Artist Bio

Sato Matsui is a Japanese-born composer based in Paris whose music reflects a richly layered cultural perspective, drawing on traditional Japanese sonorities and her lifelong classical training in counterpoint, harmony, and orchestration. A recipient of the Charles Ives Award and a Fulbright Scholarship, Matsui has established an international presence with performances in major venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Wigmore Hall, the National Concert Hall, and the Petit Palais.

Matsui holds a Doctorate in Composition from The Juilliard School, where she studied with Robert Beaser. She later continued her studies in Paris at the Schola Cantorum de Paris with Michel Merlet, a student of Olivier Messiaen. Her music has been championed by leading performers including violinist Jeanne‑Marie Conquer of the Ensemble Intercontemporain, flutists Carol Wincenc and Thomas Tavares, and pianists Anna Tsybuleva and Rieko Tsuchida.

Recent highlights include a Flute Concerto commissioned for Carol Wincenc and premiered at the National Flute Association Gala Concert at Symphony Hall in 2023. In April 2024, her piano work L’Oiseau solaire received its U.S. premiere at Carnegie Hall performed by pianist and composer Will Healy. In 2025, her song cycle Songs of Curiosity received its UK premiere at Wigmore Hall with soprano Ema Nikolovska and pianist Hikaru Kanki. Earlier works include Hanasaka Jiisan, commissioned by Cornelia Sommer for the International Double Reed Society Conference in Denver, and the orchestral work Kinokonoko, premiered by the New Juilliard Ensemble at Lincoln Center.

Matsui is the Founder and Artistic Director of IMAGO, a Paris-based chamber music ensemble dedicated to both classical repertoire and new works, often exploring interdisciplinary collaborations across music, literature, and visual art. Alongside her creative work, she is actively engaged in musicological research and currently serves as Chief Editor of the complete songs of Erik Satie for Éditions Durand‑Salabert‑Eschig.

Her artistic residencies have included the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and the New York Choreographic Institute, and she has appeared as a guest artist at the Sarasota Music Festival.

Matsui lives in Paris with her husband and daughter, where she teaches at the Conservatoire Erik Satie in the 7th arrondissement.