Since founding the Bach Collegium Japan in 1990, Masaaki Suzuki has established himself as a leading authority on the works of J. S. Bach. As their music director, he has taken them to major venues and festivals, earning them an outstanding reputation. In addition to working with renowned period ensembles such as the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Suzuki is regularly invited to conduct a diverse range of repertoires for orchestras including the New York Philharmonic and the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra. His impressive discography on the BIS label, featuring Bach’s choral and harpsichord works, received high critical praise. The Bach Collegium Japan recently completed an epic recording of the complete Bach cantatas.

Also a distinguished organist and harpsichordist, Suzuki is Professor Emeritus at the Tokyo University of the Arts and was a faculty member at the Yale School of Music. He has received several awards for his contributions to music, including the Leipzig Bach Medal (2012) and the Royal Academy of Music Bach Prize (2013).