Andy Akiho
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Andy Akiho (born February 7, 1979,
Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-mo ...
) is an American musician and composer of contemporary classical music. A virtuoso percussionist based in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, his primary performance instrument is steel pans. He took interest in becoming a percussionist when his older sister introduced him to a drum set at the age of 9. Akiho first tried his hand at the steel pan when he became an undergraduate at the
University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...
. He began taking several trips to
Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...
after college to learn and play music. From there, he started writing pieces of his own.


Education

Akiho, who is of Japanese heritage, is a graduate of the
University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...
with a B.M. in percussion performance, the
Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music a ...
with a M.Mus. in contemporary performance, and the Yale School of Music with a second M.Mus. in composition. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in composition at
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
. While he was an undergraduate, he was also a member of the Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps of
Fort Mill, South Carolina Fort Mill, also known as Fort Mill Township, is a town in York County, South Carolina, United States. It is a suburb of Charlotte, North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population of the town was 24,521. Some businesses and residents in th ...
and then of The Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps of
Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in eastern Pennsylvania, United States. The county seat of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, it is the List o ...
.


Career

Akiho has tried to learn everything he could with what was available to him at the time as a percussionist while at the
University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...
. He has played in a percussion ensemble as a classical percussionist, concert band, and in orchestras. Akiho had also joined a local West African percussion ensemble, Brazilian drumming ensembles, and steel bands. He began to realize once he finished at South Carolina that he truly loved playing the pans the most and from there he traveled to Trinidad several times without knowing anyone or having any connections. He started by speaking to the locals telling them that he had really wanted to play the steel pan there. During his first visit, he had stayed in Trinidad for five weeks playing with a big band who called themselves the PCS Starlift Steel Orchestra which was led by
Ray Holman Raymond Anthony Holman (born 1944) is a musician, composer, pannist and performer from Trinidad and Tobago. Biography In 1957, Ray Holman began playing steelpan at the age of 13 with the Invaders Steel Orchestra, led by Ellie Mannette, for who ...
. In the following year, he played with another steel orchestra called Phase II which was led by Len "Boogsie" Sharpe. Akiho's interest and confidence in going in the direction of music composition was influenced by him doing the Bang on a Can Summer Festivals in 2007 and 2008. Akiho has studied compositions with Julia Wolfe, David Lang (composer), and Michael Gordon (composer) and was greatly influenced by his teachers Christopher Theofanidis, Ezra Laderman, and Martin Bresnick at Yale School of Music. Jacob Druckman’s “Come Round,” performed at the
Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music a ...
played a huge role in influencing Akiho when he began composing. Akiho is involved in a stage production collaboration with The Industry's director, Yuval Sharon, who re-imagines
Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...
’s play ''
Life of Galileo ''Life of Galileo'' (), also known as ''Galileo'', is a Play (theatre), play by the 20th century Germany, German dramatist Bertolt Brecht and collaborator Margarete Steffin with incidental music by Hanns Eisler. The play was written in 1938 and re ...
'' by taking part in composing the original music for. He found it challenging to collaborate with someone because he was used to doing abstract work to then working in a disciplined environment collaborating with someone who knew what they wanted. The project gave him the feeling that he was writing music for a movie, which in turn inspired him to want to do more of those kinds of collaborative work.


Awards

''Sources:'' *2008 Brian Israel Prize *2009
ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...
Morton Gould Young Composers Award *2010 Horatio Parker Award *2011 Finale National Composition Competition Grand Prize *2011 Woods Chandler Memorial Prize *2011 Yale School of Music Alumni Award *2012 Carlsbad Composer Competition Commission *2012 Chamber Music America (CMA) Grant *2014 Chamber Music America (CMA) Grant *2014 American Composers Orchestra Underwood Emerging Composers Commission *2014 Fromm Foundation Commission from Harvard University *2014–15 Luciano Berio Rome Prize *2015 Lili Boulanger Memorial Fund *2022 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition (Nominated) *2022 Pulitzer Prize for Music finalist for ''Seven Pillars'' * 2023 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition (Nominated) * 2024 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition (Nominated) * 2024 Grammy Award for Best Classical Compendium (Nominated) * 2024 Grammy Award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo (Nominated) * 2025 Grammy Award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo * 2025 Grammy Award for Best Classical Compendium


