Brenda Wong Aoki / Mark Izu

Mark Izu wins EMMY for Bolinao52 score

“Mark Izu…leans to dark reverberant sonorities and stark phrases that seem
to be chiseled in some magically resilient stone”  – San Francisco Chronicle

COMMISSIONS

Kuan Yin: Our Lady of Compassion,
Meet the Composer, Japan Foundation, NEA, Asian Cultural Council (2002-06)
Dancing Girl of Izu (Gosho), silent film score: Pacific Film Archive (2006)
Last Dance, US Congress CLPEF, SF Art Commission, a multi-media jazz & taiko commemoration to the Japanese
American Internment (1998)
Mermaid, a monodrama scored for sym-phonic orchestra, sho, koto, changgo, and narrative movement artist: NEA’s Presenting and Commissioning,Maestro Kent Nagano and the Rockefeller Foundation. Libretto by Brenda Wong Aoki (1997)
The Dragon Painter, a silent film score: Pacific Film Archive and NATAA.
Dragon Wings, by Lawrence Yep Berkeley Repertory Theater (score).
Ballad of the Bonesan interdisciplinary theater work:San Francisco’s Festival 2000 with John O’Neal.
Hibakusha/Survivors! scored for 16- piece Asian/Western ensemble and Karuk Native American singers:Asian Improv aRts.
The Queen’s Garden, a polynesian jazz
theater score: Meet the Composer, Zellerbach Family Fund.
The Lady and the Beard, (Ozu) film
score: Pacific Film Archive and UC
Berkeley Museum of Modern Art.
AWARDS
US/Japan Artist Fellowship 2007
98-2004 ASCAP Innovative Music
Award (Am. Society of Composers,
Authors and Publishers) Wattis Artist in Residence,Yerba  Buena Center for the Arts (2001)
Drama-logue Award for Best Original  Music for The Queen’s Garden(1992)
Rockefeller Foundation MAPgrants, (1992, 93)
NEAPresenting & Commissioning grants (1994, 95, 97, 2000)
Meet the Composer Award (91, 97, 01)
San Francisco Board of Supervisors Proclamation for contributions to Asian American Jazz (1997).
Artistic Merit Award, Asian Business League.
INDIE Award – Best Spoken Word Recording, Dreams and Illusions, Rounder (1990)
Steven Okazaki’s Academy Award winning “Days of Waiting”
Wayne Wang’s “Dim Sum Take Out”
Steven Okazaki’s “American Sons”
Greg Chapnick and Sharon Wood’s documentary “Outside in Sight: the Music of United Front”
Sessue Hayakawa’s 1919 silent film “The Dragon Painter”
Ozu’s “Lady and the Beard”
Ken Kashima’s “Notes on a Scale”
“Cat Chat” Tokyo Broadcast Systems for interactive TVand CD ROM

SELECTED RECORDINGS
Asian American Orchestra (Grammy Nominated), Far East Suite, Monk’s Mood, Rhapsody in Blue.
Mark Izu & Threading Time, (with Zakir Hussain & Togi Suenobu, Belly to Belly CD
Dragon Painter, DVD Milestones
The Queen’s Garden with Brenda Wong Aoki (INDIE AWARD)
Path with a Heart, United Front
Ohm: Unit of Resistance, United Front
Live in Berlin with United Front
Never Give Up and Self Defense with Jon Jang
Hibakusha, Smithsonian Folkways
Circle of Firewith James Newton & Jin Hi Kim.
SELECTED PERFORMANCES
Sho soloist Manzanar, Kent Nagano,
-Royce Hall UCLA, Zellerbach Hall
Esplanade, Theatres on the Bay,
- Huayi Festival, Singapore
City Festival, Hong Kong
Adelaide Festival, Australia
Berkeley Symphony Orchestra
SF Asian American Jazz Festival,
Chicago Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz
Festival, San Francisco Jazz Festival
The Montreux Festival, Berlin Total
Music Festival, Moers New Music
Festival,Verona Jazz Festival,
Edmonton Jazz Festival,San Diego
Jazz Festival, Berkeley Jazz Festival
Cabrillo Music Festival
Walker Arts Center, (Minneapolis)
Museum of Modern Art (Seattle)
Asia Society,(NYC)
Lincoln Center (NYC)
Kennedy Center (Wash. DC)
Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Torrence Symphony
EDUCATION & COMMUNITY

Togi Suenobu, Institute of Buddhist Studies & SF Gagaku Society – student (1978 – 96)

Stanford -Institute for the Diversity in the Arts – Founding Faculty (2002)

Artistic Director: Asian American Jazz Festival (1986-2000)
San Francisco Jazz Festival – The New Silk Road (1996)
San Jose Jazz Festival – Asian Heritage Council Stage (1995-97)
Kearny Street Workshop (1989-94)
Lecturer:New York’s Asia Society,
Stanford University, University of Utah, University of Pennsylvania, UC Berkeley, Elon College, Painted Bride, and California State Summer School for the Arts.
Community:Adventures in Music, public school program sponsored by the San Francisco Symphony.
Benefit performances for the Kimochi Senior Center, Chinatown Neighborhood Art, Glide Memorial Church, Japantown Art & Media, Nihon Machi Little Friends. Day of Remembrance.
Co-founded the J-town Jazz Ensemble, a multi-generational big band from the
Japanese American Community.
COMMISSIONS, AWARDS, PERFORMANCES FILM SCORES
KTEH TV, Emmy awarded, Return to the Valley, DVD & Broadcast