Praised for his lyrical voice and ebullient virtuosity, Kazutaka Shimizu is recognized as one of the greatest and most influential flutists in Japan today. Currently, he is professor at Tokyo Gakugei University.

Mr. Shimizu has studied at Tokyo University of the Arts under Chang-Kook Kim, and with world-renowned flutist Maxence Larrieu at the Conservatoire de Musique de Genève where he received the Première de Prix upon graduation. In addition, he has participated and studied at Masterclasses in Europe with Jean-Pierre Rampal, Alan Marion, Michel Debost, Bruno Grossi　and Shigenori Kudo. He won prizes at the Japan Woodwind Competition and several other competitions in Japan, France and Italy. After returning to Japan, he has frequently been invited to music festivals and institutions abroad, such as Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Luxembourg, Sweden, Portugel, USA, Honolulu, Peru, Korea, Hong Kong, Thailand…etc, for holding masterclasses, recitals and lectures. In 2012 & 2016 he was invited as a jury member of the Severino Gazzelloni International Flute Competition.