Renate Tsuyako Rohlfing

Winner of the Sonderpreis Klavier (Special Pianists’ Prize) at the 2016 Internationaler Wettbewerb für Liedkunst Stuttgart, Renate Rohlfing is active as a pianist and music therapist. She's performed at the most prestigious festivals and halls around the world, including Carnegie Hall, the Ravinia Festival, Amsterdam’s Muziekgebouw, London’s Royal Albert Hall, and the David Koch Theater at Lincoln Center. She's known for "masterfully blending colors and crafting lyrical, breathing phrases" (New York Classical Review) and is a second prize winner in the Wigmore Hall Song Competition.

Rohlfing has served as a resident pianist at festivals such as the Cincinnati May Festival under the baton of James Conlon, and was invited for four seasons to return to the Ravinia Festival. Other career highlights include engagements at the National Gallery of Art, Wigmore Hall, Schloss Elmau, and the Isabella Gardner Museum; recitals with baritone Äneas Humm at Musikfest Bremen, Schloss Bellevue, and Beethoven Haus Bonn; and a return to music staff at Spoleto Festival USA.

As a graduate of New York University's master's degree in music psychotherapy program, Rohlfing is passionate about integrating music and public health. She's focused on researching the impact of music on neurodiverse populations, particularly children with autism spectrum disorder, and she develops projects that use music to process grief and enhance connections within communities. She’s also cofounder of Sounds That Carry, which supports arts organizations in field research and program/curriculum design. She's currently working on post-graduate training in analytical music therapy and advanced certification at the Nordoff-Robbins Foundation. A native of Honolulu, Hawaii, she's a graduate of the Juilliard School.