Miya Masaoka

Who is Miya Masaoka?

Miya Masaoka is an American musician and composer who performs on the 17, 21 and 25-string Japanese koto, often augmenting it with string preparations and electronic triggers. She is Japanese American.

She is known for creative, improvisational technique, and a sensibility that combines experimental Western approaches with the tradition of the koto.

Her compositions have included works for large ensembles, sometimes with unusual sound sources such as hives of bees, or the amplified sounds of human bodies. One notable piece was performed outdoors in a plaza on San Francisco's sometimes unsavory Market Street, utilizing an ensemble of dozens of musicians, a pair of male and female exotic dancers, and taped interviews with sex workers: "What's the Difference Between Stripping and Playing the Violin?" An impressive blend of musical composition, and site-specific conceptual art.

She has also done performance art utilizing insects crawling across her body.

Miya Masaoka is known as one of the more distinctive members of the Bay Area Improv Scene in the San Francisco Bay Area.