Photo by Kurt Tokita
Bio
Mako Kikuchi heard Ella Fitzgerald in concert from the womb and was born the next day. He shares a birthday with Prince. Mako’s music is wide ranging - from drone/ambient soundscapes to compositions for traditional Japanese instruments. His interests in community, identity, and intersectional justice inform his creative process. His work has been supported by the National Endowment of the Arts, Chamber Music America, and New Music USA, among others.
As music faculty at South Seattle College, Mako is committed to the decolonization of music curricula and the cultivation of life-long connections to music. He serves as the lead advisor for the community donated music collections at the Northwest Nikkei Museum (JCCCW), where his main project is the preservation and digitization of home recorded acetate discs dating from the 1930s - 1950s, some of which were recorded inside Japanese American incarceration camps during WWII.
Kikuchi holds degrees in music from Bennington College (BFA) and CalArts (MFA). He lives in Seattle in a multi-generational household.
Photo by Allen Glass
“Picture Miles Davis floating somewhere out past the rings of Saturn.
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“A Morricone showdown in a John Cage rock garden.”
“His music is somewhere between natural and deliberate, between wind chimes and the strict order of a composition...
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Selected Awards and Residencies
2025
Individual Artist Project Recipient • 4Culture
Heritage Projects Recipient • 4Culture
2024
Kip Tokuda Civil Liberties Program • OSPI
2023
Individual Artist Project Recipient • 4Culture
2022
City Artist Grant • Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs
Artist Support Grant • Jack Straw Foundation
2018
smART Ventures Grant • Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs
2017
Individual Artist Project Recipient • 4Culture
2015
Gerald Oshita Memorial Fellow and residency recipient • Djerassi Resident Artist Program
Historic Sites Specific • 4Culture
2014
City Artist Grant • Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs
Creative Artist Fellowship • Japan - U.S. Friendship Commission, NEA
2013
Artist in Residence • Grand Canyon National Park
Art Projects Award • 4Culture
Artist Support Grant • Jack Straw Foundation
2012
City Artist Grant • Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, Seattle
New Jazz Works Award • Chamber Music America
2011
Artist in Residence • Union Station, Seattle, WA
Metlife Creative Connections Award • New Music USA
GAP Artist Support Grant • Washington Artist Trust
Excellence in Arts Education Award • West Sound Academy
2010
City Artist Grant • Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs
Individual Artist Project Recipient • 4Culture
2009
Fellowship Recipient • Washington Artist Trust
Composition Residency Recipient • Montalvo Arts Center
2008
GAP Artist Support Grant • Washington Artist Trust
French American Jazz Exchange Grant • Chamber Music America
Artist Support Grant • Jack Straw Foundation
Articles, Interviews, and Writing
