Hiroya Tsukamoto of Kyoto, Japan, began playing the five-string banjo when he was 12. Shortly thereafter, he took up the guitar.

Now he is a composer, guitarist and singer-songwriter. He will share his musical talents with a concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 23, at the Sautee Nacoochee Community Association theater.

Tickets are $15 for SNCA members, $18 for nonmembers and $12 for children 16 and younger. They can be purchased online at snca.org or at the venue at 283 Ga. 255 N, Sautee Nacoochee.

While Hiroya was attracted to music at a young age, he was later introduced to a musical and social movement in South America called Nueva Cancion headed by musical legends such as Victor Jara and Violeta Parra in 1994.

Hiroya completed a debut album titled “The Other Side of the World” with his band INTEROCEANICO and released it in 2004. His composition entitled “El Otro Lado del Mundo” was nominated as the finalist of The USA Songwriting Competition 2004 and “Samba de Siempre” in 2005. His “Seventh Night” was the finalist of International Acoustic Music Award in 2006.

Hiroya released his second album entitled “Confluencia” in 2006 and the third album “Where the River Shines” in 2008.

Hiroya has been leading concerts with his group including several appearances at Blue Note in New York and performed with Esperanza Spalding, Marta Gomez, Kendrick Scott (The Crusadors), Pete Kennedy(The Kennedys) and Dave Maxwell (Muddy Waters Band).

Hiroya’s recent album is “Heartland” was released in August 2012.

For more information, visit www.snca.org or www.hiroyatsukamoto.com.