Japanese violinist Reiko Otani studied at the Toho-Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo with Toshiya Eto and Koichiro Harada, graduating in 1995, and completed her advanced studies there in 1997. From 1996 to 1998, she was a student of Igor Oistrakh at the Royal Music Conservatory in Brussels. In 1996, she won several prizes at the Henryk Wieniawski International Violin Competition in Poznan, Poland. She has won the Japan Music Competition in 1993 and is a laureate of international competitions such as Spohr (Freiburg, Germany), Japan International (Tokyo), Hannover (Germany) and Sibelius (Helsinki, Finland).
Reiko Otani performs frequently as soloist and chamber musician in Japan and abroad. Giving concerts extensively in her native country, she has performed as a soloist with many orchestras such as Tokyo Symphony, Tokyo Philharmonic, Japan Philharmonic, Kansai Philharmonic, and Kyoto Symphony. In addition to concerts, she has played in many radio and television broadcasts in Japan, performing on radio programs such as NHK-FM Recital. She has also been invited to perform at many festivals including festivals in Kurashiki, Kirishima, Miyazaki, Tokyo (International Hindemith Festival), Moonbeach and Saito-Kinen. In addition, she has had the honor of giving a concert for the Japanese Imperial Family at Tokagakudo Hall in the Imperial Palace. She is a member of the Saito-Kinen Orchestra conducted by Seiji Ozawa, and appears at the Saito-Kinen Festival in Matsumoto for one month every summer since 2001. In 2004, she participated in the European Tour of the Saito-Kinen Orchestra, and performed in the prestigious concert halls in the six countries such as Berlin Philharmonic Hall and Musikferein in Vienna. She is also a member of Izumi Sinfonietta Osaka.
Reiko Otani's international career has led her to perform extensively in Europe as well. In the United States, she was invited to perform at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival and La Jolla Summerfest.
In 2008 she has released a CD with Eugène Ysaÿe's Six sonatas for violin solo op.27 for Nami Records and in 2011 'Polonaise', with works by Wieniawski, Szymanowski and Lutosławski.
Currently Reiko Otani is on the faculty of the Kyoto City University of Arts and the Soai University in Osaka.