Artist Statement
Meditation is the key to making Raura’s music.
She says, every sound she makes brings her great joy.
The beautiful and graceful music reflects her aesthetics and philosophy.
It brings out the inner beauty in people and spreads magic into their surrounding space.
She considers the fading of the sound and the silence between notes as part of her “art,”
which has its roots in Asian aesthetics.
PROFILE
RAURA EMMA SUZUKI
Artist/crystal singing bowl performer
Musician/contemporary artist
As a Japanese musician, contemporary artist and crystal singing bowl performer/artist based in France and Japan, she has appeared on stages around the world, including at World Heritage Sites and international symposiums. L’Oréal, Shiseido, Van Cleef & Arpels, BMW, De Beers, Audi and numerous other famous brands have featured her work at events and installations. As an expert on crystal singing bowls, her extensive experience includes music production, music provision and producing background music for spaces. She founded the Crystal Resonance Institute, the world’s first education and research institute for crystal singing bowls.
Beyond her work as a performing musician, she is also engaged in various creative endeavors as a contemporary artist. Her artistic creations include acoustic works using crystals and visual pieces that draw pictures in space with sound.
About crystal singing bowl
The Crystal Singing Bowl is a musical instrument made of Crystal, Ruby, Diamond, Rose Quartz, Emerald, and other gemstones.
The healing effect from the Crystal Singing Bowl on health and beauty has attracted attention in recent years. It has been utilized in Yoga, therapies, luxurious hotel resort spas, movie music, healing surround sounds, and in many other situations.
STORY
Raura’s childhood & Discovering the Crystal singing bowl:
Raura loved to draw as a child and enjoyed going to art classes.
Her first contact with the singing bowl was in 2002. It all started at a spa in Taiwan, where the singing bowl was used as part of healing therapy.
For Raura, who had been deepening her knowledge in practices such as color therapy, psychology, traditional health maintenance methods, yoga, meditation and holistic beauty care, discovering the singing bowl felt as though fate had lead her to it.
Initially Raura was not aspiring to be a performer. Rather she was drawn to the serene spa environment and practices such as color therapy through which she was in pursuit of answers to the questions of “how to be content” and “how people can find happiness.” From the moment the mystical tones of the Crystal singing bowl hit her ears, it began to change Raura’s life, adding color to it with it’s enchanting sound.
She explains, “I can actually see the notes of the crystal. This encounter will allow me to use space as my medium, instead of the white canvas.”
For Raura, who as a child loved to paint and found joy in coloring her imaginary world, the sound of the crystal brought her a world of infinite possibilities of color and imagination.
As a pioneer of the Crystal singing bowl:
Raura became a Crystal singing bowl performer in Japan, and released three albums. Soon after she relocated to the U.S.A., and collaborated with Crystal Resonance Lab, owned by Crystal Tones to do research on the sounds of the Crystal singing bowls. Together with engineers specializing in the Crystal singing bowl, they explored the possibilities of the instrument developing playing and recording techniques. She produced three more albums at this time. Simultaneously, Raura began preparations for setting up an International standard for an educational curriculum for the Crystal singing bowl.
She has established this standard curriculum which she now offers through Crystal Resonance Institute.
Raura reminisced about her time in America, saying “I was so fortunate to be provided with a place to live, a studio and engineers to do research with. It was a perfect environment where I could immerse myself in Crystal singing bowl. All day, I thought about it, talked about it, my whole life revolved around it.” But after two years living this way she begins to feel like “I have done all I can here.” “I had a sense that at this rate I would be taken over by the Crystal singing bowl.” She explains this sense was unique to Raura who had essentially lived as though she had offered up her soul to the instrument. She chose to leave this perfect environment in 2013 and headed for Europe with her instrument in hand.
If you would like more information on “Crystal Resonance Institute,” please refer to the link.
Days in America, and to Europe:
Raura began her career in Europe, first living in Switzerland, then relocating to Germany, while working on a wide variety of projects. She participated in a German label music album, collaborated in projects with fashion brands, and appeared on stage in a theater in New York City. In 2014, she moved and settled in Paris.
In Paris, Raura opened her studio by the River Seine. She continues to be active as a Crystal singing bowl performer, working on her albums, performing concerts, many at churches and theaters, and collaborating on joint projects with numerous French and other artists. She has also founded the world’s first Crystal singing bowl education and research organization, “Crystal Resonance Institute,” using her knowledge based on her research in America,
On reasons of choosing Paris, she says “I feel like I can be myself here. Living in this country made me hopeful that I could make music that is purest and most authentic to me.” Her hopes are reflected in the words “Lumière de Paris,” which she has been using as the title for her performances. (As of 2018, she has had 13 shows)
Protected by the culture in Paris that honors and respects artists, she has felt free and uninhibited to explore the sounds of the Crystal singing bowl. Immersed in the city’s beauty, she continues to seek the “Sound of Raura.”
