Miho Takekawa

Miho Takekawa is an accomplished marimba performer and arranger playing Japanese folk music mixed with jazz and Latin rhythms. Her unusual style has taken her all over the world as a performer and arranger and provided her the opportunity to play with some of the best musical talent in the Northwest. While completing her MA at the University of Washington, Takekawa received the Boeing Scholarship for excellence in percussion performance three years in a row. Originally from Tokyo, she received her BA in percussion performance and music education at Kunitachi School of Music in Tokyo and has been playing percussion for operas, musicals, symphonies, percussion ensembles, ethnic music ensembles, and jazz bands in both Japan and the United States for many years. In addition to her own releases, Takekawa has performed with various groups, including Orchestra Seattle, Philharmonia Orchestra Northwest, Contemporary Chamber Composer and Player, Seattle Creative Orchestra, and Akoma, a West African drum ensemble.

As part of her Fellowship’s Meet the Artist requirements, Miho held a CD release concert at the Ethnic Cultural Theater in Seattle with her band, the Miho & Diego Duo. The 30 audience members (who braved a major snowstorm to attend) were treated to a program featuring original compositions as well as covers, combining Japanese folk music with Andean and other South American music.