Akiko Iguchi has been an active performer both as a soloist and a collaborative pianist in Tokyo, Seattle, and Atlanta area since 2005. A native of Yokohama, Japan, she began her piano studies at the age of five. At age 7, she and her family moved to Chicago where she studied at the Music Institute of Chicago. She then returned to Japan to attend Toho School of Music High School, the most prestigious music school in Japan. She has earned both Bachelor (B.M) and Master (M.M) of Piano Performance degrees from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, and holds a Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A) degree from the University of Washington.
She has studied piano with Carolyn McCracken-Forough, Reitei Yoh, Jean-Louis Haguenauer, Edmund Battersby, and Craig Sheppard.
COMPETITION and SCHOLARSHIPS
Dr. Iguchi has won the Chicago Area Music Teachers Association Competition, and Indiana University Concerto Competition. She has attended several summer festivals including Courchevel International Music Festival in France, and the Leipzig International Summer Festival on a full scholarship in Germany.
PAST PERFORMANCES
As a collaborative pianist, Dr. Iguchi was a studio accompanist for Indiana University Jacobs School of Music professors such as Eli Eban (cl), Thomas Robertello (fl), and Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi (vc). She was selected as the official pianist for International Clarinet Association competition held in Japan in 2005. She was invited to perform at the Seattle University Arts Program Inauguration Chamber Recital with Seattle University faculty membersin 2008. She was also invited to perform for the Seattle Flute Society guest recitals and performed with New York Metropolitan Opera principal flutist, Denis Bouriakov and Dallas Symphony principal flutist, Demarre McGill. In 2010, she has performed with Mr.McGill for Seattle Symphony's special concert for donors.
During the summer of 2014, She was invited to join the artist member for Flutissimo, a UGA flute master class, organized by Professor Angela Jones-Reus of the UGA Hodgson School of
Music and Sir James Galway Flute Festival.
She has also worked for the Clarinet Academy of America organized by Dr. D.Ray Mclellan, Rober DiLutis, and Daniel Gilbert (clarinet) for the summer of 2015.
During 2016-2017, along with Katherine Isbill Emeneth (flute) and Cathy Kilroy-Smith (horn), Dr. Iguchi started an unique music ensemble, The Kitchen Sync, where she serves as an active member as a pianist as well as social media marketing. The Kitchen Sync performs music around the world of different genres often incorporating audience participation. 2018 season started with a successful recital at the UGA Ramsey Concert Hall featuring Georgia-native composer, Nicole Randall-Chamberlain's epic composition, "The Blue Plate" written for the ensemble. They were also featured in the UGA Performance Center Thursday Scholarship Concert Series, "Woman to Woman".
On May 2019, Akiko released her first album which features her favorite classical composers along with her first composition, "Dearest...". Available on iTunes, Spotify, and Pandora.
In the summer of 2022, Akiko and her family relocated to McKinney, Texas.
As of August 2023, She is the director of her Piano studio Music for Gifted Children and also works as an Adjunct Collaborative Pianist at Southern Methodist University Meadows School of the Arts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amHYsDhXIkg