Pocket Penguin
is an instrumental duo established by Ayumi Toyama and Ryusuke Koarashi in 2011. Pocket Penguin has been mainly focusing on exploring possibility of combination of two intimate instruments—melodica & guitar—by both composing and adapting various music from all over the world. They have had performances in UK, Japan, Italy, Azerbaijan, and Turkey until now. The 1st album “A Bird Flying over Mountains” was released in March 2012, and the 2nd album “Prelude” was released in May 2013. They founded London melodica ensemble in 2013 and have been developing a number of repertoire for the ensemble.
Ayumi Toyama (melodica/piano)
Born in Nagoya, Japan, into a musical family, she began learning classical piano at the age of 4. She graduated from University of Colorado, Boulder in the U.S and now based on London as piano teacher, accompanist and melodica player. Her piano teachers include Naoshiro Kato, Mioko Kato and Piero Quaglia.
Ryusuke Koarashi (guitar/comp./arr.)
Guitarist, and composer. Ryusuke studied at the Guildhall school of music and drama in London. His guitar teachers include Keigo Fujii, Robert Brightmore. His composition teachers include Paul Newland. He made more than 300 arrangements/compositions for melodica & guitar duo during 2011-2013.