When Japanese pianist Hiroko Miyagi first appeared in Napa in 1995 with the North Bay Philharmonic Orchestra, Napa double-bassist and composer Rob Wright told her he’d like to write a piece for her. She has held him to that promise.

Wright has written “Concertino for Piano and Strings” and enticed the concert pianist to return to Napa to play its world premiere.

Noting the international nature of the endeavor, Wright explained, “This event will be simultaneously a wonderful educational experience for the young musicians who will perform an original work by a local composer and play side by side with professional musicians, as well as a significant cultural exchange between artists from Japan and the United States.”

In fact, Wright has taken the exchange concept to a higher level, enlisting the support of Napa’s Sister City program, which, since the 1970s, has fostered a bond between Napa and Iwanuma, Japan. The group has offered to assist in organizing a trip to Japan in 2008 for a performance of Wright’s composition.

The composer describes the concertino as Neo-Classical with Romantic elements and even some Asian influence. This is an understandable connection since Wright is a practicing acupuncturist and expert in Oriental medicine.

“I wanted to write something to fit her,” said Wright, describing her style as “big and versatile,” but at the same time not without sensitivity, which Miyagi conveys in her playing. “I’m very pleased with (the piece),” he said.

Funding for the concerts comes from several sources. Wright said the Napa Valley Symphony League has been very generous, and additional help has come from the Ross McKee Foundation as well as a number of private individuals who believe in the project.

“I’m really grateful for their help,” Wright said of his patrons.

Miyagi’s first local performance is June 8 at 7:30 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church in Napa. She will present a variety of solo works by Schumann, Scarlatti, Debussy, Chopin and Japanese composer Koscak Yamada. Tickets are $15 at the door.

The concert will also feature a Mozart string quartet, K.493, and Wright will add his double bass with Miyagi at the piano, along with Rachelle Davis on violin, violist Beth Heid and cellist Gwyneth Davis for a reading of Schubert’s “Trout Quintet.”

Wright’s works, along with Edvard Grieg’s “Holberg Suite,” will be performed the following Sunday, June 10 at 3 p.m. at Pacific Union College’s Paulin Hall. Rachelle Davis, PUC conductor and professor of music, will conduct the small string orchestra. It’s a free concert.

Miyagi was born in Sendai, Japan. She studied piano with Ken Sasaki who encouraged her to attend the Paris Conservatoire, from which she graduated. There, she studied with the famed Madame Suzanne Roche.

She has performed with orchestras in France, Poland and Japan.

Wright is a member of the American Composers Forum and helped form a local collective of composers that included NV Symphony Music Director Asher Raboy and guitarist Leo Cavanagh. The North Bay Philharmonic premiered his “Twilight at Mount Veeder” which will also be performed at the Sunday concert.

Hiroko Miyagi

Friday, June 8, 7:30 p.m.

First Methodist Church, Napa

Tickets: $15 at the door