Miya Masaoka2004

More on Miya Here
Composer, performer, sound artist and writer Miya Masaoka began her work as a kotoist studying traditional techniques and multiple styles of both Western and Japanese music; today she is a virtuosic experimental performer whose musical compositions and performance works pose questions about identity, the body, and the relationship between humans and the plant and animal kingdoms. In addition to creating solo, chamber, orchestral and choral compositions, Masaoka creates film, video, multi-channel and installation works that often employ advanced computer technology. An improviser working across new music, electronics, jazz and koto performance, she has collaborated with artists such as Andrew Cyrille, Toshiko Akiyoshi, L. Subramaniam, Fred Frith, and Pharoah Sanders. She has worked with Madagascar cockroaches, electrical signals from philodendrons and the bodies of naked men, and the sounds of swarming bees.
 
"I consider myself an investigative artist who explores ways of thinking about sound, ways of probing deeper into our relationships with the natural environment by charting interactions and extracting sonic information from objects, instruments and living things.Ultimately, my work seeks to instigate discovery and transformation within myself, the musicians I play with, and the listeners."