Reiko Ichise is one of Britain's leading performers on the viola da gamba.
Born in Tokyo, Reiko Ichise began her musical training as a pianist. She read musicology at the Kunitachi College of Music where she started playing the viola da gamba, studying with Yukimi Kanbe and Tetsuya Nakano.
In 1991 she moved to Britain to study viola da gamba with Richard Boothby, a founding member of Fretwork. While at the Royal Conservatory of Music, she won the concerto prize and completed her post-graduate study with distinction.
Reiko has performed extensively throughout the UK as chamber musician and soloist, appearing in venues including the Royal Festival Hall, Wigmore Hall and the Royal Opera House.
She has worked with many leading conductors and orchestras including Sir John Eliot Gardiner and the English Baroque Soloists, Sir David Willcocks and the English Chamber Orchestra, Paul McCreesh and the Gabrieli Consort, and Kurt Masur and the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
Since 2001 she has been a core member of Florilegium. Reiko regularly works with early music ensembles including Concordia, Passacaglia, Charivari Agreable and the Early Opera Company. She has recorded chamber music for Lynn, Metronome, ASV and deux-elles.