Rolnick (Music critic) / US
"Nakahori is remarkable young composer who has acute sensitivity, and creating his artistic world beyond the border and many cultures”
− Mari Kimura (Violinist, Composer) / US
"Nakahori pursues the depth of the sound by combining interweaved tone colors. Nakahori's philosophical thought delivers the suspension of time and the density of each sound until the last note"
− Paco Yáñez (Music critic) / Spain
"Nakahori's piece was one of the best tonight. His work is impressively ritualistic."
− Amfion pro musica classica / Finland
"The journey back to the roots of existence (About Opera Zero)"
− Kobe Shimbun / Japan
"Makes you feel the events of recollection in human life with fragility. (About String Quartet Abyss)"
− Nobuyuki Kakigi (Music critic) / Japan
"Nakahori is a composer who has a unique meditative world, and his music has a fascinating tone color, which is perceived as "Oriental" to the Occidental ear. It brings to mind not an ancient Orient, but rather a new sophisticated world. His lush sound, like a freshly picked fruit, heralds the arrival of an Oriental composer of a new era."
− Toshio Hosokawa (Composer) / Japan
Kaito Nakahori
Born in Chiba, Japan in 1989, Kaito Nakahori began composing at the age of 14. Drawing deeply from both Japanese Gagaku music and Western avant-garde music, he has developed a distinctive musical language that focuses on the multilayered resonance contained within a single tone and has advocated the concepts of “Space-Time Music” and “Timeless Music.” He currently resides and works in both New York and Tokyo and serves as the general director of Mito International Music Festival.
In 2015, he held a portrait concert at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, where he conducted his own works including Summit of Mt. Fuji. Since then, he has received international recognition through major commissions such as Hotarubi (Goethe-Institut, 2017), Samon (Kyoto Art Center, 2018), Two Different Paintings (Tokyo Bunka Kaikan commission for the 150th Anniversary of Japan–Hungary Relations, 2019), the Theater Opera Zero (Toyooka Theater Festival commission, 2020), the 3D-audio opera Countless Wells (Fondation Royaumont commission with co-production IRCAM, 2021), Abyss (commissioned by the Takefu International Music Festival and dedicated to the Arditti Quartet, 2022), and the Gagaku suite Seisō (Stalight and Frost) (Naoyuki MANABE GAGAKU Ensemble commission, 2023–2025).
In 2025, The Star Has No Sound - Clockwork Universe -, a Theater Opera co-produced by the Toyooka Theater Festival, Setouchi Art Triennale, and Mito International Music Festival (script by Oriza Hirata; music by Kaito Nakahori; 3D-audio co-production with YAMAHA Corporation). The production proposed a new form of interdisciplinary total art, while connecting different festivals through a single art project. As artistic director, he also expanded his activities through the festival’s Directors Program, including the site-specific outdoor performance Starlight Passage and Soundscape Garden presented across the entire Kairakuen garden, one of Japan’s Three Great Gardens.
His honors include the Brian M. Israel Prize (2016) and First Prize at the Impronta Ensemble Composition Competition (2019). His works have been performed by the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Avanti! Chamber Orchestra, Ensemble Dal Niente, Mandolin Orchestra Guild, Meitar Ensemble, JACK Quartet, Francesco D’Orazio, Aki Takahashi, Mayumi Miyata, Akihito Obama, Tatsuki Narita, Jessica (Ngatari), and others, and featured at institutions and festivals including the Centre Pompidou’s “Manifesto,” Boston Early Music Festival, Nuovo Consonanza, Radio France, Merkin Hall, Ki Smith Gallery, Suntory Hall, Tokyo Opera City, Kyoto Concert Hall, and the Hong Kong Culture Centre.
He has served as guest composer and jury member for Rosetta Ensemble (2018), composer-in-residence for Khemia Ensemble (2015–2016), and conductor of the Hai-Dao Ensemble (2014). He is also active as an educator, giving lectures at the Japan Cultural Institute in Rome, the National University of Colombia, the Takefu International Music Festival, Tokyo College of Music, Hiroshima City University, University, and other institutions, while continuing to pursue interdisciplinary creation across diverse fields. In 2016, his music for Yin-Yu Huang’s film After Spring, the Tamaki Family… was nominated for the Taipei Film Awards and screened at festivals worldwide. In 2017, he released the electronic music album Mythologies on the French label IKKI, and in 2023 he created a performance with Seihō Okudaira, headmaster of the Sekisōryū school of ikebana, at Hotel Okura Tokyo. He continues to pursue interdisciplinary creation across diverse fields.
