Saiki Michiko

Japanese-born pianist and multimedia artist Michiko Saiki is a passionate advocate of contemporary music and art. She actively promotes contemporary music and living composers by giving concerts, lectures, and workshops. As a soloist, collaborative pianist, and improviser, Michiko has been invited to perform at various venues including Spectrum NYC, Toledo Museum of Art, Oberlin Conservatory, University of Pittsburgh, Kent State University, University of Louisville, and University of Kentucky. She recently completed two concert tours featuring fearless programs of contemporary music exploring the themes of Resonance and The Vocalizing Pianist in the 2015-2016 season.

Michiko’s bottomless curiosity and hunger for self-expression led her not only to pursue her career as a pianist but also as a multimedia artist. Using experimental video and photography techniques, she explores hidden qualities of her body and voice. Her first video piece a...i...u...e...o... has been screened in numerous international film festivals and won First Place in the Without Word Film Festival in Metz, France in 2014.

Her early training both as a pianist and singer and her career as a multimedia artist allows her to be a unique interpreter of music. Her endeavors to master artistry in both music and art continue to challenge both herself and the audience through her innovative style of expression.

Michiko has earned her DMA in contemporary music with the specialization in piano performance with a Digital Media minor from Bowling Green State University, in Bowling Green, OH, USA. Her dissertation, “The Vocalizing Pianist: Embodying Gendered Performance,” discusses the element of the performer’s gender which becomes magnified in a vocalizing pianist performance because of the presence of the voice. Michiko’s performance of Lazarus for vocalizing pianist by Stuart Saunders Smith has been released from Chen Li Music in April 2017.

Currently Michiko resides in Germany with her husband and her cat, Emi.

https://michikosaiki.wordpress.com/