About me

Originally from Gifu, Japan, Tomoka Nomura-Jarvis started to play piano at age 6 and saxophone at age 17. She earned her undergraduate degree in music from Buffalo State College and a graduate degree in saxophone performance from the State University of New York at Buffalo. She plays all the saxophones and flute.

She has appeared on NPR's “Tiny Desk” with Rod Wave, ABC’s "Jimmy Kimmel Live" with Fat Joe, Remy Ma and Ty Dalla $ign. Tomoka also appeared in a music video for renowned Armenian singer Arman Hovhannisyan, and she has toured Japan and the United states with legendary Japanese blues singer Kenichi Mikawa. She is presently a member of the all -female jazz group Jazz in Pink, The Saxations, and she performs and tours with pop artist Andy Grammer, including appearances on a PBS special "A Capital Fourth" and television shows such as "The Talk".

Tomoka has performed for numerous music festivals including the Playboy Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl (2019), Cancun Jazz Festival in Mexico (2019), Seabreeze Jazz Festival in Panama City FL (2019), the Catalina Jazz Trax Festival (2017), and the Long Beach Jazz Festival (2017, 2019), to name a few.

As a performer for U.S. Armed Forces Entertainment (1999-2010), Tomoka performed in over 40 countries for soldiers, ambassadors and other diplomats at U.S. embassies and military bases. Among the countries visited were Kuwait, Kosovo, Ecuador, Germany, Mozambique, and many more. In classical settings, Tomoka performed with the Buffalo (NY) Philharmonic Orchestra, Dortmund Symphony Orchestra (Germany), and Bemus Bay Pops Orchestra (New York).

Tomoka has performed extensively for the Young Audience program and lecture series for students in Western New York. Furthermore, her educational pursuits include performances and workshops in Los Angeles area elementary schools for “Dream A World Education." She also has experience in musical theater, playing in pit orchestras and on-stage roles. Tomoka speaks fluent English and Japanese.