KANA MIMAKI began her studies in piano at the age of three. By the age of five, she won her first competition and accepted her very first TV engagement. Kana went on to distinguish herself in competitions for her diversity of repertoire. She is willing to excel at any genre: she is equally confident with Mozart and Beethoven as she is with Liszt and Rachmaninoff. Her recent achievements include first prize awards from the Los Angeles Liszt competition, the San Jose Young Artist Competition, and the International Russian Music Competition.

Kana’s devotion to the piano came at a very early age, without any forceful persuasion from her parents; she became fascinated with learning the art of fine pianistic technique. When she was sixteen, she went to Tokyo to attend one of Japan’s top music High Schools. By this point, her intensity for music grew so strong that she was devoting more than sixty hours a week to her music. Her commitment paid off when she was accepted to Japan’s ultimate music school: Tokyo National University of Music and Fine Arts.

In 1994, Herbert Stessin invited Kana to attend the Aspen Music Festival, where she won the E. Nakamichi Piano Concerto Competition and performed under conductor Robert Spano. This experience was a turning point in Kana’s life. She knew that if she wanted to expand her musical experience, she would need to study outside of Japan. Following the completion of her Bachelors degree, Kana turned to the United States for further inspiration: she attended the San Francisco Conservatory of Music for her Master degree, and is currently working on a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University.

Kana hopes to one day become a concert pianist on the international circuit; she dreams of the opportunity to one day share her music with the rest of the world. “Everything that the audience sees and hears in my performance is real; this is who I am as a person! In order to form a deep connection with those who listen to my music, I think it is important to have a musical presentation that is full of integrity.”