Teru Yoshihara

Teru Yoshihara is a Professor at the State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart, appointed in 2019 after serving as lecturer and tutor since 2007. A baritone, he made his operatic debut in 1995 as Sharpless in Puccini's Madame Butterfly and has performed extensively in Europe and Japan with conductors including Nello Santi and Helmuth Rilling.

Education:

• Tokyo State University of Music and the Arts
• Milan (intensive Italian bel canto studies)
• Stuttgart State University of Music and Performing Arts (Lied class of Prof. Konrad Richter and opera school under Bernhard Gärtner)

His artistic research centers on vocal performance with dual emphasis on European repertoire and Japanese musical traditions. He pioneered the integration of Japanese art songs into European concert circuits through the German-Japanese Dialogue initiative, creating programs juxtaposing German and Japanese Lieder while collaborating with traditional musicians specializing in koto, taiko, and sho calligraphy. His work explores intersections of Japanese poetry, aesthetics, and phonetics within Western musical frameworks.

Awards:

• First Prize at the Japanese Song Competition in Tokyo (1996)

Professor Yoshihara maintains a dual focus on professional performance and pedagogy. He specializes in guiding young male voices through vocal transition periods and has taught Japanese studies at the University of Tübingen. As a jury member for Jugend musiziert, he actively mentors emerging talent, with former students now performing at major German opera houses including Nationaltheater Munich, Stuttgart Opera, and Theater am Gärtnerplatz Munich.

His primary artistic collaboration is with pianist Felix Romankiewicz, with whom he developed cross-cultural performance programs. He also partners with traditional Japanese musicians and organist Johannes Mayr for experimental improvisational projects blending European and Japanese musical traditions.