Shio Okui

Shio Okui is a musician distinguished by a rare combination of sensitivity, poetic depth, and extraordinary technique. Born in 2004, she began studying piano at the age of five and a half, and at seven she studied with the late Elena Ashkenazy. She made her orchestral debut at age 8 and, at 12, performed with the Mariinsky Orchestra under Valery Gergiev.
From the age of 10, she has performed regularly with conductor and violinist Vladimir Spivakov in various countries. In October 2019, at just 15 years old, she was appointed soloist for the European tour of the Moscow Virtuosi chamber orchestra, performing in major halls such as the Berlin Philharmonie, Vienna Musikverein, Prague Smetana Hall, and Hamburg Elbphilharmonie.
Since the age of 9, she has been invited to international music festivals and has appeared at prestigious venues including the Mariinsky Theatre, Fondation Louis Vuitton, and the Auditorio Nacional de Música in Madrid. She has frequently performed as soloist with major orchestras such as the Russian National Orchestra under Mikhail Pletnev, the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia with Vladimir Spivakov, the Tatarstan National Symphony Orchestra under Vladimir Fedoseyev, and the National Philharmonic of Ukraine under Mykola Diadura.
In Japan, she has collaborated with orchestras including the NHK Symphony Orchestra, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra, and Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra.
After studying at the Central Music School of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, she began studying in 2018 with Tatiana Zelikman at the Gnessin Special School of Music. In December 2019, she received the Scriabin Scholarship from the Alexander Scriabin Memorial Museum.
She has won numerous awards, including being the youngest prizewinner at the 2016 Grand Piano Competition in Moscow, first prize (junior category) at the 2015 Vladimir Krainev Moscow International Piano Competition, and second prize plus Audience Award at the international “Nutcracker” youth competition in 2013.
In April 2021 she received the “Classical Performer of the Year from a Partner Country” award at the BraVo Music Awards at the Bolshoi Theatre. Later recognitions include the International Paderewski Piano Competition (2022), the Prix Mireille Klemm from the Chopin Society Geneva (2024), and second prize at the Prix du Piano Bern (2025).
She graduated with top honors from the Gnessin Special School of Music in 2023 and is currently studying with Nelson Goerner at the Haute école de musique de Genève. She is a scholarship holder of the Vladimir Spivakov International Charity Foundation, ROHM Music Foundation, Theo and Petra Lieven International Piano Foundation (Hamburg), and the Rahn Kulturfonds.