Raura’s music is an expression of her internal landscape, inspired by her worldly travels and living in this era. In this scenery, one can see the “techniques” she has acquired in America whilst working with a Crystal singing bowl manufacturer, the “sensibility” cultivated in France and her “individuality” naturally engrained in her from being born and raised in Japan. All these combined, makes a truly unique blend that is Raura’s music. If her music moves you in anyway, there must be something within you that resonates with her message.
RAURA’S MAJOR PERFORMANCES
| 10 Oct, 2020 | National Arts Festival (Agency for Cultural Affairs JAPAN) - Paris lumière de Paris |
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| 15 Jun, 2019 | Tokyo, Japan - Stage appearance with actress Rina Uchiyama for Elle Magazine's "Elle Women in Society 2019" event |
| 8 Jun, 2019 | Kyoto, Japan - Performance at Taro Hakase Musical Festival: Offering Ceremony for the Enthronement of the Emperor at the World Heritage site, Kamigamo Shrine, sponsored by Kayanoya |
| 23 May, 2019 | Hiroshima, Japan - Performance for the offering ceremony at the World Heritage site, Itsukushima Shrine |
| 5 Oct, 2018 | Paris, France - 10th Paris performance of "Lumière de Paris: The Music of the Singing Crystal and Dance Show" produced by Raura and performed at L'Association, Les Voûtes, Paris |
| 2 Oct, 2018 | Paris, France - Performance at Bertin Poirée with a creative unit, "Chaji" whose studio is based in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Paris |
| 26 Mar, 2018 | Paris, France - Guest appearance at Taro Hakase's concert sponsored by ANA held at the World Heritage site, Sainte Chapelle, celebrating the 160th Anniversary of Franco-Japanese Diplomatic Relation |
| 3 Mar, 2017 | Paris - Succeeding in performing her 10th concert "L'Univers du Blanc" |
| 4 Apr, 2016 | Van Cleef & Arpels, Gina, Grand Opening Party - Performance at the French Ambassador's residence |
| 11 Nov, 2015 | Hario Corporation - Performance with Togi Hideki at "HARIO Kai" |
| 11 Nov, 2015 | Paris - Concert performance at the Corporate Cultural Events hosted by the District Chief of the 8th arrondissement |
| 11 Nov, 2015 | Kyoto - Performance at the "International Conference Celebrating 400 Years of Rimpa School of Japanese Painting" |
| 2015.03.03 | Kyoto - Performance at the "International Conference Celebrating 400 Years of Rimpa School of Japanese Painting" |
| 3 Mar, 2015 | Kai Corporation - Concert at The 13th Corporate Cultural Events |
| 3 Mar, 2015 | Shiseido - Performance at their "Clé de Peau Beauté" product launching event |
| 2 Feb, 2015 | Paris - Solo concert at Maison de la Culture du Japon |
| 2014 Dec | New York - Stage appearance on "The Day After MILK," sponsored by PCP Media |
| 6 June, 2014 | Paris - First concert in France at Cathedrale Sainte Croix |
| 2013 | Belgium - Atelier Relef releases an art piece modeled on Raura |
| 2013 | Spain - Alex Vinash & Crystal Music x Fashion collaboration project |
| 6 June, 2013 | CGF Global Summit - Performance at "L'Oréal Gala Party" |
| 6 June, 2010 | BMW Group Mobility of the Future, Innovation Days in Japan (A sound installation at their first hybrid car launching event) |
EXHIBITIONS
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
| 29 Dec, 2023 - 18 Feb, 2024 | ANA InterContinental Mnaza Beach Resort - RAURA EMMA SUZUKI "Sound Memory" |
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| 16 Jun, 2023 - 29 Feb, 2024 | TENNOZ Rim [the DOCK] Office ART - RAURA EMMA SUZUKI Exhibition - "Memories - Beyond" |
| 28 Mar, 2021 - 2 Apr, 2021 | Gallery Q - RAURA EMMA SUZUKI -MEMORY- Ginza, Tokyo, Japan |
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
| 1 Mar, 2023 - 31 May, 2023 | Group Exhibition at Atami Yamaguchi Museum - Display of 2 artworks |
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| 19 Dec, 2022 - 24 Dec, 2022 | Group Exhibition Gallery Q Ginza - Heartwarming 2022 |
| 27 Nov, 2022 - 19 May, 2023 | The 24th Mitsui Fudosan Retail Management Office Art Exhibition, Tokyo, Japan |
| 28 Sep, 2022 - 4 Oct, 2022 | France Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts (SNBA) |
| 26 Aug, 2022 - 30 Aug, 2022 | The Ueno Royal Museum - The 35th Japanese Nature Painting Exhibition |
| 7 Jun, 2022 - 13 Jun, 2022 | Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum - Women Artists Association Exhibition |
| 8 Aug, 2021 - 3 Oct, 2021 | Sado Island Galaxy Art Festival - "Lake Kamo Sound Installation / Sound Installation Box" Niigata, Japan |
| 10 Apr, 2021 - 18 Apr, 2021 | Crypto Art Fest - "Nectar of Light, World of the Butterfly" Online Virtual Exhibition |