Biography
Yoko Awaya is one of the leading Koto artists in Southern California who has concertized in major cities throughout the United States. She was also featured in many motion pictures and in the studio recordings for Walt Disney World. Yoko Awaya studied koto and shamisen (traditional Japanese three-string instrument) in Tokyo, where she received her teaching credentials and masters degree from Miyagi Soke in Tokyo, Japan. After relocating to Los Angeles, she founded the Yoko Awaya Koto Music Conservatory (Awayakai) to promote cultural awareness and to advance the study of koto and shamisen. Yoko Awaya and her group have received critical acclaim and high recognition for their contributions and cultural services to the communities of Los Angeles.
Yoko Awaya’s performance credits include solo appearances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and the Japanese Philharmonic Orchestra of Los Angles (currently Asia America Symphony Orchestra). She has performed at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the Los Angeles Music Center, USC and UCLA as well as in other major U.S. cities and universities, including San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the Macky Auditorium in Colorado, Colorado University, Lafayette College in Philadelphia and Jacobs Pillow in Massachusetts. She is a requested performer at the Grammy Awards celebrations and at the Japanese Consulate.
Constantly seeking to enhance the versatility of the koto, Yoko Awaya has transposed a wide range of music – from Baroque to Broadway – and has incorporated a variety of accompanying instrumentation from the traditional shakuhachi (bamboo flute) and taiko drums, to the Spanish guitar, violin, piano, and the Chinese zither.