Mr. Shota
PQ Senior Piano Instructor
Shota Homma most recently studied with Inna Faliks, Professor of Piano and Head of Piano during the four years of his undergraduate career at UCLA, where he graduated in 2020. Shota has been playing piano for more than 20 years, studying under great teachers such as Hans Boepple and Mina Perry.
As a young child, he was showcased in the Honors Recital at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles, where he studied on a scholarship. His many awards and accomplishments include: 1st Place, Music Teachers' Association of California (MTAC) Piano Solo Competition Division III State Finals; 1st Place, Pacific Musical Society Piano Competition; 1st Place, Celia Mendez Beethoven Piano Competition; 1st
Place, MTAC-WLA Kathryn Gawartin Chopin Piano Competition; 1st Place, SAI Pasadena Scholarship Competition; 2nd Place, 2018 American Protege International Piano & Strings Competition; 2nd Place, 2019 Rio Hondo Symphony Young Artists Competition; 2nd Place, 2015 MTNA Southwest Division National Competition (as a representative of California); and 2nd Place, 2016 Parness Concerto Competition
Senior Division.
Shota has performed in many solo and chamber masterclasses with world-renowned musicians such as Angela Hewitt, Pam Frank, James Giles, and Ilya Itin. He has played at famous venues in Japan and the U.S. including his performances at the Carnegie Hall (Weill Recital Hall), Royce Hall (UCLA), the Zipper Hall (Colburn School), the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Landmark Tower in Japan, the San Diego 65th Annual Salute to the Champions, the California Theatre, the Bing Theater (Los Angeles County Museum of Art), and the Residence of the Consul General of Japan in San Francisco.
Shota has also been involved in musical volunteering activities with many organizations such as the Stanford Hospital, the Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco, and the Kimochi Organization.
Aside from music, Shota is a research scientist working under Dr. Hiromitsu Nakauchi at Stanford University School of Medicine, Institute of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine. He pursues his research in the application of genome editing in hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) as Life Science Research Professional (LSRP) and supports Dr. Nakauchi’s lab as the Administrative Secretary for Dr. Nakauchi and the Lab Manager of the Nakauchi lab.