経歴

岐阜県可児市出身。大阪大学文学部を卒業後、ジャズの名門バークリー音楽大学へ、奨学金を得て留学。

主にジャズボーカルテクニック、作曲技法などを学び、2009年冬、Professional Music Majorを最優等のSumma Cum Laudeで卒業。最優秀生徒のリストであるDean’s Listにも、名前が掲載される。

在学中、New York Voices Summer CampにてNew York Voices賞を受賞。また、Boston Jazz Voicesの一員として、ボストン近郊で多くのコンサートに出演。

帰国後、「第11回神戸ジャズクイーンコンテスト」にて富士通テン賞受賞。「第五回 さいたま新都心ジャズボーカルコンテスト」にてグランプリ受賞。確かな歌唱力と透明感のある澄んだ歌声には定評がある。現在までに自己名義のCDを3枚リリース、その他参加CD多数。

2014年リトアニアで行われた、国際ジャズボーカルコンペティション「Internationa Jazz Vocal Competition」のセミファイナリストにアジア人で唯一選出。世界各地から集まったジャズシンガーたちと交流を深める。（その後、2016年エストニア出身のジャズシンガーChristian Schönbergを招き、コンサートを開催。）

出身地の可児市の「一流に出会う日事業」に粟田が選出され、1000人規模のコンサートホールを満席にし、喝采を浴びる。その他、コンサートへの出演多数。

専門のジャズ演奏だけにとどまらず、日本語の美しさとジャズを融合した童謡唱歌ジャズもライフワークとしており、作曲家の山本翔太との童謡・唱歌ジャズプロジェクト「さとのうた」はYoutubeでも高い評価を得ており、歌唱動画は3000万回を超える再生回数を誇る。（2024年11月現在）

日本に興味のある海外の方向けの、英語での日本の曲のレクチャー動画も好評を博している。

2017年度より、名古屋芸術大学の非常勤講師としても後進の指導にもあたる。（2022年退任）

そのほかに、同じ岐阜県出身のジャズバイオリニスト加知優磨が推進している、フレット付きバイオリン「フレッフィー」にも企画・開発段階から関わり、2017年度より岐阜県恵那市立中野方小学校にて、公立小学校では全国初のバイオリン授業を実施したり（授業は2019年終了）、即興演奏を使った自由な自己表現をする音楽教育の普及に努めているほか、名古屋を中心に演奏活動、後進の指導にあたっている。

Mariko AWADA – Jazz Singer, Instructor

Mariko was born in Kani City, Gifu Prefecture, Japan.
After graduating from Osaka University with a Bachelor of literature degree, Mariko received a scholarship to study at Berklee College of Music in Boston. There she focused on jazz vocal and compositional techniques, graduating Summa Cum Laude in the Professional Music Major in Winter 2009. She was also named to the Dean’s List, a list of top students.

While attending Berklee College of Music, she received the New York Voices Award at the New York Voices Summer Camp. Mariko was also a member of the Boston Jazz Voices and performed in many concerts in the Boston area.

After returning to Japan, Mariko won the Fujitsu Ten Prize at the 11th Kobe Jazz Queen Contest. She also won the Grand Prize at the 5th Saitama Shin Toshin Jazz Vocal Contest. She is known for her solid singing skills and clear, crisp voice. Mariko has released three CDs under her own name and has performed on many others.

In 2014, she was the only Asian semi-finalist in the Internationala Jazz Vocal Competition, an international jazz vocal competition held in Lithuania. She spent a wonderful time with jazz singers from all over the world. (She later invited Estonian jazz singer Christian Schoenberg for a concert in 2016.)

Mariko was selected by her hometown, Kani City, for the “Meet the First Class Day Project,” where she filled a 1,000-seat concert hall to rapturous applause. She has also performed in many other concerts.

Her musical activities are not limited to her specialty of jazz performance; her life’s work also includes “children’s songs and shoka jazz”, which combines the beauty of the Japanese language with jazz. Her singing videos have been viewed more than 30 million times. (As of November 2024)

The lecture videos of Japanese songs in English for overseas audiences interested in Japan have also been well received.
Since the 2017 academic year, Mariko has also been teaching

Since the 2017 academic year, Mariko has also been teaching younger students as a part-time lecturer at Nagoya University of Arts. (She retired in 2022).

In addition, Mariko has been involved from the planning and development stage of the fretted violin “Freffy” developed by Yuma Kachi, a jazz violinist also from Gifu Prefecture, and has been teaching the nation’s first violin class for public elementary schools at Nakanokata Elementary School in Ena City, Gifu Prefecture, since fiscal 2017. (The violin class will end in 2019.)

Mariko and Yuma are working to promote music education that allows free self-expression through improvisation, as well as performing and teaching younger students, mainly in Nagoya.