UTARI is a percussion duo project by sisters Haruka Fujii - a percussionist of the Grammy Award winning Silkroad Ensemble, based in San Francisco Bay Area – and Rika Fujii – multi percussionist in Tokyo known for her performances in solo, chamber music, orchestra and the female Taiko group Hono Daiko. Utari’s passion for Japanese modern percussion music has led them to tour internationally for the past ten years. Following the path of their mother Mutsuko Fujii, noted marimbist of Japan, they have been introducing Japanese percussion works at major venues throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Recent appearances include a New York recital at Lincoln Center, a concert at Koerner Hall in Toronto, and showcase performances at the PASIC percussion convention.
Utari’s mission is to introduce audiences to master works which are not known outside of Japan, many of which are written for and dedicated to Mutsuko Fujii by luminary composers Maki Ishii, Akira Miyoshi, Isao Matsushita and Akira Nishimura. In addition to music from Japan’s “golden age” of modern music, Utari actively works with and performs music by young composers who are defining the sound of the current generation.