Piano Lessons with Michiko I.

Michiko I. is a pianist, composer and educator from Fukuoka, Japan. As a child, she was exposed to her parents’ favorite music: the Beatles, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk. At the time she was not so interested in them, but has since realized how her early exposure to this variety of music laid the foundation for her future music taste. She began studying classical piano at the Yamaha music school when she was four years old, then continued to Fukuoka Jogakuin High School to study classical music. At 17, she became interested in American popular music after hearing Marvin Gay and Aretha Franklin in the soundtrack to the film Remember the Titans, which inspired her to explore her parents’ blues and jazz CD collection. Around this time, Michiko also joined her church’s gospel choir as an accompanist and performed at church, the Sasebo US military base and Fukuoka’s Christmas Festival. She pursued her new love for jazz piano at the Fukuoka Women's Junior College and began gigging at jazz bars in Fukuoka. She joined the Berklee Five-Week Summer program in 2017, and was awarded a prestigious scholarship to study at the esteemed college for her undergrad; she enrolled in 2019 to study jazz piano performance. While in Boston, she became an in-demand pianist with weekly performances at the city’s historic Wally’s Jazz Café. She moved to New York City in September 2024 after finishing at Berklee. Michiko realized her passion for music education after returning home to Japan following the Covid-19 pandemic, when she began teaching students of all ages. She combines her musical expertise with her calm, patient teaching style to lead lessons that are fun, challenging and inspirational.