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Hiromi’s Story

Every day, Hiromi writes in her journal. Her journal is not made with paper and she does not write with a pen. Every day, Hiromi writes with her piano and she expresses her thoughts with music.

Hiromi Uehara was born in Hamamatsu, Japan. The city of Hamamatsu is in the center of Japan, surrounded by green mountains, blue water, blossoming flowers, and big buildings. When Hiromi was 6 years old, she started playing piano in this lively and colorful city. Her teacher helped her to learn about music using colors. When it was time to play loud, Hiromi’s teacher colored that part of the music red with colored pencils. When it was time to play gently, her teacher said, “Play blue”.

Hiromi soon discovered that it’s fun to play many styles of music. She learned about classical, jazz, and rock. She learned that a song can be played in different styles to express different emotions. She even learned that one song can have many different musical styles mixed into it, just like how one painting can have many colors. At 6 years old, she began writing simple songs. With more practice, Hiromi learned how to use more and more colors. When Hiromi was 17 years old, she met a man named Chick Corea. Chick is a famous jazz pianist. He heard Hiromi play, and asked her right there to play with him at his concert the next day in Toyko! They played together again years later.

Hiromi has made 11 albums in a recording studio, 5 albums on a stage, and many more songs by teaming up with other musicians. She says, “Sometimes a song can take a long time to compose because I am determined to have each piece make sense. I try to have each piece tell a story. I sometimes rewrite things over and over again until they work as a whole.” Hiromi has won lots and lots of awards - not only because she was dedicated to learning about the piano, but also because she was dedicated to expressing her emotions with her music. Hiromi’s first teacher always said, “Music comes from heart to heart, not from fingers to the brain.”

Sometimes, people make an opinion about Hiromi before they meet her. They think that her music will be boring because she doesn’t sing. They think that Hiromi only plays “from fingers to the brain” because of where she grew up. Hiromi laughs at this idea and says, “Once they hear me play, they realize that musically, I go beyond gender and nationality.”

Hiromi now is known as one of the best pianists and composers! And Hiromi shares her advice with other musicians, “The reason I got to that level is because I just kept playing and playing.” Hiromi's story is still unfolding and she regularly performs around the world. Someday you could see one of her concerts!

Born March 26, 1979