Saki Kurata is a marimba player and singer with a curiosity and passion for blending musical styles. 

She performs solo and chamber music including standards of the contemporary repertoire as well as her own 

arrangements of popular songs and more. In recent years, she has performed frequently in Detmold, Boston and throughout Japan.

 

   Saki received her Bachelor of Music degree from Musashino Academia Musicae in Japan where she studied with Michiko Takahashi ; and her Master of Music degree from Hochschule fuer Musik Detmold, Germany where she was a student of Peter Prommel. Saki also completed Graduate Performance Degree and Professional Study Certificate program at The Boston Conservatory where she studied with Nancy Zeltsman.

 

   In 2016, she got 3rd prize in marimba division of International Percussion Competition Festival in Italy. She also has played "a concert to support music activities in 2016" hosted  by Yamaha Music Foundation.

During her years in Germany, Saki performed as a percussionist with the orchestra Junges Klangforum in many concert halls including those in Duesseldorf, Berlin, Munich and in Krakow, Poland. 

   

Currently, Saki freelances in Tsukuba performing with friends in music featuring mallet percussion and voice. She performs annual solo recitals in Tsukuba. Saki's diverse repertoire includes classical, contemporary, pop and jazz music for solo marimba and chamber ensembles, as well as for accompaniment when she sings.

   

   The only musician in her family, Saki was born in 1987 in Okayama, Japan and grew up in Tsukuba. She began to play marimba and percussion at the age of 6. Saki currently lives in Tsukuba, Japan.