Sayaka Nakaya was born in Hiroshima, Japan. She graduated from the Music High School Attached to The Faculty of Music, Tokyo University of the Arts.
She has studied at the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music with Professor Tatiana Zelikman on scholarships sponsored by the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation and the Russian Government.

She received prestigious scholarships from the Japanese Government Overseas Study Program for Artists in 2016.

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She performed with the State Chamber Orchestra of the Republic of Belarus, Dubna Symphony Orchestra, Yaroslavl Symphony Orchestra, Hamamatsu Symphony Orchestra led by Evgeny Bushkov, Murad Annamamedov, Hikaru Ebihara.

In 2015 she has been chosen as one of CHANEL Pygmalion Days Artists, she also played at the inaugural Music Festival for Young Talented Musicians at Moscow’s National Pushkin Museum and the Music Festival "La Folle Journée" in Tokyo, at the Japanese ambassador's residence in Russia.
She appeared in the educational TV programs on RTVi and TNB.

 

In 2014, 3rd prize at the Hamamatsu International Piano Academy Competition.

In 2016, 2nd prize at the International Competition Skavronsky in Memoriam and 3rd prize at the International Competition Medtner in Memoriam.

In 2017 she became a laureate and she recieved Yamaha music prize in Romantic music festival for young pianist in Moscow.

 

She has studied piano under Machiko Tomotani, Katsuko Kaneko, Emiko Harimoto, Susumu Aoyagi, Elena Ashkenazy and Tatiana Zelikman.