Akaru Sumizawa was born in 1995 in Saitama, Japan. He first completed a degree in Musicology at the Tokyo University of the Arts. In October 2019, he began his studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts Mannheim under Prof. Stefan Blunier and Prof. Cosima Sophia Osthoff. In the summer of 2023, he graduated from the Bachelor’s program in Orchestral Conducting (with a focus on symphonic repertoire) and was immediately admitted to the Master’s program in Opera Conducting.
In 2024, he conducted Leonard Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s The Magic Flute at the University of Music Mannheim. Later that year, in October 2024, he served as musical director and pianist for the production of The Diary of Anne Frank at the Pfalztheater Kaiserslautern.
In spring 2025, he worked as assistant and conductor for Handel’s Alcina at the University of Music Mannheim. Furthermore, in May 2025, he took on the position of musical assistant and conducted selected parts of Udo Zimmermann’s opera Die weiße Rose, in collaboration with the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz.He has also been awarded several scholarships, including the “Yellow Angel” scholarship from Mr. Tokuji Munetsugu (2022–2024) and the Overseas Study for Upcoming Artists program of the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs (2024-2025).
