Takako Haggarty
KOTO BRISBANE’s founder, Takako Haggarty, brings the classic sounds of Japan alive through her mastery of the Koto. Takako is the greatest exponent of this ancient Japanese instrument across Queensland. Takako is also a performance player of another ancient Japanese instrument, the Shamisen. She performs classical Japanese pieces that she grew up with, but also enjoys exploring new boundaries and creating new styles, fusing the classic sounds of Japan with other instruments. Takako is a regular performer as both a solo artist and in various ensembles.
Takako Haggarty was born in Otsu, Japan. Takako started learning koto at age of six from the Great Grand Master Shizu Fujino from the Ikuta Ryu Miyagi school founded by Michio Miyagi. At the age of 16, Takako expanded her musical studies at the Ikuta Ryu Miyagi school to include playing the shamisen.
From an early age, Takako also began performing in public playing both the koto and the shamisen for her koto school. In 2000, Takako got her teaching license from the Miyagi school of Tokyo. She passed both her koto and shamisen exams, coming in the top ten from all of Japan in her year.
After her first visit to Australia in 2001 as an exchange teacher of Japanese, Takako went back to Japan and taught English to Junior and Senior high school students. in 2004, Takako moved to Newcastle to complete her Master of Educational Studies.
Takako moved to Brisbane in 2005. Since arriving in Brisbane, she has been involved in a number of public and private performances. She has awarded her PhD from the Creative Industries faculty of the Queensland University of Technology in 2023. Her research explored intercultural music education for students with vision impairment and intellectual disability.