Biography
Curator and Percussion
Andy Akiho
Andy Akiho is a Pulitzer Prize finalist and seven-time Grammy-nominated composer whose bold works unravel intricate and unexpected patterns while surpassing preconceived boundaries of classical music. He has earned international acclaim for his large-scale works that emphasize the natural theatricality of live performance. He is the only composer to be nominated for a Grammy in the Best Contemporary Classical Composition category in 2022, 2023, and 2024.
Recent highlights include the world premieres of several major works, most notably Nisei—a sweeping new concerto for cellist Jeffrey Zeigler—which headlined this year’s Sun Valley Music Festival. Another standout: Sculptures, a groundbreaking, triple Grammy-nominated work for the Omaha Symphony honoring renowned visual artist Jun Kaneko. Finally, BeLonging, a powerful new collaboration with Imani Winds with strong political undertones, also made highly acclaimed live and recorded debuts, receiving two Grammy nominations. Equally at home writing chamber music and symphonies, Akiho is the Oregon Symphony’s 2024-25 composer-in-residence.
Akiho has been recognized via many prestigious awards and organizations including the Rome Prize, American Academy of Arts and Letters, Lili Boulanger Memorial Prize, Harvard University Fromm Commission, Barlow Endowment, New Music USA, and Chamber Music America. His compositions have been featured by organizations such as Bang on a Can, American Composers Forum, The Intimacy of Creativity in Hong Kong, and the Heidelberg Festival.
An active steel pannist, Akiho has a deeply physical relationship with playing, which undoubtedly informs his compositions. His style is further shaped by his nontraditional path as a composer: having spent most of his 20s playing steel pan by ear in Trinidad and New York City, Akiho only began writing music at age 28. Still, these social and musical roots remain foundational. Akiho frequently composes into the late hours at coffee shops, nightclubs, and restaurants, taking breaks to get to know those around him. Similarly, he develops relationships with his collaborators, as he writes for people, not instruments.
Akiho was born in 1979 in Columbia, SC, and is currently based in Portland, OR and New York City.
Recent highlights include the world premieres of several major works, most notably Nisei—a sweeping new concerto for cellist Jeffrey Zeigler—which headlined this year’s Sun Valley Music Festival. Another standout: Sculptures, a groundbreaking, triple Grammy-nominated work for the Omaha Symphony honoring renowned visual artist Jun Kaneko. Finally, BeLonging, a powerful new collaboration with Imani Winds with strong political undertones, also made highly acclaimed live and recorded debuts, receiving two Grammy nominations. Equally at home writing chamber music and symphonies, Akiho is the Oregon Symphony’s 2024-25 composer-in-residence.
Akiho has been recognized via many prestigious awards and organizations including the Rome Prize, American Academy of Arts and Letters, Lili Boulanger Memorial Prize, Harvard University Fromm Commission, Barlow Endowment, New Music USA, and Chamber Music America. His compositions have been featured by organizations such as Bang on a Can, American Composers Forum, The Intimacy of Creativity in Hong Kong, and the Heidelberg Festival.
An active steel pannist, Akiho has a deeply physical relationship with playing, which undoubtedly informs his compositions. His style is further shaped by his nontraditional path as a composer: having spent most of his 20s playing steel pan by ear in Trinidad and New York City, Akiho only began writing music at age 28. Still, these social and musical roots remain foundational. Akiho frequently composes into the late hours at coffee shops, nightclubs, and restaurants, taking breaks to get to know those around him. Similarly, he develops relationships with his collaborators, as he writes for people, not instruments.
Akiho was born in 1979 in Columbia, SC, and is currently based in Portland, OR and New York City.
