Rie Akamatsu was born and raised in Saitama, Japan. She graduated with Bachelor of Music in Tokyo at the Kunitachi University of Music with the highest grade. She graduated with a Master’s degree in solo piano, for which she received a scholarship from the city of Saitama, at Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln with Prof. Lobanov and Prof. Scheps. There she also graduated with Master of Music Liedbegleitung with Prof. Ulrich Eisenlohr. In addition to her studies, she received important impulses from, among others, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Dang Tai Son, Pavel Gililov, Michel Beroff, Dina Yoffe, Antony Spiri, Cristian Beldi, Christoph Prégardien, Michael Gees, Roger Vignoles and Konrad Richter.

She performs regularly at home and abroad as a chamber musician and lied accompanist. She has a wide repertoire in all music eras. Rie Akamatsu is well versed in playing the historical fortepiano and the harpsichord as well as she is open to experimental instrumentations. In 2015 she won first prize in the HfMT’s internal Liedduo Competition and the Festival Vocallis Prize in 2016. In 2017 she won 1st prize at the International Chamber Music Competition in Chieri/Italy. In 2018 she performed at the Kölner Philharmonie. Since 2017 she is playing regularly with Mathis Stier, solo bassoonist of WDR Symphony Orchestra. She performed with him at the Beethovenfest Bonn, at the Konzerthaus Berlin and the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg in the last three years.
Rie Akamatsu was engaged as piano accompanist in the bassoon class of Prof. Georg Klütsch, as well as in various singing classes at the HfMT Cologne. She has been invited, e.g. for the ARD Music Competition, the International Instrumental Competition Markneukirchen and Deutscher Musikwettbewerb.

Today she is piano accompanist for the bassoon and trumpet classes in Cologne.