About Us
Bridging East and West, past and future
— through the universal language of art.
Luminare is a cultural arts organization dedicated to delivering social messages through art.
It creates works that harmoniously bridge multiple cultures, languages, and eras — uniting East and West, past and future — through the refined language of classical music and a contemporary artistic vision.
FUMIYO MOTOYAMA
Composer · Conductor · Librettist · Artistic Director
Born in Kyoto, Japan / American nationality / Based in Seoul, South Korea
Education & Early Career
Graduated with honors (Red Diploma) from the Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory,
majoring in Composition under Alexander Tchaikovsky and Yuri Abdokov.
●2nd Prize, Pushkin International Composition Competition (Russia)
●Sonata for Violin and Piano — Performed at the Winners’ Concert, Great Hall of the Moscow
Conservatory
●Piano Concerto — Premiered by the Russian State Symphony Orchestra (Svetlanov
Memorial) under Felix Korobov, Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory (Graduation
Concert)
●Watercolor for Clarinet, Cello, and Harp — Selected for the 133rd Best Graduate Concert,
Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory
Selected Works & Premieres
1996 – Preludes for Flute Solo (St. Petersburg)
1997 – Sonata for Violin and Piano (Great Hall, Moscow Conservatory)
1998 – Line for Two Pianos (Rachmaninov Hall)
2000 – String Quartet (International Japanese Music Festival “The Heart of Japan”
, Rachmaninov Hall)
2002 – Piano Concerto (Russian State Symphony Orchestra, Great Hall, Moscow Conservatory)
Watercolor for Clarinet, Cello, and Harp (133rd Best Graduate Concert, Great Hall, Moscow
Conservatory)
2003 – Farewell for Cello and Chorus (Moscow) / My Journey (Dallas)
2004 – A Mother’s Prayer (Dallas Arts Gala) — for peace between Israel and Palestine
2005 – Songs of Light (Dallas) — Vocal and piano pieces based on her original poetry
2014 – The Love of Chunhyang (Universal Ballet, Seoul) — Recomposition and orchestral adaptation
based on Tchaikovsky’s music
2019–2023 – Postlude in Memoriam Gwangju, Fantasy on Amazing Grace, Concert Paraphrases on
Hymns, Reflections on Peace (Seoul)
2023 – Fantastic Animals (Hanuri Opera Arts Company) — Family opera inspired by
classical masterpieces; recomposition and orchestral arrangement
2025 – Starlit Isle – The Last Song — Original opera on human emotion and AI
(in production)
2026 – Le Narval – Un Verre d’Amitié (The Narval – A Toast to Friendship) — Bilingual
French–Korean music theatre commemorating the 140th anniversary of Korea–France relations
(in production)
Ballet & Stage Music
Motoyama has collaborated extensively with the Universal Ballet Company, providing orchestration
for Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, and Don Quixote.
Her landmark work, The Love of Chunhyang (2014), reimagined Tchaikovsky’s music through new
symphonic interludes and orchestral recomposition, bridging Western lyricism with Korean
dramaticstorytelling.
The production received the E Daily Culture Award – Grand Prize (2019) and was performed
internationally, including at the Royal Opera House Muscat, Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo
Domingo, and the Bolshoi Theatre Gala (2023).
This project established Motoyama as a leading figure in cross-cultural symphonic theatre, refining
her orchestral language for later operatic works.
Opera & Music Theatre Projects
●Fantastic Animals (2023) — Family opera, touring nationwide
●Starlit Isle – The Last Song (2025, in production) — Original opera on human emotion and AI.
Motoyama serves as librettist, composer, artistic director, and assistant conductor, leading
both the musical and conceptual development.
●Le Narval – Un Verre d’Amitié (The Narval – A Toast to Friendship) (2026, in production) —
French–Korean bilingual music theatre with Sebastian Droy and Chae Wook Lim of Radio
France
Orchestral & Choral Collaborations (Selected)
●Russian State Symphony Orchestra — Premiere of Piano Concerto (Felix Korobov, cond.)
●Novosibirsk Philharmonic Orchestra — The Love of Chunhyang, Don Quixote recordings
●Ivano-Frankivsk Philharmonie Orchestra (Ukraine) — Fantasy on Amazing Grace
●Korea National Symphony Orchestra — Don Quixote
●Gangnam Symphony Orchestra, Korea Coop Orchestra — The Love of Chunhyang
Positions
●Principal Composer, Hanuri Opera Company (2023–present)
●Founder & Artistic Director, Luminare Studio – Creative Arts Initiative (in formation, New
York–Seoul)