We are delighted to share that we will have 2 talented musicians who will be performing at our upcoming Joint Networking Event with the ACCJ at the Ambassador's Residence!

Fiddler Dai Komatsu of Ode Inc., an IJCC Corporate member, and harpist Shinobu Narita of Stella Musica will be playing a set of traditional Irish music. We are honoured to have such skilled musicians bring Irish music to life at our special event.

We have reached max capacity for the event, but are taking registrations on waitlist. For those who have already registered, we are looking forward to welcoming on the day!

Please view the full profiles of our musicians below:

Dai Komatsu, Fiddler

Dai came across Irish traditional music in 2004 and visited Ireland 2 years later and stayed in county Clare where the traditional music is prosperous. There he studied traditional music from the well-known local fiddle player Pat O’Connor for about 3 months and became a frequent visitor to Ireland from that time on. 

After he came back to Japan, he co-established an organization called Blackbird Music with Care-based Erika Mochizuki and together they made huge efforts to introduce Irish traditional music to a Japanese audience. Some of his notable work includes producing hugely succeeded ‘Irish Days 2012 -Life with Music-’ which was hosted by the House of Culture in Nagakute, Aichi prefecture, performing the dedication music for the world-famous Ise-Shrine in 2013, and winning the judge’s award in Ceili Competition 2015 hosted by CCE Japan. He also performed on the biggest stage of St. Patricks' Day in Tokyo in Yoyogi Park in 2018.

In 2019, he established Ode.inc, a company which produces music events and it has produced several outside events in various places. The company also was in charge of some important promotion of the Rugby World Cup 2019. 

Not only active as a producer, Dai is also engaging exceedingly in performing Irish traditional music himself and he has played countless places all over Japan and has performed together with some of the best Irish traditional musicians here such as Pat O’Connor, Eoghan O’Sullivan, Dave Flynn and Cormac Begley. His playing has fascinated many audiences with his deep understanding of traditional music with the solid rhythm and flawless control of his instrument which he studied at the Aichi University of Arts.

Shinobu Narita, Harpist

As a harpist, she performs solo and in support of orchestras, choirs and theatre productions on numerous occasions. She also runs 'Harp Clubs' in Mitaka City, Saitama City and Tsukuba City, where she teaches harp performance from young children to senior citizens. She has conducted more than 60 'online harp clubs' to date, sharing the traditions and trends of Irish harping, and organising harp sessions to enjoy the repertoire.
She is the first Japanese harpist to compete in the Fleadh Cheoil (Fleadh Cheoil/Irish International Music Competition) main competition in 2019. December '20 Gold prize in the harp category of the CCE Japan organised online music competition. Aug '21 Second prize at Flead Fest in Sligo, Ireland. In '22 and '23, participated in Fleadh Cheoil's harp solo, slow air and trio categories in the main competition. In '21 she was credited as a soloist in the J.Harbison film 'Colmcille'. She graduated from the Tokyo University of the Arts with a degree in instrumental music (harp) and completed a master's degree in instrumental music (harp). She is a member of the Japan Society for Music Education, the Japan Harp Society and the Musicians' Association of Ireland. She is also a representative of Stella Musica http://www.stellamusica.com.