Japanese born Eriko Nagayama is a highly acclaimed violinist, graduated in 2018 from her MA in Performance at the Royal Academy of Music under the tutelage of György Pauk with Distinction, DipRAM for an outstanding Final Recital, the Marjorie Bunty Lempfert Award, and the Moir Carnegie Prize.

She started playing the violin at the age of four, and for many years studied violin and chamber music at the Toho Gakuen School of Music under Koichiro Harada. She is also a very keen Historical Violin player, have been studying historical informed performances with Ryo Terakado, Kaori Toda, Pavlo Beznosiuk, Shunske Sato, Rachel Podger, and Richard Egarr.

She participated in Early Music Days in Vác 2021, La Risonanza Early Music Academy in Bertinoro 2022&2023, and Ton Koopman Academy 2024. Eriko is joining Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Experience Scheme 2024/25 (London, U.K.) and Ensemble Locatelli (Bergamo, Italy).
Eriko has won several awards, including first prize and the Jean Schmidt prize for
outstanding musicianship at the Yokohama International Music Competition, Wilfrid Parry Brahms Prize 2016, Sir John Barbirolli Memorial Prize 2017, and Winifred Small Violin Prize 2018 at the Royal Academy of Music.
She is a member of Trio Opal (piano trio) since 2017. They have awarded the 3rd prize in the Trondheim International Chamber Music competition 2019 as well as the Kim Trio commission prize and the Audience prize, and were invited to be back to the Festival in 2021. They also won the first prize in the Birmingham Intercollegiate Piano Trio Competition. After graduating, they were invited to be CAVATINA-Trio-In-Residence as a fellow ensemble for the 2018/19 academic year and Chamber Music Fellows in the following year at the Royal Academy of Music.
She was a former member of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (First Violin No.7) since May 2019 until September 2023.
Eriko was generously supported by the Yellow Angel Foundation in Japan and additionally had been granted the fellowship to study in London for the 2017/18 academic year by the Program of Overseas Study for Upcoming Artists sponsored by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the Japanese government.
Currently pursuing her Master Early Music Violin at the Royal Conservatoire The Hague, under the tutelage of Ryo Terakado. Mentored various chamber music groups by Richard Egarr.