Akira Senju

Japanese composer, arranger and conductor

Instrumental
Anime soundtrack
Video game
Semi-classical
Classical

Occupation(s)Composer, orchestrator, music producerYears active1986–presentLabelsUniversal Music JapanWebsitewebsite

Musical artist

Akira Senju (Japanese: 千住明, Hepburn: Senju Akira, born October 21, 1960) is a Japanese composer, arranger and conductor.

Biography

Senju studied composition at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music and received his master's degree with honors.^[1] Between 1994 and 2003, he produced series of cover albums Utahime for Japanese singer Akina Nakamori with more than million sold copies overall.^[2]^[3]

Composition credits include Mama wa Shōgaku 4 Nensei, Mobile Suit Victory Gundam, Rampo, Strawberry on the Shortcake, Yomigaeri, Red Garden, Nada Sōsō, Fūrin Kazan, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Tales of Vesperia: The First Strike, the 2012 revival of Iron Chef, and anime version of Battery.^[4] Arrangement credits include Hikari. Performance credits include Handsome Boy, The Snow Queen (Yuki no Joou).^{[citation needed]} His brother is Hiroshi Senju, the Nihonga painter. His younger sister is Mariko Senju [ja], the violinist.

Works

Anime series

Mama wa Shōgaku 4 Nensei (1992, Nippon TV)
Mobile Suit Victory Gundam (1993–1994, TV Asahi)
The Silent Service (1995–1998, OVA)
B'T X (1996, TBS Television)
Tetsujin 28-go (2004, TV Tokyo)
The Snow Queen (2005, NHK General TV)^[5]
Red Garden (2006, TV Asahi)
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (2009–2010, MBS)
Valvrave the Liberator (2013, MBS)
Battery (2016, Fuji TV)

Film music

Ribbon RE-BORN (1988)
226 (1989)
Tsurumoku Dokushinryō (1991)
Chibi Maruko-chan: My Favorite Song (1992)
Tōhō Kenbunroku (The Travels of Marco Polo) (1992)
Kokōkyōshi (1993)
Ienakiko (1994)
The Mystery of Rampo – International version (1995)
Night Train to the Stars (1996)
Time Leap (1997)
Acorn House (1997)
Begging for Love (1998)
Gensomaden Saiyuki: Requiem (2001)
Meshita no koibito (2002)
Yomigaeri (2003)
Kurasshu (2003)
The Man Who Wipes the Mirror (Mirror no Fukuotoko) (2004)
Tetsujin 28: The Movie (2005)
Hinokio (2005)
A Heartful of Love (2005)
Nada Sōsō (2006)
Elephant no Senaka（2007年）
Run with the Wind (2009)
Magic Tree House (2012)
Reminiscence (2017)

Film music (animation)

Princess Arete (2000) – directed by Sunao Katabuchi
Tales of Vesperia: The First Strike (2009) – directed by Kanta Kamei

Television dramas (selected)

Summer Snow (2000, TBS Television)
Strawberry on the Shortcake (2001, TBS Television)
Tetsujin 28-go (2004)
Suna no Utsuwa (2004)
Red Garden (2006–2007)
Fūrin Kazan (NHK, 2007)
Gold (2010, Fuji TV)
Japanese Americans (2010, TBS Television) – miniseries

Video games

Fighting Illusion: K-1 Grand Prix (1996, Daft Co.)
Fullmetal Alchemist: Prince of the Dawn (2009, Square Enix)
Fullmetal Alchemist: Daughter of the Dusk (2009, Square Enix)
Triangle Strategy (2022, Square Enix-Artdink)^[6]

Compositions

Sonata for clarinet and piano (1985)
歌曲 (Circus) (1986)
春光 for shakuhachi, synthesizer and computer (1987)
回帰の街f or violin and orchestra (1988)
Eden for computer (1989)
Into the Sea for vibraphone and computer (1990)
Henri's Sky (1991)
Aria for marimba (1992) – inspired from J. S. Bach
彩霧 (Saimu) for violin and string orchestra (1994)
De Jabu I–IV for solo marimba (1994)
聖歌 (Chant) for violin and synthesizer (1997)
Serenade for solo violin (1997)
Violin Concerto: Return to the Forest (2000)
四季 (Four Seasons) for violin and string orchestra (2004)
Symphony No. 1 (2005)
日本交響詩 (Japan Symphonic Poems) (2005)
Breath and Rosary for Electone (2006)
Breath and Rosary for orchestra (2006)
隅田川 (Sumidagawa), opera (2007) – libretto: Takashi Matsumoto
源氏物語 (The Tale of Genji), Psalm symphony (2008) – libretto: Takashi Matsumoto
Manyoshu (2009) – libretto: Madoka Mayuzumi
Andante (2013)
Waterfall no Shiraito, opera (2014) – libretto: Madoka Mayuzumi

Source:^[7]

External links

Official website
Akira Senju at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
Akira Senju at IMDb
Akira Senju on VGMdb

References

^ Profile Archived 2017-07-09 at the Wayback Machine on the official website.
^ "中森明菜、アルバム売り上げ枚数１５００万枚突破". Sanspo.com (WebArchived). Archived from the original on 2003-12-19.
^ "作曲家の千住明氏と椎名豪氏を支援─ゲーム作品に関わる活動についてソルトとアイキスが業務提携". Gamebusiness. 19 July 2018.
^ Allmusic.com discography.
^ "雪の女王". トムス・エンタテイメント. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
^ "『トライアングルストラテジー』作曲者・千住明氏インタビュー「ゲームを楽しんでいる人たちが"またあの世界に行かなきゃ"と、のめり込めるものを作った」". ファミ通.com. 2021-12-27. Retrieved 2022-02-13.
^ "純音楽作品 | Works". Akira Senju Official Website (in Japanese). Retrieved 2022-10-15.