Graduated from the Royal Academy of Music, Postgraduate Performance Course, Piano Accompaniment. While enrolled at Tokyo College of Music, she undertook a short-term study abroad program at Indiana University, USA, as a scholarship student. She graduated from Tokyo College of Music. In addition to solo performance, she studied accompaniment techniques, chamber music, and harpsichord, learning to accompany various instruments and vocalists. She has studied under Tamiki Miyake, Geoffrey Pratley, and Aaron Shorr, among others.

In 2001, she was invited by the Governor-General of Jamaica to the Independence Day celebrations, where she performed in recitals and appeared on Jamaica Radio. Subsequently, she performed several times in Kingston, the capital. She has also performed in various locations in Portugal, including a concert series at Casa da América Latina and the Mateus Music Festival, and appeared on Portugal National Radio. During the same period, she traveled to Sweden, engaging in performance activities including the Lidköping Music Festival and serving as a piano teacher at a municipal music academy before returning to Japan. Since 2006, she has performed Mozart and Grieg piano concertos with the Freude Philharmonie, conducted by Hito Usuku.

In addition to her activities as a pianist, she holds concerts in a style titled "Kataripiano" (Narrative Piano), where she narrates and plays the piano herself. She also handles recording and CD production under her own label, Kiki Records. Her album with narration, "Kataripiano," includes familiar works such as "Swimmy" and "Saru Kani Gassen" (The Crab and the Monkey). Collaborating with various art forms and holding performance exhibitions, she released the CD "Ice and Goldberg Variations." This CD is currently available on Amazon and other platforms as a CD with a mini photo book featuring works by photographer Kyoka Tanida.

Home page http://www.kiki-piano.com 

YouTube: AtelierKiki_Kaoru Kashiwagi

Instagram: @atelierkiki_kataripiano