Biography

Tohi Harada is a Japanese guitarist studying at the Royal Academy of Music in London with a scholarship, and he has been awarded top prizes at many international competitions.

He first took up the guitar at the age of 3, and during his childhood in Japan, he won first place in more than ten junior competitions. He was also actively volunteering and performing in various care homes.

In 2019, he was awarded 1st Prize at the East End International Guitar Competition in Japan. This led to the opportunity to release his first debut album ‘To-i’ in 2020, which received the ‘Recording prize.’ In his debut solo concert in 2021, he performed Picture at the Exhibition (by Modest Mussorgsky). This gained nationwide attention and was broadcasted on Japanese national television.

In the same year, he travelled abroad to study in London at the Royal Academy of Music under Professor Michael Lewin. He has recently been awarded the Julian Bream Trust Scholarship for three consecutive years, along with 2nd Prize and the ‘Audience Prize at the Aalborg Guitar Competition (Denmark) in 2022, 1st Prize at Albania International Guitar Competition (Albania) in 2023, 1st Prize at Veria International Guitar Competition (Greece) in 2023, 1st Prize at ‘Ida Presti’ International Guitar Competition (Croatia) in 2024, 1st Prize at Guitar Art International Competition (Serbia) in 2024,and 1st Prize at Brussels International Guitar Competition (Belgium) in 2024, 1st Prize at Ivor Mairants Guitar Award (UK) in 2025.

Award: Ivor Mairants Guitar Award 2025