Everything is Alive

WALTZ OF THE BLACK ANTS

2011

Composed by Tetsuro Hoshii

Performed by Boston Cello Quartet

Blaise Dejardin, Cello

Alexandre Lecarme, Cello

Adam Esbensen, Cello

Mihail Jojatu, Cello

Tetsuro Hoshii is a Japanese composer, pianist, and arranger based in Brooklyn, New York. His music and arrangements have been heard at Arthur Ashe Stadium, Tanglewood, and Carnegie Hall, and performed by musicians of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Boston Symphony Orchestra. Moving freely between contemporary jazz, chamber music, improvisation, and American musical traditions, his work is defined by a strong melodic identity, rhythmic curiosity, and an instinct for bringing different musical worlds together.

In 2023, Hoshii co-arranged America the Beautiful / Lift Every Voice and Sing with John Sheppard for the US Open Men’s Singles Final at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The arrangement was performed by Grammy Award-winning baritone Will Liverman, Metropolitan Opera Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin on piano, and members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and was broadcast live on ESPN.

His concert music has been performed at Tanglewood and in New York by ensembles including Decoda and the New York Symphonic Brass. His collaboration with the Boston Cello Quartet, formed by members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, began with the world premiere of Waltz of the Black Ants at Tanglewood in 2011. The work was later recorded on the quartet’s album Pictures, which reached the iTunes Classical Top 50. Hoshii went on to write additional works for the ensemble, including The Life of Birds and Four Crayons.

New York Symphonic

Brass

Composition | Collaboration

Since 2012, New York Symphonic Brass has performed my music annually. The ensemble brings together players from the Metropolitan Opera and other leading New York orchestras. In 2026, I will premiere my first new work for the group in eleven years.

The Adventures of Pinpi and Danda

Music Education | Piano

A beginner piano method built around original music, characters, and storytelling. Designed to make the fundamentals of piano approachable for children and adults, the book was first published in 2015. A newly revised edition is now in development for publication in 2027.

Boston Cello Quartet

Composition | Collaboration | Chamber

From 2011 to 2013, I wrote three works for the Boston Cello Quartet, made up of musicians from the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Waltz of the Black Ants was recorded on their 2013 debut album Pictures and premiered at Tanglewood.

Circle Score

Experimental Music | Open Form

Developed during my 2024 artist residency in Norway, Circle Score is an experimental system of circular notation. Performers can enter the score at different points, shaping their own path through the music. New Circle Score projects are now developing in New York.

US Open Ceremony

Music Arrangement | Collaboration

In 2023, I co-arranged America the Beautiful and Lift Every Voice and Sing with John Sheppard for the US Open men’s final ceremony. The arrangement was performed at Arthur Ashe Stadium by Will Liverman, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and musicians of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.

The Doggy Cats

Conceptual Band | Brass Band

A six-piece brass band I founded in New York in 2015, blending jazz, American roots music, and an irreverent sense of fun. The Doggy Cats performed regularly at Sunny’s Bar in Brooklyn and at events including the Keyport Music Festival in New Jersey.

Performance Schedule

Upcoming performances, concerts, and other live events in New York and beyond. From solo piano and small ensembles to collaborative projects, this is where you can find out where I’ll be playing next.

Music Projects

A collection of music projects from over the years, including original compositions, bands, arrangements, recordings, and collaborations. Together they trace the different directions my music has taken and the musicians and communities I have worked with along the way.

Hoshii studied at Senzoku College of Music in Japan before attending Berklee College of Music, where he studied jazz composition and received the Wayne Shorter Award. At Berklee, he presented his own music with the Tetsuro Hoshii Orchestra at the Berklee Performance Center, writing for both big band and string orchestra.

After moving to New York, Hoshii continued to develop projects that blur the boundaries between composition and improvisation. In 2015 he founded The Doggy Cats, a six-piece brass ensemble whose music combines jazz, brass-band traditions, and a playful sense of musical storytelling. Their 2019 album Daikon Pizza received international radio exposure, including NPR’s Fresh Air.

In 2026, Hoshii released Everything is Alive, a 20-track solo piano album centered on improvisation. Recorded in a single session on a Fazioli piano at Big Orange Sheep in Brooklyn and mixed and mastered at Rainbow Studio in Oslo, the album reveals a quieter side of his work, where lyrical improvisation, contemporary jazz, and modern classical language meet. The album was reviewed by the UK’s Jazz Journal, which noted its reflective and tranquil character.

Hoshii is also the creator of Circle Score, an experimental music-reading and performance system developed during an artist residency in Norway in 2024. Across his work as a composer and pianist, he remains interested in music as something alive: structured but flexible, serious without losing humor, and always open to surprise.