Entered Kunitachi College of Music in 1988. Received scholarship from "Yasuda Seimei - Quality of Life Zaidan". On graduation, she received prestigeous "Takeoka Prize". Received Masters degree from the College in 1994.
She studied percussion with Tomoyuki Okada, marimba with Junko Shibata and Akiko Suzuki, Timpani with Peter Sonderman.
Received "Award of Excellence" at the 8th Percussion Rookie's Concert. Received the Gran Prix on the 10th Nihon Kan-dagakki Concours (Japan Brass and Percussion Competition) Percussion division. Gave concerts in Berlin, Sofia, Taipei, Seoul, Denmark etc. as a member of the "Percussion Ensemble OKADA of Japan".
In 1994, she gave the "Saito Mie Percussion Recital - Sound Pazzle -", and subsequently, "Saito Mie Marimba Concert - Wind from the Galia - ", etc. Also appeared in "Marimba Alive! vol.3" with Junko Sakimura.
Currently, actively playing as a solo marimbist as well as an ensemble member in chamber music and orchestra. Member of the Miracle Percussion Ensemble. (Last Modified 1998.5.6)

This Danish duo are not only for marimba but also all ground percussion. Uffe Savery and Morten Friis, they can perform Marimba Spritual just by themselves...2 people! It is called Marimaba Spritual 2 and recorded on their CD. Mostly they transcribe piano music by Bach, Chopin or Ravel for 2 marimbas. Safri version of Alborada del gracioso by Ravel is published from Studio 4 Production, and available their CDs in stores in Japan. (Added 1997.6.12)

Mark Shelton is a freelance percussionist living in the Dallas, TX area. He performs on the marimba as part of his solo percussion program for students. Mark is on the Young Audiences rosters in Dallas, Houston, and Beaumont, Texas. Before moving to Texas, Mark served as Visiting Artist at Wayne Community College in North Carolina.
In addition to his work as a soloist, he leads the New Acoustic / World Music ensemble, Tin Roof Tango, and is percussionist with the Calvary Temple of Irving Celebration Orchestra. (Added 1999.2.6)

Robert Van Sice, percussion, has premiered over one hundred works, including concertos, chamber music, and solos. He has made solo appearances with symphony orchestras and given recitals in Europe, North America, Africa and the Far East. In 1989 he gave the first full-length marimba recitals at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and has since played in most of Europe's major concert halls, many of which have been broadcast by the BBC, Swedish Radio, Norwegian Radio, WDR and Radio France. He is frequently invited as a soloist with Europe's leading contemporary music ensembles and festivals, including the London Sinfonietta, Ensemble Contrechamps, and L'Itineraire and the Archipel, Darmstadt and North American New Music festivals among others. From 1988 to 1997 he headed Europe's first diploma program for solo marimbists at the Rotterdam's Conservatorium. Mr. Van Sice has given master classes in over twenty countries and frequently visits the major conservatories in Europe as a guest lecturer. He attended the Cleveland Institute of Music, Toho Gakuen, and South African College of Music and has studied with Cloyd Duff, Keiko Abe, Leigh Howard Stevens and Michael Rosen.[Excerpt from the homepage linked above.] (added 1997.11.16)

Kai Stensgaard was among the first Scandinavian musicians to approach the marimba as a serious solo instrument. Throughout the last 15 years he has toured extensively and given more than 3.000 concerts, masterclasses and clinics in various venues in Northern Europa, Mexico, Puerto Rico, U.S.A. and Japan along with numerous radio and television broadcasts. He was recognized in 1989 as the first recipient of the North Jutland Music Award. He has produced several CDs displaying the marimba's myriad of textures. Kai Stensgaard is a specialist on six mallets playing, he did several compositions and arrangements for six mallets. In 2005 he published his new concerto for marimba & Symphony Orchestra "Concierto Mexicano". The concerto is performed with 2, 4 and 6 mallets (optional 4 mallets) For more informations go to www.marimba.dk (added 2000.11.6)

Dr. J.B. Smith is an Associate Professor of Music and the Coordinator of Percussion Studies at Arizona State University. He has performed and recorded with Ensemble 21, The Daniel Lentz Group, Summit Brass and the Phoenix Symphony. He is also an Artist-in-Resident for ASU's Institute for Studies in the Arts. Smith received his Bachelor of Music Education degree from Baylor University, where he studied with Dr. Larry Vanlandingham; his Master of Music in Percussion Performance and Literature degree from the University of Illinois, where he studied with Prof. Thomas Siwe; and his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of North Texas, where he studied with Dr. Robert Schietroma. He has written articles for The Instrumentalist and Percussive Notes and served as president of the Arizona chapter of the PAS. Smith is also active as a composer, with numerous works published by Whole>Sum Productions.

Renowned for his "one-handed rolls," his complete mastery of mallet independence, his numerous textural sustaining techniques and his use of birch-handle mallets, Leigh Howard Stevens was born in Orange, New Jersey, U.S.A, March 9, 1953. He attended the Eastman School of Music 1971-1975, and graduated with academic honours and was awarded the degree of Bachelor of Music.Subsequently, he travelled to Auckland, New Zealand in the 1972 for advanced studies with Vida Chenoweth, with whom he obtained additional coaching in 1975.

From 1975 to 1978, he taught percussion at Nazareth College of Rochester while writing Method of Movement for Marimba, a book which details some aspects of his unique system of four-mallet technique and which is now a standard text in many college percussion programs. This book has been translated into four languages.

In 1976, he performed at the first Percussive Arts Society International Convention , where he introduced to percussionists from around the world his one-handed rolls, birch handled "slap-less" mallets, rotary stroke types, "Stevens grip" and other "revolutionary" techniques that are now accepted as "standard" in many parts of the world.

In addition to performing exclusively on an extended-range Malletech Marimba of his own design, he serves as a consultant and conducts educational masterclasses for Malletech (He has been awarded four U. S. Patents for marimba design).

Mr. Stevens is a Professor of Marimba of the Royal Academy of Music, London since 1997. (Modified 2001.5.30)

A pupil of Keiko Abe, Akiko SUZUKI has an excellent trancking record as a marimba teacher. Her students includes Junko Sakimura, Mie Saito and Nanae Mimura. She lives in Kunitachi, Tokyo. (Modified 1999.2.6)

Founding member of the Manhattan Marimba Quartet. Premiered marimba works by Babbitt, Kupferman, Torke, Ichinaga, Ishii. Performed and recorded with Steve Reich, Philip Glass, PULSE Percussion Ensemble. Degrees from Manhattan School of Music. Faculty at Manhattan School of Music - Prep Division, The College of New Jersey, Rowan University.(Added 1999.7.11)

Naoko Takada:A student of Akiko Suzuki, Karen Ervin-Pershing, and Gordon Stout. Her duet group "Chris & Naoko" was one of the finalists in PASIC Duet Competition 99. She is currently pursuing master degree of percussion performance in Ithaca College of Music where she teaches Percussion Class. (Added 2000.2.11)