Tokyo-born Melbournian violinist tells untold stories with music

Tokyo-born Melbournian violinist Kyla Matsuura-Miller, winner 2021 Freedman Classical Fellowship

Tokyo-born Melbournian violinist Kyla Matsuura-Miller, winner 2021 Freedman Classical Fellowship Source: Suzie Blake

Kyla Matsuura-Miller won the 2021 Freedman Classical Fellowship. As a recipient of the prize, Ms Matsuura-Miller will work on a newly commissioned work to tell untold stories, with music.


Ms Matsuura-Miller was born in Tokyo and moved to Australia when she was just a three-month old.

As a girl with Japanese background who grew up in a bilingual environment in Australia, Ms Matsuura-Miller started considering music as her third language, after English and Japanese, to express herself.

Ms Matsuura-Miller gradually realized that the music she plays does not necessary reflect her culture or heritage.  So she decided to create music to tell untold stories of people who haven't been represented well enough in music so far.

As a recipient of the 2021 Freedman Classical Fellowship, Ms Matsuura-Miller is working on her new ongoing project titled 'Three Conversations'.

In the audio, Ms Matsuura-Miller shares her experience as biracial and bilingual kid in Australia and talks about her music.

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