Tokyo-based koto and bass koto player Miyama McQueen-Tokita’s practice re-imagines the vocabulary and tradition of Japanese music in the contemporary context of improvisation and experimental music. With the occasional addition of voice and electronics, Miyama’s work as a composer and interpreter speaks beyond her foundation in hogaku and experimental music, with influences ranging from Kazue Sawai to Meredith Monk. As a featured soloist and collaborator with ensembles such as the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and Australian Art Orchestra, and performances at such festivals as Tokyo Jazz and Moers Festival, Miyama’s ability to exist in multiple musical worlds is a defining aspect of her musical identity.
Her debut solo album “SONOBE”, released in 2020, features new and existing works for the koto by composers from all around the world. In 2019 she spent six months in NYC as a grantee of the Asian Cultural Council New York Fellowship, where she immersed herself deeply in the experimental, free improvised and new music scenes. Miyama has been taught by Satsuki Odamura and Kazue Sawai.
