Collaboration with Andy Akiho

In 2023, the Omaha Symphony bestowed Jun and Ree Kaneko with the Dick and Mary Holland Leadership Award, in recognition of their extensive and exceptional contributions to the arts. Wishing to honor the Kanekos on this important occasion, the Symphony set out to work with Jun and Ree to select a composer to create a suite of new music inspired by Jun’s work. And so, in the spring of 2022, the search for a composer began.

The Omaha Symphony presented several candidates to Jun and Ree, and they found that Andy Akiho, an award-winning percussionist and classical composer, was a natural fit. “The inspiration started from day one,” says Akiho. Over the course of a year, Akiho took up residency in a studio loft to engage directly with Jun and his staff. Akiho worked day and night in Kaneko’s studio, turning the artist’s Dangos, Heads, and Columns into unique percussion instruments. As he experimented with sound, Akiho and Kaneko found mutual inspiration in each other’s work, and Kaneko gave Akiho carte blanche to use the sculptural forms as instruments.

The resulting suite of music, titled Sculptures, represents the culmination of the deeply collaborative friendship between Kaneko and Akiho. The symphonic work incorporates ceramic and bronze sculptures which were used as both percussion and string instruments. The world premiere performances in March 2023 were conducted by Music Director Ankush Kumar Bahl and performed by the Omaha Symphony, who played alongside striking multimedia visual effects created by Andy Akiho.

Following the premiere performance in Omaha, Sculptures has been performed by the Oregon Symphony and will continue to tour both nationally and internationally. The concert album was released in September 2023 and has been critically acclaimed, earning Akiho three Grammy Award nominations for his complex and innovative compositions. The album is available for purchase or listening on all major streaming platforms.

Learn more about Jun Kaneko’s collaboration with Andy Akiho in this video by Nebraska Public Media.

Discover more about Andy Akiho’s music by visiting https://andyakiho.com/#