< Education >
2014. 5 San Francisco Conservatory of Music - Scholarship / Master of Music
2012. 3 Toho College of Music - Top of the list / Bachelor of Music
< Award >
2019. 8 “Yaeyama Hirugi” 1st Prize at Impronta Ensemble Composition Competition (Mannheim, Germany)
2016. 6 “Zero (1st aria)” Brian M. Israel Prize (New York, US)
2014. 4 “Deliberation” The 15th TIAA Composer's Competition - Shorei Award (Tokyo, Japan)
2012. 4 “Leading to the paradise” Senzoku Contemporary Music Composition Competition - Senzoku Award (Kanagawa, Japan)
2011. 4 “Mizu no iro” The 9th Hirosaki Sakura no Sono Composition Competition - 3rd place (Hirosaki-shi, Japan)
< Major Commission >
2025. 9 - 2025. 10 Theater Opera "The Star Has No Sound - Clockwork Universe -“ Oriza Hirata + Kaito Nakahori / Co-production of Toyooka Theater Festival, Setouchi Art Triennale, and Mito International Music Festival (Toyooka / Takamatsu / Mito, Japan)
2023.12 - 2025. 10 “Starlight and FrostⅠ・II・Ⅲ” Naoyuki MANABE GAGAKU Ensemble / Toyosu Civic Center, Hokutopia International Music Festival, Tokyo Opera City (Tokyo, Japan)
2022. 9 “Shroud of the Rain” Mandolin Orchestra Guild / Kyoto Concert Hall (Japan)
2022. 9 “Abyss” Arditti Quartet / Takefu International Music Festival (Fukui, Japan)
2021. 8 “Countless Wells” IRCAM / Fondation Royaumont (Royaumont Abbey, France)
2020. 9 “Zero (Opera, text:Oriza Hirata)” Toyooka Theater Festival (Toyooka Citizen's Hall, Japan)
2019. 3 “Two Different Paintings” Tokyo Bunka Kaikan - The 150th Anniversary of Japan-Hungary Diplomatic Relations (Japan)
2018. 3 “Passing Shower” Mupa Festival 2018 (Burapha university, Thailand)
2018. 2 “Sand Ripples” Rosetta Ensemble / Kyoto Art Center (Japan)
2017.11 “Pile of Timber” Přemysl Vojta Horn Trio Japan Tour (Nagoya / Tokyo / Fukushima)
2017. 9 “Meigetsu” Takefu International Music Festival - Invited Composer (Fukui, Japan)
2017. 6 “Yozakura” Duo YUMENO / Kōshō-ji Temple (Kyoto, Japan)
2017. 4 “Hotarubi” Goethe Institut / Tongyeong International Music Festival (Germany / South Korea)
2016. 9 “Block City” Musitravel Vol. 7 / Nihon-Bashi Kokaido (Tokyo, Japan)
2015. 8 “Zero (1st aria)” Khemia Ensemble South America Tour (Argentina / Colombia)
2015. 6 “Zen in Kyudo - Concentration” Boston Early Music Festival (US)
2014.12 “Suigetsu” Yukino Ichikawa / Electone City Shibuya (Tokyo, Japan)
2014.12 “Cracked - Passionate” Yusuke Satoh / Suntory Hall (Tokyo, Japan)
2014. 3 “Hyle” International Percussion Music Radio Festival / Sala Radio Hall (Bucharest, Romania)
2013.11 “Hidden Instincts” Aki Takahashi / The Japan Cultural Institute in Rome (Italy)
2011. 5 “it can’ t be helped...” Kosuke Hashizume / Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles (Belgium)
< Lecture, Masterclass, Exhibition >
2022. 9 Takefu International Music Festival - Composition Workshop Faculty (Fukui, Japan)
2022. 4 Tokyo College of Music - Composition Lecture (Japan)
2019.11 Mirai Shimin - Classical Music History Lecture (Kitano circus, Kobe, Japan)
2016. 5 Hiroshima City University - Contemporary Music History Lecture (Japan)
2016. 4 Toho College of Music - Film Scoring Lecture (Saitama, Japan)
2015. 8 National University of Colombia - Composition Masterclass (Bogotá, Colombia)
2015. 8 National University of Córdoba - Composition Masterclass (Córdoba, Argentina)
2014.7-8 Exhibition at Mt.Fuji museum (Mt. Fuji Museum, Yamanashi, Japan)
2013.11 The Japan Cultural Institute in Rome / Symposium Speaker on Japanese music (Italy)
< Music Direction, Composer in Residence, Judge >
2025.10 "Starlight Passage and Soundscape Garden" Kairakuen Garden Outdoor Concert/ Director (Mito, Japan)
2018. 2 Rosetta Ensemble "Undefined Space" / Judge for Call for Scores (Kyoto Art Center, Japan)
2016. 6 "After Spring, the Tamaki Family... (Huang Yin-Yu’ s film)” - Music Director / Composer (Taiwan / Japan)
2015. 5 - 2016. 5 Khemia Ensemble - Composer in Residence (University of Michigan, US)
2015.12 SOUND OF PEACE - Artistic Director (United Nations, New York, US)
2015. 9 Japan Block Fair - Music Director (US)
2014.10 - 2015. 7 Hai-Dao Ensemble - Artistic Director (Merkin Hall, New York, US)
2014.12 Shenzhen International Micro-Film Festival - Presenter (Shenzhen, China)
2014.10 Shenzhen International Micro-Film Festival / United Nations Launching Ceremony - Artistic Director (United Nations, New York, US)
2014.10 Hai-Dao Ensemble Debut / Artistic Director (Jordan Hall, Boston, US)
2014. 9 A-EN Composers Project 4th concert - Artistic Director (Shizuoka, Japan)
2013.12 A-EN Composers Project 3rd concert - Artistic Director (Tokyo, Japan)
2011. 4 “Haiyu no shiawase (Keizai to H’s theater)” - Music Director / Composer (Tokyo, Japan)
< Album >
2015. 5 “Mythologies” - Ambient Music Album by IKKI (France)
< Portrait Concert >
2015. 5 Kaito Nakahori Portrait Concert 2015 at United Nations (New York, US)
2012. 8 The 3rd Koten portrait Concert (Tokyo, Japan)
2011.12 The 2nd Koten portrait Concert (Tokyo, Japan)
2011. 7 The 1st Koten portrait Concert (Tokyo, Japan)