The vibrant pianist Akiko Sasaki’s dynamic performances and detailed instruction have anchored her a prospering position as a concert pianist and music educator in the New York City area. Praised as, “impressively sensitive and interactive,” (City Arts New York), Sasaki has appeared throughout Europe and the United States as soloist and chamber artist.
As a performing artist, Sasaki has collaborated with prominent artists from around the world, including artists from the Metropolitan Opera, Harlem Quartet, Marlboro, and the Grammy winning Pacifica Quartet. She performs regularly with the Sasaki-Schoen-Rene Duo, Akiko Duo, and the Heaton Sasaki Duo. Sasaki has appeared in venues such as Merkin Concert Hall, WQXR’s Greene Space, Roulette, and as a winner of New York City’s Artist International auditions, she gave her solo debut concert at Carnegie Hall. Sasaki is also a winner of the Lamont Concerto Competition and Notes at Nine Thousand Emerging Artist competition. Other distinguished accomplishments include winning the Allied Arts Music Award, the Bernstein Crossman Piano Award, the New York City Distinguished Artist Award presented by Mu Phi Epsilon, and a selected participant for Frederic Chiu’s Deeper Piano Studies. As a winner of the Bettylou Scandling Hubin Award for World Music, Ms. Sasaki presented a series of concerts featuring works by Japanese composers.
Ms. Sasaki is an active and notable music educator. She is a former faculty member of the Kauffman Center’s Lucy Moses School, New York City’s public school for musically gifted children. Currently, she is on piano faculty at State University of New York at New Paltz and maintains her own studio, Forte>Piano Studio in Beacon, New York. Sasaki is the founder, faculty member, and Artistic Director of the Lyra Music Festival and Workshop. She is also Co-Founder of Musical Explorers, and Performing Pianists of New York.
Sasaki received her Bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance from the University of Denver. Her success in Colorado led her to study abroad as a scholarship student at the Guildhall School of Music in London. There she worked with one of England’s foremost pedagogues, Benjamin Kaplan. She continued her studies at the Manhattan School of Music, earning a Master's degree in Piano Performance. Sasaki’s former instructors include Alice Rybak, Jeffrey Cohen, Jose Mendez, Miyoko Lotto, and Julian Martin.
When Ms. Sasaki is not teaching or performing, she is often found curating and presenting high-calibre artists in various concert series. She is the founder and Artistic Director of the Lyra Music Festival and the Music Director of the Howland Chamber Music Circle.