by Marcella Ortega
Daily Lobo
For UNM graduate student and pianist Makiko Kimura, the past year has been a disaster and a success.
Kimura transferred to UNM from Loyola University in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. She is a winner of the UNM 2006 Music Department Concerto Competition. Tonight, she will perform with the UNM Orchestra in its first concert of the season.
Kimura began playing piano at age 4. After receiving her undergraduate degree, she taught music for three years in a village in Paraguay. Kimura said she wanted to study American music.
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"I wanted to start studying jazz," she said. "So, I chose New Orleans."
Kimura was earning a master's degree in solo piano at Loyola University when Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans, forcing her and her boyfriend to leave.
"We are both exchange students, and we didn't have any idea where to go," she said. "We just rented a car. My boyfriend had relatives in El Paso. So, we headed west."
They couldn't reach her boyfriend's relatives when they arrived in El Paso, Texas.
"We were so tired, so we stayed at a hotel," she said. "We started watching the news, and we saw that the University of New Mexico was offering help to Katrina victims."
When they arrived in Albuquerque, they just walked into the UNM music department.
"We didn't have any expectations," she said. "We just wanted some information, but the University accepted us."
Kimura began studying piano with professor Pamela Pyle, and after one semester, she decided to stay in New Mexico.
"I didn't have news about New Orleans," she said. "Later, I found out that my apartment was destroyed. I liked this school. I liked learning from professor Pyle."
Kimura auditioned for the concerto competition in August. She will perform the same piece she did at her audition.
"She plays this American piece that is very well-known called 'Rhapsody in Blue' by George Gershwin," said Jorge PÇrez-G¢mez, UNM Orchestra conductor. "It has some Latin rhythms and some of the big-band sounds that developed in the era of the 1940s."
Pyle said it is uncommon for pianists to win the competition.
"She competed against violinists, cello players, singers and oboe players," Pyle said. "It's the first time a pianist has won in a long time."
The concert will be the first time Kimura has performed with an orchestra.
"That's what I think is so special about Maki," Pyle said. "She takes advantage of every aspect of being a musician. She plays jazz; she plays chamber music; she plays solo - and most musicians don't do all those things. So, she's pretty remarkable."
PÇrez-G¢mez said the concert is a combination of music from around the world.
"It's a combination of challenge and an educational element," he said. "What makes it hard is that we have people from different backgrounds. We have biology majors who play violin."
David Felberg, assistant conductor for the UNM Orchestra, will conduct "Rhapsody in Blue."
"She (Kimura) is great to work with, because she knows her part well and she plays beautifully," Felberg said. "It's just a matter of us getting in sync."
Kimura said she decided to double-major in collaborative and solo piano after transferring to UNM.
"I was happy in New Orleans, but here, I found how interesting it is to study collaborative piano," she said. "I'm learning so many things from this experience."
