Yumiko Matsuoka, originally from Tokyo, Japan, is a graduate of, and a professor in the
Ear Training Department of the Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. She has also taught vocal writing in the Contemporary Writing and Production Department. While studying at Berklee Matsuoka founded
Vox One to fulfill her dreams of writing for and performing in an a cappella ensemble.
Matsuoka’s compositions and arrangements can be heard on all of Vox One’s albums, her anthology To Every Thing There Is a Season, and on recordings by other a cappella groups around the globe. Recent works include arrangements of the Beatles songs for
Houston Chamber Choir, a composition celebrating the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death for
Stile Antico (UK) and
Folger Consort (Washington, DC), as well as chapters on a cappella arranging for A Cappella Perfect Book Advanced, published in Japan. Matsuoka has also written for Japanese TV commercials including Toyota, Sharp, Meiji Seika, and Japan Energy Corporation. Besides sheetmusicdirect.com and sheetmusicplus.com, her works have been published by the
University of Northern Colorado Jazz Press and by
Edition Kawai in Japan. She is active as a coach and adjudicator, and gives workshops throughout the U.S., Japan and Korea. Since 1998, she has served as an adjunct faculty member for ensemble singing workshops hosted by a New York-based ensemble, the
Western Wind.