Pianist Tomoko Nakai is fighting stage IV stomach cancer while striving to sustain her music bases in Austria and Japan. She seeks support for two years of medical costs, living expenses, and studio maintenance.

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My name is Tomoko Nakai, a concert pianist. I began playing the piano at the age of two and moved to the United States in early childhood. I studied under the beloved disciples of Wilhelm Kempff, Robert Levin, and Hans Kann, including H. Karp. At age eight, I gave my first recital at Murphy Hall of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. After returning to Japan, I went on to win numerous prizes in competitions both domestically and internationally. Upon graduating from Toho Gakuen School of Music, I was recommended for admission to the prestigious Prayner Conservatory in Vienna, where I was appointed as a professor’s assistant while still a student. I taught international students while completing my studies with highest honors. I later obtained Austria’s official artist performance qualification and was awarded the Ausgezeichnet Prize, given only to exceptionally distinguished musicians.

Since my student years, I have held recitals across Japan and Austria, performed solo and duo concerts at major venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York and leading Austrian halls, and appeared at international music festivals. I have frequently collaborated with renowned musicians and appeared in various media. While maintaining concert activities between Japan and Europe, I also worked as a professor’s assistant at international competitions, music universities, and masterclasses in Vienna. Around 15 years ago, I founded my own agency, Office Eisvogel, through which I have recently been running a music hub together with fellow musicians.

You can find my full profile here:

Office Eisvogel – Artist Page: Tomoko Nakai, English and German.

https://www.office-eisvogel.com/artist/nakai-tomoko/

As reported in the media this August, a series of medical examinations conducted in Japan and abroad since July revealed that I have stage IV stomach cancer with peritoneal dissemination and lymph node metastasis. Emergency treatment in Japan became essential starting in September. In Austria, my case is still considered to be in the clinical trial phase, and all doctors strongly recommended that I pursue treatment in Japan. However, the financial burden of medical costs, living expenses, and maintaining my music base is immense, while my ability to work has been severely limited.

With your support covering two years of expenses — medical treatment, daily living, and the upkeep of my combined office and music studio — I hope not only to continue nurturing my will to live and my connection to music, but also to fully prepare for my return to the stage. Your support will become my source of hope and strength, and it will help preserve vital cultural exchange between Japan and Europe.

I would be deeply grateful for any help you can offer. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for your kindness and support.

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Funding Goal

• Medical treatment assistance: ¥2,500,000

(after Japan’s high-cost medical care subsidy)

• Living expense support: ¥2,500,000

• Studio/office maintenance and management costs: ¥6,000,000