Yoko Yates

Yoko Yates is a talented composer, pianist, and educator originally from Sapporo City, Japan. Starting keyboard lessons at the age of four, she was raised in a music-loving family and classically trained, but her passion for improvisation pushed her to develop a unique and innovative compositional style that blends various musical genres and visual arts influences. She holds a B.A. in music from Berklee College of Music, graduating summa cum laude, a Master’s in Education from Lesley University, and pursued doctoral studies in music education at Columbia University. Yoko has been an active piano faculty member at Greenwich House Music School and the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music since 1996, even serving as the piano chair at Brooklyn Conservatory from 2011 to 2013.

Her music reflects her love of nature and storytelling and has been featured in several international documentaries and media, including “Mothers’ Way, Daughters’ Choice” and “9.11, My Journey of Jasmine.” In 2022, she released her first leader album, *Mystic Life*, which showcases her original compositions performed by a notable quintet. Her recent works, including *Eternal Moments* and *Outer Space – Myriad Stars!*, highlight her ongoing creative output and deep emotional expressiveness in jazz and beyond.

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