Andy Akiho

Composer and percussionist Andy Akiho has specialized in music for steel pans and other percussion instruments, of which he plays many. His style has shifted from music influenced by Caribbean folk styles to more contemporary idioms, but he has continued to emphasize percussion instruments and has written music for drum and bugle corps ensembles. Akiho was born in Columbia, South Carolina, on February 2, 1979. His sister introduced him to a drum set when he was nine. Akiho attended the University of South Carolina, and while he was there, he realized that he wanted to become a percussionist and sought out any percussion experience he could find, from orchestras to bands and African and Brazilian drumming ensembles, as well as drum and bugle corps. He was especially fascinated by Trinidadian steel pan music, and after graduating with a bachelor's degree in percussion performance, he traveled to Trinidad to seek instruction despite not knowing anyone there. He advanced quickly enough to perform as a member of a pair of Trinidadian steel pan ensembles. Returning to the U.S., Akiho attended the Bang on a Can Summer Festival in 2007 and 2008 and decided to study composition. He earned master's degrees in contemporary performance from the Manhattan School of Music and from the Yale School of Music in composition. He then enrolled in the PhD program in composition at Princeton University. Among his composition teachers were Julia Wolfe, David Lang, and Christopher Theofanidis. A string of prizes, including the 2009 ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award, the 2014 American Composers Orchestra Underwood Emerging Composers Commission, and the 2015 Rome Prize, helped Akiho's career along, and he has been in demand as both a composer and performer. Orchestras worldwide have commissioned new works from him, including the New York Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra, and Shanghai Symphony, and he has also composed many pieces for smaller ensembles, including a group of works for steel pan or marimba and string quartet. Akiho often performs his own works and has appeared with the Charlotte Symphony, South Carolina Philharmonic, and Grand Rapids Symphony, as well as giving four recitals at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. He has issued three solo albums, and more than ten of his compositions have been recorded. In 2021, Akiho's solo album Seven Pillars appeared, comprising a single work of that title described as a Sandbox Percussion Concert in 11 Movements. The work earned a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Composition.
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