Born in Japan in1983, Emiko Uchiyama began her musical studies at the age of three receiving tuition on marimba and piano.



From a very early age she appeared as a soloist with many orchestras including the Osaka Philharmonic, Hong-Kong Philharmonic, New Japan Philharmonic, Metropolitan Police and the Sapporo Symphony orchestras etc. Her busy touring schedule has taken her to Germany, Austria, France, America, all major Japanese cities, Hong-Kong, and China where her solo recitals have been met with high critical acclaim.



In 2007, as a member of the Wave Duo, Ms Uchiyama received 1st Prize at the Universal Marimba Competition Belgium with her duo partner, Vladimir Petrov. The duo was also awarded the Sabam Prize for the best interpretation of a set piece, the Keiko Abe prize and the audience award. Ms Uchiyama also received the Keiko Abe prize and was a finalist at the 3rd World Marimba Competition Stuttgart in 2002, making her the only recipient of two Keiko Abe prizes in the world. In 2005 she won 3rd prize at the 4th World Marimba Competition Shanghai.

In 2006, Emiko Uchiyama was invited by the Percussive Arts Society to perform alongside the world’s leading marimba performer and composer, Keiko Abe, at PASIC -the society’s annual convention.

Ms Uchiyama has started to study with Keiko Abe at the age of ten. She graduated at the top of her class in 2006 at the revered Toho-Gakuen College of Music. She is continuing her studies with the world-renowned marimba soloist Bogdan Bacanu. She also studied with the master marimbist Yoshihisa Mizuno.



In addition to her performance activites with the Wave Duo, Emiko Uchiyama is also a member of the Quintet Corona and the Marimba Ensemble Cadendia.