Mai Kagaya

Pianist

As a chamber musician and solo performer, Mai Kagaya has appeared before audiences of Stern auditorium, Zankel Hall and Weill Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall, and Steinway Hall, and also the Kaufman Center. In addition to these personal engagements, Ms. Kagaya performs concerts as a member of the New York Piano Duo, and performs frequently with Alexander Beridze in Aspen, CO, Palm Beach, FL, and NYC.

In her native Japan, Ms. Kagaya had already established herself as a virtuoso performer with a sensitive touch and sophisticated artistry while still a teenager. In 2003, she won the Dorothy MacKenzie Award at the International Keyboard Institute & Festival. As a result of her successful appearances, she was invited back to the festival the following year. She was also awarded numerous prizes by the Piano Teachers' National Association Competition and the Japan Piano Teacher's Association Competition, which led to her triumphal Tsuda Hall debut in Tokyo in 2001.

In 2004, Ms. Kagaya was selected to perform at the prestigious Hamarikyu-Asahi Hall in Tokyo. In 2006 she appeared as a soloist with the Kyushu Symphony Orchestra in Fukuoka City. Her performances were critically acclaimed and she was invited to study in the United States. In 2008, Mai performed with the Mannes Community Orchestra and Doctors Orchestra presented by the Mannes Extension Division as a winner of the Concerto Competition.

Ms. Kagaya performed at master classes presented by legendary pianists and teachers, Alicia de Larrocha, Earl Wild, Victor Merzhanov, and Mikhail Voskresensky. Among her private coaches was German Diez, an assistant pianist to Claudio Arrau.

Ms. Kagaya earned her BM degree at the Toho Conservatory in Japan with Yoriko Takahashi. She holds a Master of Music degree from Mannes College of Music where she studied with esteemed pianist and pedagogue Jerome Rose.