Andy Akiho, composer/steel pan

Andy is a “trailblazing” (Los Angeles Times) and “increasingly in-demand” (New York Times) Pulitzer Prize finalist and seven-time GRAMMY®-nominated composer whose bold works unravel intricate and unexpected patterns while surpassing preconceived boundaries of classical music. He is the only composer to be nominated for a GRAMMY® in the Best Contemporary Classical Composition category in 2022, 2023, and 2024.

Recent highlights include the world premieres of several major works, including Nisei — a sweeping concerto for cellist Jeffrey Zeigler — which headlined at the Sun Valley Music Festival, Sculptures, a groundbreaking, triple GRAMMY®-nominated work for Omaha Symphony honoring renowned visual artist Jun Kaneko, and BeLonging, a powerful new collaboration with Imani Winds, receiving two GRAMMY® nominations. Andy was also the Oregon Symphony’s 2024-25 composer-in-residence. 

Andy has been recognized via many prestigious awards including the Rome Prize, American Academy of Arts and Letters, Lili Boulanger Memorial Prize, Harvard University Fromm Commission, Barlow Endowment, New Music USA, and Chamber Music America. His compositions have been featured by Bang on a Can, American Composers Forum, The Intimacy of Creativity in Hong Kong, and the Heidelberg Festival. 

An active steel pannist, Andy has performed his works with Imani Winds, the LA Philharmonic’s Green Umbrella Series, the Berlin Philharmonic’s Scharoun Ensemble, the International Drum Festival in Taiwan, and more. His recordings No One To Know One, The War Below, Seven Pillars, Oculus, Sculptures, and BeLonging feature brilliantly crafted compositions inspired by his primary instrument, the steel pan. 

Andy is based in Portland, OR and New York City.