Compositions

Akiho's early works were largely Caribbean-themed, folk and jazz based works for steel bands and steel pan players like himself. With increased experience and education, he has evolved into a composer of contemporary concert music. ''Sources:'' *Phatamachickenlick (1997) for snare drum duet *Hip-Hopracy (2001) for 9 percussionists *Macqueripe (2002) for tenor steel pan *Omnipresent (2003) for tenor steel pan *Daidai Iro (Orange) (2005) for steel pan, cello, bass, and drums with toy piano & glockenspiel optional; also for solo tenor steel pan *Aka (Red) (2006) for steel pan, cello and/or double bass, drums, and optional violin *Momo Iro (Pink) (2006) for steel pan, guitar, bass, and drums; also for solo tenor steel pan *Murasaki (Purple) (2006) for steel pan, harp, cello, bass, and drums; also for solo tenor steel pan *Hadairo (Beige) (2007) for string quartet, harp, steel pan, bass, and drums; also for solo tenor steel pan *Karakurenai (Crimson) (2007/2011) flexible instrumentation for one or more players *I falleN TwO (2008) for steel pan and string quartet *the rAy's end, (2008) for trumpet, violin, and steel pan *Vick(i/y) (2008) for prepared piano *Ki-Iro (2009) for woodwinds, strings, harp, piano & 3 percussion *to wALk Or ruN in wEst harlem (2008) for flute, bass clarinet, violin, cello, vibraphone, and drums; also (2016) for 8 member percussion ensemble *21 (2009) for cello (double loop pedal and kick drum) and steel pan (double tambourine) or marimba (double tambourine) *Alloy (2009) for steel pans band & metallic drum set *Amalgamation (2009) for saxophone quartet and digital playback *NO one To kNOW one (2010) for soprano, flute, clarinet (doubles bass clarinet), cello, piano, percussion, vibraphone and/or steel pan (vibes & pan play same score) *LIgNEouS 1 (2010) for marimba and string quartet *Erase (2011) for flute, clarinet (doubles bass clarinet), violin, cello, piano, percussion *Five Movements for Piano Trio (2011) for piano, violin, and cello *In/Exchange (2011) for steel pan and string quartet *LIgNEouS 3 (2011) for marimba and string quartet *Six Haikus (2011) for baritone voice, trumpet, trombone, and bass clarinet *Stop Speaking (2011) for snare drum and digital playback *-intuition ) (Expectation (2012) for trumpet and marimba *Oscillate (2012) for string orchestra, piano, and 3 percussion *Three Shades, Foreshadows (2012) for cello and digital playback *Bagatelle (2013) for solo piano *Transparency (2013) for solo piano *Two Bridges (2014) Three Movements for Harp Duo *Deciduous (2014) for violin and lead/tenor steel pan *LIgNEouS 2 (2014) for marimba and string quartet *String Quartet 1 "Mobile on a Stream Into the Now" (2012) for string quartet *Revolve (2013) for string quintet *Speaking Tree (2013) for brass quintet, string quintet, and percussion *Tarnished Mirrors (2013/2015) Concerto for ping pong, violin, percussion, & orchestra *Ricochet (2015) Ping Pong Players (2), Solo Violin, Solo Percussion, Orchestra (2,2,2,2 , 2,2,2,1 , Timp, 2 Perc , Strings) *Pillar IV (2014) for percussion quartet *Two Bridges (2014) three movements for harp duo *Beneath Lighted Coffers (2015) Concerto for steel pan and orchestra *LIgNEouS 4 (2016) for marimba and string quartet *LIgNEouS 5 (2016) for marimba and string quartet *Prospects of a Misplaced Year (2017) for piano and string quartet *Lost on Chiaroscuro Street (2017) for clarinet, violin, cello, and piano *Cobalt Canvas (2018) for Flute, 2 Clarinets, Bassoon, Trumpet, Horn, Trombone, 1 Percussion Piano (2 players, 4 hands), 3 Violins, 2 Violas, 2 Cellos, & Double Bass


Discography

NO one To kNOW one (
Innova Recordings Innova Recordings is the independent record label of the non-profit American Composers Forum based in St. Paul, Minnesota. It was founded in 1982 to document the winners of the McKnight Fellowship offered by its parent organization, the Minne ...
#801), 2011 – Performer and composer The War Below, 2018 – Composer Seven Pillars, 2021 – Composer


Featured on

Vicky Chow – AORTA ( New Amsterdam Records) – Composer "Vick(i/y)" Mariel Roberts – Nonextraneous Sounds (
Innova Recordings Innova Recordings is the independent record label of the non-profit American Composers Forum based in St. Paul, Minnesota. It was founded in 1982 to document the winners of the McKnight Fellowship offered by its parent organization, the Minne ...
#247) – Composer "Three Shades, Foreshadows" RighteousGIRLS – Gathering Blue (Panoramic Recordings PAN03) – Composer "KARakurENAI" Loadbang – Monodramas (Analog Arts AA1402) – Composer "Six Haikus" Anthony de Mare – Liaisons: Re-Imagining Sondheim from the Piano (
ECM Records ECM (Edition of Contemporary Music) is an independent record label founded by Karl Egger, Manfred Eicher and Manfred Scheffner in Munich in 1969. While ECM is best known for jazz music, the label has released a variety of recordings, and ECM's a ...
2470-72) – Arranger "Into the Woods" Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra & Bright Sheng – Intimacy of Creativity – Five Year Retrospective (
Naxos Records Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records, which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about ...
8.573614-15) – Composer and performer "21 (Acoustic Version)" Phillip O'Banion – Digital Divide ( bcm&d Records 888295404686) – Composer "Stop Speaking"


Cover versions

An alumnus of two top
Drum Corps International Drum Corps International (DCI) is a governing body for drum and bugle corps. Founded in 1971 and known as "marching music's major league," DCI develops and enforces rules of competition and judges at sanctioned drum and bugle corps competitions t ...
performing ensembles, Akiho is becoming a popular composer within the activity. In the summer of 2014, the Bluecoats performed ''to wALK Or ruN in wEst harlem''. In 2016, it was performed by The Battalion while Golden Empire, Legends, and Oregon Crusaders played ''NO one To kNOW one''. In 2017, the first corps he marched with, Carolina Crown, had ''NO one To kNOW one'' as a featured piece. In 2024, Phantom Regiment used ''Pillar III''.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Akiho, Andy 21st-century American classical composers American male classical composers American electronic musicians University of South Carolina alumni Yale School of Music alumni Manhattan School of Music alumni Musicians from Columbia, South Carolina 1979 births Living people 21st-century American male musicians American percussionists American musicians of Japanese descent Steelpan musicians