Mika lives in New York City. She has performed throughout the world, including solo recitals at the Weill Recital Hall and Zanekl Hall at Carnegie Hall; and various venues in Tokyo, Budapest, and Toronto. She has also performed at multiple PASIC conventions. Mika studied at the University of Toronto where she was influenced strongly by the NEXUS Percussion Ensemble, and graduated with an advanced certificate in performance. Mika has performed with Richard Stoltzman, Thomas Stacy, Karkaba Lobi and many more. Her arrangements and performances are featured on Steve Reich's Triple Quartet (Nonesuch) and Richard Stoltzman's Goldberg Variation (BMG Japan). Currently, Mika studies jazz with Mike Mainieri in New York.



Mika was born in Kumamoto in 1964. She began to study the piano at the age of three and drums at the age of ten and marimba at the age of eighteen.



Mika is a graduate of Kumamoto Music College and was also instructor at this college and studied marimba in the United States with a subsidy from 'Kumamoto Culture and Art Promotion Association' in 1994.

She also studied to perform marimba at Toronto University (Advanced Certificate in Performance) under Russell Hertenberger (NEXUS) in 1999 and 2000. Mika has devoted herself to marimba performance and musical studies under the strong influence of the world-famous percussion ensemble Nexus since 1994.



Mika has given solo recitals in New York (Carnegie Hall 2001and 2004), Atlanta in U.S.A., Budapest in Hungary, Toronto in Canada, Flensburg in Germany, St. John's in Canada and Tokyo (Ooji Hall 2001and Toppan Hall 2003), Kyoto, Fukuoka, Kumamoto, Nagasaki, Kitakyushu in Japan.



Mika has performed with Nexus, Tom Stacy (principal E. Horn player for the NY Philharmonic Orchestra), Richard Stoltzman (clarinet), the Szonbathely Symphony Orchestra, the Kyushu Symphony Orchestra, the Kumamoto Symphony Orchestra.



Mika has also performed with Kakraba Lobi (Ghana, Africa), Bill Douglas, composer/pianist (U.S.A.) and Sutomu Yamashita (Kyoto, Japan) at Todaiji Temple Grand Memorial Service on the 1,250th anniversary of the consecrating of the Great Buddha in Nara, Japan.

Mika released her first CD 'Mitsue' in 1998.

Mika had arranged 'Tokyo / Vermont Counterpoint' and had it in the CD 'Triple Quartet' Steve Reich, a composer, released on the Nonesuch label in 2001.

Mika released her second CD 'Marimba Phase' from the Monroe street label in 2003.

She received the Kumamoto Cultural Award in 1996.

Mika has been invited to Pasic 2005 to give clinic/performance.